Mikalah is an Oregon-barred attorney with a Certificate in Animal Law and an L.L.M. in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. She earned her BA in Cognitive Science and Psychology with honours from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio where she worked on research related to ethics and dehumanization.
Mikalah acts as the Program Manager for the Center for Contemporary Sciences where she drafts legislation and policy at the intersection of public health, animal welfare, and the environment, while managing the development of student organizations at that intersection. Prior to joining CCS, Mikalah was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Environmental Health and Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in the Toxicology Policy Program. While at Johns Hopkins, Mikalah worked on a team of lawyers and scientists to support in vitro models in research and safety testing through lobbying, education, and research. Her primary focus was on policy changes that the National Institutes of Health can make in its grant-making process to be more inclusive of the use and development of in vitro and in silico models in biomedical research. Additionally, Mikalah lobbied for federal legislation related to the acceptance of human-relevant methods in research and safety testing, examined existing environmental, animal, and public health laws, and assisted in the translation of scientific information into policy initiatives.
Mikalah is also the Founder and Executive Director of Fox Protection International, an organization dedicated to spreading awareness and supporting global efforts to protect fox species and their natural environments.