Are these things you like to do in your free time as well?
Absolutely. I work a 40-plus hour week doing conservation work, and because conservation is so awesome and birds are so awesome, it’s definitely something that I enjoy doing in my spare time. I would say that I’m very enthusiastic about conservation, and I’m hopeful that it is infectious. A few of my friends are now birders, so they’re sharing their observations with me. They don’t have a conservation background, but birds really resonate with people. We’ve enjoyed just talking about birds, as well.
I like to go hiking, I like to spend time outside. When my work week is over, conservation doesn’t quit, nature doesn’t quit. It’s a lot of fun to enjoy pretty much full time. I mean, that said, too, I like to play basketball. I like to veg out with Netflix, too. But, it’s a lot more fun to hike.
What would you say the best part of your job is?
The best part of what I do … there’s two things. One is that it’s just awesome to be able to work on conservation generally. Again, it’s a serious business, and birds and wildlife and nature need our help. I get to do all sorts of really great things that put me in touch with nature. It’s a real privilege just to work on conserving birds. Also sharing my enthusiasm with everyone else, whether that be through tagging a monarch or being involved in some of our kids education programs. You kind of see that spark when they first kind of get it, when they first start to get why nature is awesome. The other portion of it is the people. I’m kind of a people person. When I made a career change to be involved in the nonprofit world, it was largely because I enjoy being around people, and the people who are involved in this work are incredible. They’re super knowledgeable, they’re super welcoming, they’re funny, they’re kind and they’re very generous. It was an easy switch for me to this arena because of the people that we work with.