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Despite remaining systemic barriers to participation in ornithological societies and potentially dangerous interactions with people in the places where birds are studied, Black ornithologists, birders, and other nature enthusiasts persevere, and thrive. While their contributions to science, education, and conservation are many, the enduring impact of their pioneering careers and their courage to speak on the challenges they face in predominantly white spaces is transformative and inestimable. In this special session sponsored by the Wilson Ornithological Society, four young Black scholars will speak a bit about their work and the spaces they’ve carved out to do it.

Following brief presentations from our individual speakers, there will be a moderated Q&A panel discussion. We welcome your questions at that time and hope this session will be an invaluable mentoring resource. The session will be moderated by Wilson Ornithological Society 1st Vice-President Tim O’Connell. We are delighted to welcome Jonathan Hall, Juita Martinez, Deja Perkins, and Fidel Atuo as our invited speakers!

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Dr. Jonathan Hall is a conservation ecologist who directs the Wilderness Geography Lab at West Virginia University where he studies California condors and wild food geographies. He is a graduate of Morehouse College, where he earned a B.S. in Biology and THE Ohio State University, where he earned a PhD in ecology. Jonathan’s research practice sits at the intersection of science and social science where he explores environmental problems through the lenses of ecology, Black geographies, and Indigenous geographies.

Below: Dr. Jonathan Hall holding a condor.

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Deja Perkins is and urban ecologist and the Community Engagement Specialist for Crowd the Tap and the Citizen Science Campus Program at North Carolina State University. She co-hosts the weekly webinar Make it Count Monday that explores multiple citizen science projects with NC State’s partner, SciStarter. Originally from Chicago, IL, Deja holds a B.S. in Environmental Science, Natural Resources and Plant Sciences with a Wildlife Concentration from Tuskegee University, and a M.Sc. in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology from NC State. A founder of #BlackBirdersWeek that ultimately gave rise to this special session, Deja is passionate about identifying systemic biases in access to wild places and in the citizen science data they generate.

Deja Perkins out birding.

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Juita Martinez is a 4th year environmental and evolutionary biology Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She graduated from Humboldt State University in 2016 (B.S. Zoology). Her current research focuses on Louisiana’s Brown Pelican population, better known as #DinosaurFloofs on her social media pages. Coastal Louisiana has been at the forefront of restoration activity since the 1990s and she aims to better understand the impacts of these human-caused habitat changes on the wildlife that utilize these spaces.

Below: Juita Martinez in front of a Brown Pelican colony

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Dr. Fidel Atuo is an Assistant Professor in Biology at Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO. His research focuses on the conservation of globally rare species. Originally from Nigeria, Fidel earned his B.S. in Zoology from the University of Calabar and M.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Jos. His journey into North American ornithology began with an internship at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. For his Ph.D. research at Oklahoma State University (2017), Fidel studied the role of landscape structure on predator-prey interactions. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Fidel studied habitat use of California Spotted Owls.

Below: Fidel Atuo out birding.