Caitlin O’Connell is a scientist, author, and educator known for her work in elephant communication and conservation biology. She specializes in how elephants use seismic vibrations to communicate over long distances.

Born in 1965, O’Connell earned degrees from Fairfield University, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the University of California at Davis. She spent three years in Namibia as a contract researcher, studying elephant behavior and their interactions with local farmers. Her discoveries led to groundbreaking insights into how elephants "hear" through their feet.

She has written several books, including The Elephant’s Secret Sense, which blends memoir and scientific research. O’Connell is also a faculty member at Stanford University’s School of Medicine and co-directs Utopia Scientific, a research organization she founded with her husband, Tim Rodwell.