FEATURED SPEAKERS
Dotty Holcomb Doherty
is a writer and wildlife photographer who has made birding a way of life since she took ornithology as a freshman at
Earlham College. Early internships banding birds at Manomet Bird Observatory in coastal Massachusetts, teaching at
Tatnic Hill School for Environmental Studies in Wells, Maine, and working as an interpretive guide on the North Rim
of the Grand Canyon all served her well when she found her calling teaching high school biology and environmental science.
When health changes forced her out of the classroom, she found new direction in writing, photography, and world travel,
and since 2014, has shared her wildlife photos in a daily email blog to hundreds of subscribers.
Her new book, Buoyant: What Held Us Up When Our Bodies Let Us Down chronicles not just her life but also her friend's as they both faced life-changing illnesses. Juxtaposing the rhythms of the Chesapeake Bay with the chaos of disease, Buoyant follows the healing friendship between these two women. Singing Carolina wrens, migrating tundra swans, undulating Chesapeake Bay ice, and a thriving New Hampshire bog add vibrancy and calm, as well as metaphors for living with chronic conditions.
After 22 years in Maryland, Dotty and her husband Jonathan recently moved to New Hampshire which renewed both their loves of hiking and snowshoeing in the mountains, and of Nordic skating on frozen lakes and rivers.
Bridget Butler, aka The Bird Diva, will share her path to creating Slow Birding,
a mindful practice focused on deep observation beyond identification, connecting with the landscape, and connecting
with self. Her practice came together over many years of feeling that traditional list-driven, even conservation-driven,
birding was unfulfilling and did not reflect the way she was birding on her own. Now, Bridget facilitates online courses
and workshops that celebrate finding joy and awe in whatever bird is present, creating a more inclusive opportunity for
anyone to see themselves as a birder.
Bridget has been working in conservation and environmental education for more than 20 years throughout New England.
Through her business Bird Diva Consulting, she delivers presentations, leads bird outings, and brings her signature
program Slow Birding to a broader audience. Bridget has worked for the Audubon Society in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire,
and Massachusetts and helped create Audubon Vermont's Forest Bird Initiative. Bridget has been a guest on a number of podcasts
talking about Slow Birding, including the American Birding Podcast, Talkin' Birds with Ray Brown, and the South African podcast
This Birding Life. Currently, she serves on the Green Mountain Audubon Society Board and is a member of the Vermont Rare
Bird Records Committee. She feels it's important that the birding community continues to strive to diversify what it means
to be a birder and that this variety of perspectives will bring a richer set of strategies to bird conservation. Bridget
lives in St. Albans with her husband and three young children.
Kevin Loughlin was raised to appreciate nature while
exploring the woodlands of Pennsylvania as a child. At age six, during
a family trip through the American West, Kevin became fascinated with
photography as well seeing the new and different birds throughout
North America. Instilled with a love for travel and seeking new, exciting
destinations he felt a desire to share his experiences with others
and in 1993 he created Wildside.
Kevin’s photographs and articles have appeared in publications such as Nature Photographer, Audubon, Birding and Living Bird Magazines, as well as the many natural history books, including his newest project, along with co-author John Kricher, “Galapagos: A Natural History.”
John Kricher was a Professor of Biology at Wheaton College,
Norton, Massachusetts since 1970, until he recently retired. A graduate
of Temple (B.A.) and Rutgers Universities (Ph.D.), Dr. Kricher teaches
courses in ecology, ornithology, and vertebrate evolution. John has
conducted Earthwatch-sponsored research on migrant birds on their wintering
grounds in Belize and is the author of over 100 papers and articles
in scientific journals, magazines, and newspapers. His most recent books
are The New Neotropical Companion (2017) and Tropical Ecology (2011),
both published by Princeton University Press. He has also authored The
Balance of Nature: Ecology's Enduring Myth (Princeton University Press
2009), Galapagos: A Natural History, published in hard-cover by Smithsonian
Institution Press (2002) and in soft-cover by Princeton University Press
(2006). Other books include three ecology field guides (Eastern Forests,
Rocky Mountain and Southwestern Forests, California and Pacific Northwest
Forests) in the Peterson series. His widely-used book, A Neotropical
Companion has been translated into Spanish through the Birders' Exchange
Program of the American Birding Association and the third edition, The
New Neotropical Companion, was released in 2017. He most recently co-authored
Galapagos: A Natural History 2nd Edition, also published by Princeton
University Press (2022).
John is a Fellow in the American Ornithologists Union and has served as president of the Association of Field Ornithologists, the Wilson Ornithological Society, and the Nuttall Ornithological Club. He has been a member of the boards of directors of the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, the New Jersey Audubon Society, and the American Birding Association.
