Before joining The Rewilding Institute, Turtle was the coordinator of the Northern Jaguar Project, where she provided programmatic, fundraising, and administrative leadership. While with NJP, she helped to establish and grow the 56,000-acre Northern Jaguar Reserve in Sonora, Mexico, organized scientific research projects and conservation education among youth, and worked extensively with ranchers to promote coexistence with felines and other wildlife.

With a B.A. in Biology from Wittenberg University, Turtle has worked with the Student Environmental Action Coalition, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Earth First! Journal, as a crew member with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and with the Center for Biological Diversity when the jaguar received protection in the United States under the Endangered Species Act. She is a frequent lecturer on desert wildlife and volunteers with the regenerative agriculture project La Tierra del Jaguar. Email Turtle