About us
Ren Bettencourt
Ren Bettencourt is an artist and filmmaker, a dabbler in science and policy, and a fulltime advocate for animals and the natural world. Their educational, work, and personal history has followed more of a meandering path than a straight line, always circling around the arts, nature, and seeking out knowledge and an understanding of our world.
Ren has a B.A. in English from the University of New Hampshire, Durham. They studied film production at the Graduate School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, and have a M.A. in Teaching from Simmons College, as well as a M.S. of Animals and Public Policy from Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. While at Tufts, Ren worked with Dr. Jennifer Jackman on research focusing on seals in New England, and co-authored a paper which was published in Marine Policy, entitled, “Views of seal management and marine mammal protections among voters, anglers, and tourists on Nantucket, MA, USA”.
Continuing their work on the subject of seals, Ren worked with Dr. Andrea Bogomolni, Elizabeth Bradfield, and Elizabeth James-Perry on the Seals & Society exhibit which is currently on display at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts.