We are thrilled to welcome Emily Clark to the Sonoran Joint Venture as our new Communications and Partnerships Specialist. In this position Emily will lead the SJV’s strategic communications efforts and will also work closely with SJV staff to build and grow partnerships for bird and habitat conservation in the region, including playing a leadership role in the development of a new node for the Avian Knowledge Network.

Hailing from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Emily’s career has taken her all over the country and throughout Latin America, including spending two years as a Research and Conservation Fellow for The Prescott College Kino Bay Center for Cultural and Ecological Studies in Sonora, Mexico. Propelled by her fascination of bird behavior formed during her first field position monitoring endangered Piping Plovers, Emily has conducted field research on numerous species of shorebirds, wading birds, and waterbirds including American Oystercatchers, Reddish Egrets, and Roseate Terns.

As a conservation biologist, Emily is passionate about learning everything she can about species and their habitats, and using that understanding to develop the best strategies to protect them. Emily has led environmental education and outreach programs for both children and adults focusing on topics such as garbage awareness and recycling, as well as participated in many community-based conservation programs like training students and indigenous community members on bird biology and how to conduct biological monitoring programs. She has facilitated communications between biologists and land-managers in the U.S. and Mexico, as well as helped to develop species management plans for birds whose ranges cross political boundaries. Emily is most looking forward to using strategic communications to maintain and create new partnerships and tools to promote bird and habitat conservation in the SJV region. Emily received her B.S. in Environmental Conservation from the University of New Hampshire and her M.S. in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University. Previously she worked for Mass Audubon and the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.

Please join us in welcoming Emily!