Staff

A Midwest transplant to the Pacific Northwest, Claire (she/her) owes her love of nature and birding to a fairly idyllic childhood spent wandering the southeastern shores of Lake Michigan. Though she holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics, Claire also studied conservation biology, has conducted fieldwork abroad, and is a self-professed “bird nerd.” After she completed a master’s degree in nonprofit management, landing at Birds Connect Seattle in 2014 was a dream come true. When she’s not birding, Claire spends her spare time singing, knitting, and wishing she was birding. She is also a graduate of the 2017 master birder class. Claire is always eager to hear about your hottest bird sightings and learn more about why birds are important to you.

ASK ME ABOUT: Governance, Finance, Strategic Plan, Position Statements
(206) 523-8243 x105
ClaireC@birdsconnectsea.org

Having grown up in the Midwest, some of Ella’s (she/her) favorite memories from growing up include looking out the windows and watching hummingbirds fly around her garden. Since then, she’s always been passionate about nature, the outdoors, and conservation. These passions then led her to move to Washington for undergrad at the University of Puget Sound, where she studied Business, focusing on nonprofit work. Ella joins the team to assist the Development Team in all things fundraising. When not working, you can find Ella indulging in some of her other passions: reading, taking long walks, listening to music, exploring local restaurants, or cooking vegan meals of her own.

ASK ME ABOUT: My membership status, making changes to my address, email or phone, donation receipts 

Sarah (she/her) comes to us as a transplant from the world of food, wine and hospitality, where she has spent the past 8 years bouncing around the Seattle restaurant scene developing her own palate and knowledge. In 2022, she decided to try her hand at the world of ecology and began working as an interpretive tour guide at the Hiram Chittenden Locks. Her love for connecting humans with the natural world around them was evident in her personalized tours, teaching local youth and traveling visitors about our diverse ecosystem, highlighting Dinosaur Birds (Great Blue Herons), Water Puppies (harbor seals), the resident Osprey couple and 3 different salmon species. She spent her early years surrounded by active volcanoes in the Andes mountains of Ecuador, and camping through National Parks of the Western U.S. She is passionate about building up a more equitable world around her, particularly for the intersection of femme identifying people in BIPOC and Queer communities. When she isn’t helping you out in The Nature Shop, you can find her with coffee in hand, reading a good novel, watching space documentaries, getting lost in the woods, swimming in Alpine lakes, sharing a pizza pie with her bffs, or defending her title as the Karaoke Queen.

Mechio grew up in Seattle where she gained an early appreciation for Washington State’s natural resources and protected environments. She graduated from Seattle University with a B.A. in Journalism and Communication and started working at University Book Store shortly after graduation. While at University Book Store, Mechio wore several hats starting on the sales floor as a book seller and later transitioning behind the scenes in the returns warehouse for the trade books department until becoming the coordinating event assistant. During her time at the bookstore, she met a diverse range of customers, authors, and students that make up the larger community of Seattle. Mechio developed an interest in birding and the intersection between race and environmentalism during the pandemic. She is looking forward to applying her many years of retail experience and passion for inclusion and accessibility at The Nature Shop. 

Ser (they/them) grew up in Montana hiking, exploring the natural world, and spending as much time as possible at Flathead Lake. They earned a BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and went on to serve as an AmeriCorps member with the Montana Conservation Corps and at Flathead Lake State Park.  More recently, they have worked as an environmental educator with Ecology Project International and the Montana Natural History Center. Passionate about birds, birding and generally connecting with the natural world, they moved to Seattle and joined Birds Connect Seattle as the Urban Conservation Educator to explore a new landscape and help make the world a better place for birds. When not working, you can find them exploring local natural areas, on an ultimate Frisbee field, playing board games, reading, or cooking.

ASK ME ABOUT: Young Birders (teen birders program) and Bird Collision Monitoring

Josh loves life. From deep-sea isopods to turkey vultures and every living thing in between. Josh started birding in 2017 and admits he still has a hard time with gulls, swallows, warblers, finches, woodpeckers, sparrows, shorebirds, and seabirds. He feels pretty good about ducks. Josh is delighted to be part of the Birds Connect Seattle community, where he coordinates Seattle’s Urban Bird Treaty City Coalition, is a member of the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict Steering Committee, and serves on Seattle’s Urban Forestry Commission. His professional background is varied. He’s been a project scientist, a high-school chemistry teacher, a legal assistant, and, for one curious month, a chocolate vendor on Monterey’s Cannery Row. He holds a master’s degree in International Environmental Policy and is a certified naturalist.

ASK ME ABOUT: urban forestry and tree protection, preventing bird-window collisions, reducing pesticide use, enhancing/protecting urban habitats, and advocating for cities where people and birds thrive.

Glenn (he/him) comes to Birds Connect Seattle with significant experience within conservation and the Audubon network. In addition to past service on the Audubon Washington Board of Directors and several projects with the National Audubon Society, Glenn has been a volunteer on our Equity & Justice Committee and was a part of the Equity Project Task Force, which completed a comprehensive audit of our organization’s internal and external practices around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Many also know Glenn as a longtime journalist and founder of The Trail Posse (trailposse.com), which explores the intersection of race and the outdoors. A national-award-winning writer, photographer, and web publisher, he is a founding member of the Next 100 Coalition, a national alliance of organizations of color advocating for equal access to public lands, and the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge, which holds the outdoor industry and conservation organizations accountable for diversity. He also has served on several non-Audubon boards as well as the Washington Governor’s advisory committee on outdoor recreation, the advisory committee for the Japanese American Remembrance Trail, and the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Task Force.

ASK ME ABOUT: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Communications strategy

In second grade Christine declared that she would be a forest ranger when she grew up, mostly because she thought it involved running around in the woods all day. To this day, running around in the woods is a large part of her life (via trail running, backpacking, and camping), but her professional aspirations have evolved. She found that a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in education is a combo that lends itself to professional flexibility, and prior to working at this organization, Christine worked in stormwater management and permitting, assisted biologists with fieldwork, led several restoration teams, and taught at various environmental education centers and schools. It turns out that helping people learn about nature is her favorite job, which is why she is delighted with her role at Birds Connect Seattle.

ASK ME ABOUT: becoming a field trips or neighborhood bird walk leader, teaching a class, Puget Sound Seabird Survey, Neighborhood Bird Project, joining the Classes or Field Trips committees, Hoot Camp

Originally from Los Angeles, Sonora (she/her) spent her youth snorkeling with Garibaldi damselfish and seeking out her local neighborhood red-crowned parrots. She is delighted to bring that enthusiasm for nature with her to Birds Connect Seattle as Operations Manager. Her background includes an undergraduate degree in wildlife illustration and many years working in the outdoor industry. Sonora spends her free time drawing, drinking absurd amounts of coffee, and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her husband and pup.

ASK ME ABOUT: Invoices, Billing, Accounts Payable, Facilities & Garden
(206) 523-8243 x102