Kirsten Leong is a Human Dimensions Specialist and Social Scientist with more than 20 years of experience addressing human–wildlife conflict and coexistence in policy and management contexts. Her work examines interactions involving overabundant native species, threatened and endangered species, and feral animals across diverse ecological and cultural settings, with demonstrated impact on policy development, management strategies, and interagency collaboration.

In 2025, she founded Nature x Culture, a consulting firm that supports evidence based decision making through social science research and structured dialogue processes that account for cultural values and perspectives. She is Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at the University of Hawaiʻi and previously served as an applied social scientist and human dimensions subject matter expert with the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and the U.S. National Park Service, working on fish and wildlife management challenges on federal lands and waters.