about SARYN
Background + Education
MA, Animal Studies/Environmental Studies, NYU
BA, Communications & Film, UPENN
Journalist, Content Creator & Digital Strategist
Travel & Sustainable Lifestyle
Animal Welfare & Conservation: Research, Art, Advocacy
Health & Wellness
Entertainment & Culture
Saryn was born in New York, grew up in Madison, CT, and now resides in Brooklyn, NY. She has worked for multiple print and digital outlets, most recently as a Senior Editor at People Magazine, and previously launched websites for MSN and AOL. Saryn is a freelance journalist who has written and produced news, features, and video series for PEOPLE, Travel + Leisure, MSN, AOL, E! News, Entertainment Weekly, Marie Claire, Insider, Reader’s Digest, Popular Science, Psychology Today, the New York Post, Seventeen, Conde Nast and more. She is currently the content manager for Towwn, a sustainable lifestyle brand.
Saryn’s research “Poor Welfare Indicators and Husbandry Practices at Lion (Panthera Leo) Cub-Petting Facilities: Evidence from Public YouTube Videos,” done in collaboration with NYU and FOUR PAWS, was published in the top-tier animal science and welfare journal, Animals, in October 2022. The study focused on big cat welfare, conservation, and tourism activities in South Africa. Saryn’s final Capstone project, The Last Lions Left on Earth at Lionsrock Museum, is an XR interactive experience about endangered species and the human-animal bond, created in partnership with the global NGO, FOUR PAWS, and Lionsrock Sanctuary in South Africa. The immersive art installation “Leo’s Gone” was based on her research and featured at Roger Wu’s Thought Experience, a Chashama gallery exhibit in N.Y.C., March-May, 2023.
Ambassador Relations Specialist, FOUR PAWS International
As of August 2023, Saryn is the U.S. Ambassador Relations Specialist at FOUR PAWS International. She connects talent, thought leaders, press, and brands with animal welfare campaigns, programs, rescue missions, documentaries, sanctuaries, and special projects. FOUR PAWS species include big cats, bears, elephants, orangutans, dogs, cats, farm animals, birds of prey, and more. Saryn’s special interests include cruelty-free fashion, next-generation alternative and bio-based materials; One Health policy and pandemic prevention; climate change, plant-based nutrition, sanctuary animal enrichment, and the intersection of arts + nature to create awe-inspiring experiences.
FOUR PAWS is headquartered in Vienna, with a US office based in Boston. Global offices include London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Zurich, Lviv, Prishtina, Sofia, Sydney, Capetown, and Hanoi. FOUR PAWS species-appropriate rescue sanctuaries & partners are located in Austria, Borneo, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Germany, Vietnam, Kosovo, Netherlands, Jordan, South Africa & Switzerland.
Saryn works remotely from NYC and LA.