Alexa Gnauck

I’ve spent the past 10 years in animal advocacy, working on plant-based school programs and education. I recently founded PAW, an initiative using open-source editing through volunteers and AI strategies to strengthen how animals are represented in media and machine learning models. I’m an entrepreneur and connector who loves working with people.

Someone who is curious, reliable, and open to learning. You don’t need prior experience with Wikipedia or AI — just an interest in how information shapes the world and a willingness to try things out. Most of all, I’m looking for someone who’s eager to contribute to something meaningful.

Mentees will help PAW understand and improve how information about animals shows up in AI systems, and in public conversations. They’ll choose a project that fits their interests and work with us as collaborators—researching, mapping gaps, testing ideas, and helping shape our editing priorities. Their work will directly support PAW’s volunteers, partner NGOs, and our broader goal of making sure animals are accurately represented in the information ecosystems people (and AI models) rely on every day.

Mentees can choose one main project or mix smaller tasks. Everything is designed to be doable, interesting, and impactful. Mentees can choose a project that matches their interests. Example options include: - AI & Information Flow Test how often AI systems rely on Wikipedia for different animal-related topics.

- Create a simple “AI reliance” map showing which pages matter most. Build a list of high-impact Wiki pages across languages.

- Create small “edit packs” that make it easy for volunteers to improve articles. Review key animal-related pages and note where information is outdated or missing. Narrative & Media Mapping Investigate where journalists copy or rely on Identify important pro-animal topics that are missing or underrepresented.

- Global South Focus Spot high-impact pages in languages like Hindi, Indonesian, Arabic, or Spanish that need better coverage.