Abbi Turner (she/her/hers)

PhD Candidate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Abbi is a 3^rd year PhD candidate in the Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests involve host-brood parasite interactions; her dissertation research focuses on different aspects of egg rejection behavior in the American robin. Abbi strongly believes that field safety is crucial for researchers and is often overlooked. She is really excited to be a part of #FieldInclusiveWeek! 

Jin Bai (he/him/his)

CEO, City Bird

Jin is a Ph.D. candidate in the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology program at NCSU, where he researches how historical and current anthropogenic and socioeconomic factors affect urban bird diversity. He is the project coordinator of a citizen science project, Triangle Bird Count, and a board member and community science committee chair of the New Hope Audubon Society. He also co-founded a non-profit organization, City Bird, with the mission of documenting bird-window collisions and advocating for bird deterrent films in the triangle area.

Murry Burgess (she/her/hers)

CEO, Field Inclusive

Murry is an Associate Wildlife Biologist®, Urban Ecologist, and Ornithologist who studies the effects of sensory pollutants on songbird health and development. She currently conducts a field experiment testing the impacts of light pollution on Barn Swallow chicks. In addition to her research, Murry is an environmental educator and children’s author. Murry started Field Inclusive based on her own experiences working in a rural, predominately white area and her subsequent field safety activism. 

Soo Uhm (she/her/hers)

Registered Dietitian, NC State Campus Health Services

Soo earned a Bachelors in History with plans to become a high school teacher. After 3 months teaching in India and a year with AmeriCorps Volunteer MD program she went back for a Bachelors in Nutrition from the University of Maryland College Park. She completed her dietetic internship at Keene State College in New Hampshire. After spending a few years working in VT and NH she relocated to NC for warmer weather. She has been with NCSU Campus Health for the last 5 years providing outpatient nutrition counseling to undergraduate and graduate students. Outside of work, you can find her recipe testing, completing jigsaw puzzles and still hiding from the cold.    

Kelsey Byers (all pronouns welcome)

Plant Biologist & DEI Advocate, John Innes Centre

Kelsey is originally from the USA, where she grew up in a family of scientists and was encouraged to wander in the woods from an early age. She completed her undergraduate education at MIT in 2007 in molecular biology and genetics before doing a PhD in plant evolutionary genetics and chemical ecology at the University of Washington from 2008-2014 in the labs of H.D. “Toby” Bradshaw, Jr. and Jeffrey Riffell. Kelsey then was a PLANT FELLOWS postdoctoral fellow at the University of Zürich, Switzerland, in the labs of Florian Schiestl and Philipp Schlüter. After a second postdoctoral position at the University of Cambridge with Chris Jiggins, she began her own group at the John Innes Centre in Norwich in 2020. As a multiply-disabled and multiply-queer individual, Kelsey is a tireless – though often very tired! – advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM, particularly the inclusion of disabled people in biology, and has served on multiple committees and panels and given multiple seminars in this area. In her spare time she enjoys reading, cooking, baking, birdwatching, and collecting insects, especially hoverflies.

Nicole Jackson (she/her/hers)

Founder, N Her Nature

Nicole is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Education & Interpretation. A nature enthusiast, park advocate, and bird watcher, she loves spending time outside and has a passion for getting people connected to the wonders of the natural world. Nicole currently works as a nature coach and environmental education consultant assisting non-profits to create programs that educate youth and families on how to build a healthy relationship with nature. Her coaching focuses on increasing the benefits of connecting to nature for Black women, including their mental health and well-being. This fostered connection is creating opportunities for improved self-awareness, healthier practices for healing, and more space for joy and self-exploration.

She is also a board member of the Columbus Audubon, co-organizer of Black Birder’s Week (2020), and founder of Black in National Parks Week (2020).

Lauren D. Pharr (she/her/hers)

CEO, Field Inclusive

Lauren is an avian ecologist who studies the impacts of climate change on avian behavioral responses. She is currently a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University pursing her degree in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology & researching Brood Reduction in the federally endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW). She is an award-winning science communicator, a member of the Leadership in Public Science Cluster, and holds editorial roles at both North Carolina Sea Grant and The Wildlife Society.