PANEL DISCUSSION SPEAKERS
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Samantha DeJarnett
Creator and host of the Always Be Birdin' Podcast, Sam aims to utilize this platform to highlight the inequities in birding and conservation while promoting and celebrating BIPOC birders and nature lovers. Since leaving her job as Education Animal Coordinator at a local conservation non-profit due to racism and sexism, her goal is to re-write the white cis male narrative around birding and conservation work and ensure that no matter who you are or where you are, you can Always Be Birdin'.
Doug Gray
Doug Gray was introduced to birding by his grandfather, Ernest Stewart, while growing up on the family farm near Clarksville, Tennessee.
Doug has formerly served on the boards of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory and the Amos W. Butler Society (Indiana’s largest Audubon chapter). Doug was the initial contributing writer of the “Bird of the Month” articles for the Indiana Audubon Society.
Doug has been field trip leader for major birding festivals across the country. (He’s worn a “Golden Hat“ as a guide for Biggest Week for almost 10 years.)
Doug is known for introducing people of color to the world of birding, and has spoken about the need for "Diversity in Birding" at conferences around the country.
Doug received an “Outstanding Service Award” from Eli Lilly and Company for his birding related work in Central Indiana. (He recently retired from Eli Lilly and Company, spending most of his almost 30 years there, working in pharmaceutical/parenteral engineering.)
Doug has spent many years as a pastor. He is president of the Johnson Country Ministerial Association, and is also a visiting Lecturer of Religion at Franklin College.
Doug and his wife, LeShon, continue to be avid birders and reside in Franklin, Indiana.
Doug has formerly served on the boards of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory and the Amos W. Butler Society (Indiana’s largest Audubon chapter). Doug was the initial contributing writer of the “Bird of the Month” articles for the Indiana Audubon Society.
Doug has been field trip leader for major birding festivals across the country. (He’s worn a “Golden Hat“ as a guide for Biggest Week for almost 10 years.)
Doug is known for introducing people of color to the world of birding, and has spoken about the need for "Diversity in Birding" at conferences around the country.
Doug received an “Outstanding Service Award” from Eli Lilly and Company for his birding related work in Central Indiana. (He recently retired from Eli Lilly and Company, spending most of his almost 30 years there, working in pharmaceutical/parenteral engineering.)
Doug has spent many years as a pastor. He is president of the Johnson Country Ministerial Association, and is also a visiting Lecturer of Religion at Franklin College.
Doug and his wife, LeShon, continue to be avid birders and reside in Franklin, Indiana.
Nicole Jackson
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A nature enthusiast, avid bird watcher, and Cleveland native, Nicole is an alum of the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. There she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Education and Interpretation (2011). She is an environmental educator who has worked for various non-profits implementing programs across for the past decade in Columbus focused on conservation, gardening, green jobs, and outdoor recreation. Her main goal as an educator is to help people of color find access to local resources that connect them to fun nature experiences and become environmental stewards. Nicole is always looking for opportunities to learn something new and help others see the brilliance and lessons of the natural world around them. Some of her recent roles include Natural Leader of the Children & Nature Network, a member of the National Parks Conservation Association's Next Generation Advisory Council, co-organizer of Black Birders Week, and founder of Black in National Parks Week.
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Tykee James
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Tykee James is the government affairs coordinator at the National Audubon Society, Co-Chair for the National Black and Latinx Scholarship Fund, and sits on the board of directors of the DC Audubon Society, Wyncote Audubon Society, Audubon Maryland-DC, the Birding Co-op, and the IDEAL Committee at the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University.
After moving to DC almost two years ago, he became grounded in his special role: organizing bird walks with members of Congress and congressional staff! Tykee has built residency in this work from his experience in Philadelphia, his hometown. His first job was an environmental educator and community organizer in his own neighborhood. Tykee would also serve a State Representative as her environmental policy advisor. He continues to develop himself as a leader through his membership in the Environmental Leadership Program and the Green Leadership Trust. Tykee has been part of the birding community for almost a decade. Last year, he earned international recognition as one of the organizers of the first #BlackBirdersWeek in 2020. In his personal time he is the audio producer for Wildlife Observer Network, a wildlife media project he started with some wildlife-friendly friends in Philly. Tykee hosts two podcasts: Brothers in Birding and On Word for Wildlife. |
Dr. Drew Lanham
J. Drew Lanham, PhD, (Clemson B.A. '88; MS '90; PhD '97) is an author, poet, public speaker, and scientist, from Edgefield and Aiken, South Carolina. He is an Alumni Distinguished Professor and Master Teacher of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University, whose work addresses the confluence of race, place, and nature. A conservation and cultural ornithologist, he has mentored nearly fifty graduate students, published extensively in the scientific literature, and taught courses in conservation biology, forest ecology, wildlife policy, ornithology, and environmental literature/nature writing.
Drew is the Poet Laureate of Edgefield County, SC and the author of Sparrow Envy - Poems (Holocene 2016, Hub City 2018), Sparrow Envy - A Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts (Hub City 2021) and The Home Place - Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature (Milkweed 2016/Tantor Audio 2018). His memoir is a past winner of the Reed Environmental Writing Award (Southern Environmental Law Center), the Southern Book Prize, and a 2017 finalist for the Burroughs Medal. It was named a memoir and scholarly book of the decade (Lithub & Chronicle of Higher Education, resp). He has contributed chapters to a number of anthologies including Carolina Writers at Home, Literary Dogs, Bartram's Living Legacy, The Colors of Nature, and Outdoor Adventures in the Upcountry.
Drew's creative work and opinion appears online and in print in Orion, Vanity Fair, Oxford American, High Country News, Bitter Southerner, Cutthroat, Terrain, Places Journal, Literary Hub, Newsweek, Slate, NPR, Story Corps, Audubon, Sierra Magazine, The New York Times, American Bird Conservancy, Leopold Outlook, Flycatcher Journal, Patagonia, "This is Love," "Threshold," and "On Being" podcasts. His online presence on YouTube as well as social media is extensive. Drew has been featured in Garden and Gun Magazine and Clemson World. He teaches writing workshops in creative non-fiction for Bread Loaf Environmental Writer's Conference, Bemidji Writer's Conference, Chico Writer's Conference, and Orion. He is a contributing editor for Orion Magazine. His work is in the Sowell Archives at Texas Tech University.
Dr. Lanham is the winner of the Dan W. Lufkin Conservation Award (National Audubon Society ), Rosa Parks and Grace Lee Boggs Outstanding Service Award (North American Association for Environmental Education), and the E.O. Wilson Award for Outstanding Science in Biodiversity Conservation (Center for Biological Diversity). He is a Fellow of the Clemson Parks Institute and Safina Center and serves as an advisor to Georgia Audubon. Dr. Lanham is a public speaker, and past board member of the National Audubon Society, Audubon South Carolina, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Bird Note, and The American Birding Association.
Drew is an eco-social advocate/activist and progressive rural southerner intent on making a difference for his homeplace by bending hearts and minds towards a more progressive region, where lost cause will be remanded to memory and museums as nature stewardship expands through prisms of multiple ethnic hues. He'll accomplish this mission by practicing robust science, while writing and speaking artfully towards recognition, reckoning, and reconciliation of all the region has wrought and brought to the lives of its people -- bitter and sweet.
Drew is at heart "...a man in love with nature."; a lifelong bird watcher, with speaking engagements and tour leading at The Biggest Week in American Birding, The Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, Tucson Birding and Nature Festival, Alabama Audubon Black Belt Birding Tour, Cape May Fall Birding Festival, Santee (SC) Birding Festival, and Niagara Bird Festival (virtual). Drew has led or co-led national and international birding expeditions to South Africa, The Peruvian Amazon, Costa Rica, and Cuba. He's been a "camp" counselor at Hog Island, Maine, and co-leader of the New Jersey Audubon sponsored "Birds of the Land of Leopold," a tour across Wisconsin with Dr. David LaPuma. Dr. Lanham is the founder and long-time instructor of the SC Wildlife Federation sponsored, Palmetto Pro Birders, a community-science endeavor to appreciate and promote the conservation of South Carolina's wild spaces. Drew is an avid hunter - gatherer - conservationist and works to bridge the two passions among the nature-loving public. His favorite birds are the ones with feathers.
Drew is the Poet Laureate of Edgefield County, SC and the author of Sparrow Envy - Poems (Holocene 2016, Hub City 2018), Sparrow Envy - A Field Guide to Birds and Lesser Beasts (Hub City 2021) and The Home Place - Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature (Milkweed 2016/Tantor Audio 2018). His memoir is a past winner of the Reed Environmental Writing Award (Southern Environmental Law Center), the Southern Book Prize, and a 2017 finalist for the Burroughs Medal. It was named a memoir and scholarly book of the decade (Lithub & Chronicle of Higher Education, resp). He has contributed chapters to a number of anthologies including Carolina Writers at Home, Literary Dogs, Bartram's Living Legacy, The Colors of Nature, and Outdoor Adventures in the Upcountry.
Drew's creative work and opinion appears online and in print in Orion, Vanity Fair, Oxford American, High Country News, Bitter Southerner, Cutthroat, Terrain, Places Journal, Literary Hub, Newsweek, Slate, NPR, Story Corps, Audubon, Sierra Magazine, The New York Times, American Bird Conservancy, Leopold Outlook, Flycatcher Journal, Patagonia, "This is Love," "Threshold," and "On Being" podcasts. His online presence on YouTube as well as social media is extensive. Drew has been featured in Garden and Gun Magazine and Clemson World. He teaches writing workshops in creative non-fiction for Bread Loaf Environmental Writer's Conference, Bemidji Writer's Conference, Chico Writer's Conference, and Orion. He is a contributing editor for Orion Magazine. His work is in the Sowell Archives at Texas Tech University.
Dr. Lanham is the winner of the Dan W. Lufkin Conservation Award (National Audubon Society ), Rosa Parks and Grace Lee Boggs Outstanding Service Award (North American Association for Environmental Education), and the E.O. Wilson Award for Outstanding Science in Biodiversity Conservation (Center for Biological Diversity). He is a Fellow of the Clemson Parks Institute and Safina Center and serves as an advisor to Georgia Audubon. Dr. Lanham is a public speaker, and past board member of the National Audubon Society, Audubon South Carolina, South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Bird Note, and The American Birding Association.
Drew is an eco-social advocate/activist and progressive rural southerner intent on making a difference for his homeplace by bending hearts and minds towards a more progressive region, where lost cause will be remanded to memory and museums as nature stewardship expands through prisms of multiple ethnic hues. He'll accomplish this mission by practicing robust science, while writing and speaking artfully towards recognition, reckoning, and reconciliation of all the region has wrought and brought to the lives of its people -- bitter and sweet.
Drew is at heart "...a man in love with nature."; a lifelong bird watcher, with speaking engagements and tour leading at The Biggest Week in American Birding, The Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, Tucson Birding and Nature Festival, Alabama Audubon Black Belt Birding Tour, Cape May Fall Birding Festival, Santee (SC) Birding Festival, and Niagara Bird Festival (virtual). Drew has led or co-led national and international birding expeditions to South Africa, The Peruvian Amazon, Costa Rica, and Cuba. He's been a "camp" counselor at Hog Island, Maine, and co-leader of the New Jersey Audubon sponsored "Birds of the Land of Leopold," a tour across Wisconsin with Dr. David LaPuma. Dr. Lanham is the founder and long-time instructor of the SC Wildlife Federation sponsored, Palmetto Pro Birders, a community-science endeavor to appreciate and promote the conservation of South Carolina's wild spaces. Drew is an avid hunter - gatherer - conservationist and works to bridge the two passions among the nature-loving public. His favorite birds are the ones with feathers.
Corina Newsome
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Corina Newsome is the Community Engagement Manager for Georgia Audubon and a biology Master’s student at Georgia Southern University. Corina, who began in the field of wildlife conservation as a zookeeper, currently conducts research to conserve the MacGillivray's Seaside Sparrow and connects people with birds across the state of Georgia. Having experienced the hurdles faced by Black, Indigenous, and Peoples of Color interested in wildlife careers, Corina works to encourage young people from underrepresented demographics to consider careers in wildlife sciences. Her mission is to center the perspectives and leadership of historically marginalized communities in wildlife conservation, environmental education, and exploration of the natural world.
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John C. Robinson
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A professional ornithologist, keynote speaker, and environmental consultant, John C. Robinson holds a B.S. degree in Biology from Iowa State University. A two-time #1 Best-Selling author, he has published six books about nature and birds, including An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Tennessee (1990), North American Bird Reference Book (2004), and Tweet, Flutter, and Squawk! (2015). He has also led professional birding and natural history tours to South Africa and numerous locations within the United States.
Since 1999, John has been an advocate for minorities in birdwatching and nature and has conducted research on how to connect our youth and young adults to nature through the magic of bird watching. He has worked in collaboration with Toyota and the National Audubon Society; and continues to travel across the country, speaking about his landmark book, Birding for Everyone: Encouraging People of Color to Become Birdwatchers. |
Carlos Ross
Born in the Philippines in 1979, I have been fascinated by birds ever since I saw flashes of sunbirds in our Metro Manila garden. My mom and I escaped martial law during the chaotic summer of 1983, landing in Los Angeles. In 1986, my soon-to-be adoptive grandfather got me my first binoculars and a Golden Guide and had me identify my first bird at Yosemite National Park: a Steller's Jay.
From then on, I was hooked, and I was fortunate enough to grow up in California and Arizona as a birder and get involved in quite a few Christmas Bird Counts as I got older. Birding got me through some rough patches, too -- after the end of an unsuccessful first marriage, it was a chance encounter with a Greater Roadrunner that kept me going forward during a brief struggle with homelessness.
Since then, I've gone on multiple birding trips to Japan, where I am part of the eBird Review Team (I hold a Bachelor's in Japanese language on ASU); led birding outings during my five year stint a Disney Cast Member in central Florida; and currently reside in Austin, Texas, where I am a social services administrator, enjoying a pretty chill life with my wife Kimi and our very silly indoor cat, Mister Azuki Bean, who enjoys a steady diet of birding YouTube videos while we wait patiently for the current situation to pass.
Outside of birding, I am also a competitive international quizzer, have been reviewing Japanese animation since 1998, and currently co-host Microsoft Flight Simulator streams on Twitch, where I serve as an online tour guide and interpreter of culture, geography, history, and cuisine.
I also got to shout out birding on Jeopardy! in December 2013, where I was a three-day champion!
From then on, I was hooked, and I was fortunate enough to grow up in California and Arizona as a birder and get involved in quite a few Christmas Bird Counts as I got older. Birding got me through some rough patches, too -- after the end of an unsuccessful first marriage, it was a chance encounter with a Greater Roadrunner that kept me going forward during a brief struggle with homelessness.
Since then, I've gone on multiple birding trips to Japan, where I am part of the eBird Review Team (I hold a Bachelor's in Japanese language on ASU); led birding outings during my five year stint a Disney Cast Member in central Florida; and currently reside in Austin, Texas, where I am a social services administrator, enjoying a pretty chill life with my wife Kimi and our very silly indoor cat, Mister Azuki Bean, who enjoys a steady diet of birding YouTube videos while we wait patiently for the current situation to pass.
Outside of birding, I am also a competitive international quizzer, have been reviewing Japanese animation since 1998, and currently co-host Microsoft Flight Simulator streams on Twitch, where I serve as an online tour guide and interpreter of culture, geography, history, and cuisine.
I also got to shout out birding on Jeopardy! in December 2013, where I was a three-day champion!
Arthur Sanchez Jr.
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Arthur grew up in Ventura County, just North of Los Angeles. He graduated from Humboldt State University in 2016, receiving his Bachelor's degree in wildlife. Arthur is now a Master's student at the University of Delaware studying tidal marsh sparrow nest success and factors that influence the probability of breeding. Arthur is exceedingly passionate about avian conservation and diversity and inclusion in the sciences. In his spare time, he likes to eat guacamole and play with his dogs.
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