Flyway Fellows: Bird Migration Education

Rob Blair is an ornithologist, conservation biologist, urban ecologist, wildlife biologist, citizen scientist, and environmental educator. He and his students study how human-dominated landscapes affect native birds including hornbills in the agricultural landscapes of Thailand, turkeys in suburban Saint Paul, and ovenbirds in northern Wisconsin. Currently, he is focusing on bird-building collisions in downtown Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Rob has devoted his career to helping educators use the outdoors in their science teaching. He developed the Minnesota Master Naturalist program, which trains adults to volunteer at nature centers, parks, and refuges. He has helped develop the Driven to Discover citizen science outreach programs for both informal and formal educators.

Jennifer Schultz has worked with middle school and high school students in both formal and informal settings as a classroom teacher and as an outreach coordinator for Minnesota Zoo afterschool programming. She also engaged community scientist volunteers in emerald ash borer detection with Wasp Watchers through the University of Minnesota’s Entomology department. She has worked on other U of MN science teacher professional development workshops focused on birds and pollinators. Through Flyway Fellows, she is excited to expose learners of all backgrounds and ages to the beauty and intricacies of nature while teaching valuable critical thinking skills.

Jess Paulson is an environmental educator and multidisciplinary instructor with over 15 years of experience teaching middle and high school sciences. Her professional background spans classroom teaching, environmental education, and outdoor conservation work. Jess has worked with local, state, and federal agencies including the MN DNR, US Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife, and US Forest Service. She specializes in project-based learning and currently serves as the Program Director with the University of Minnesota's Driven to Discover programs. Jess is passionate about hands-on, experiential learning, and she is committed to engaging professional development learners in multidisciplinary perspectives and inspiring a love for nature and scientific exploration.

John Sammler is a high school science teacher at Hopkins High School in Minnesota, where he teaches environmental science and has earned recognition for his innovative conservation education, including the 2017 Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Teacher Award. He holds a BS and MS in wildlife biology from the University of Minnesota, where he researched tundra-nesting birds, and has also taught at St. Paul Public Schools, the University of Minnesota, Penn State University, and Dunwoody College of Technology. John has served as an educator at The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota and is a guide with MYBirdClub, a nonprofit youth birdwatching organization. He further extends his impact as a lead instructor for the Migratory and Urban Bird Institute, helping educators bring the science of bird migration to classrooms and communities nationwide.

Jaime Souza is an enthusiastic birder, naturalist and educator. She has more than two decades experience connecting kids to nature (and adults too). She holds a Master of Science in Elementary Education and a Graduate Certificate in Natural Science and Environmental Education. She is a Minnesota Master Naturalist and a National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) alumni. Jaime has worked with notable environmental nonprofits, including the Wild Rivers Conservancy of the St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers, where she served as Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Rivers Are Alive K-12 environmental education program. Jaime serves as a lead Migratory and Urban Bird Institute, Stop the Thud and Flyway Fellows instructor. She is currently the Science Teacher at Marine Village School (MVS), a K - 5 public charter school and loves taking her students birding in the St. Croix River Valley where MVS is located. Her favorite bird is a Black-capped Chickadee for obvious reasons. 

Andrew Hallberg is a Conservation Sciences graduate student at the University of Minnesota whose work sits at the intersection of urban bird safety and community science. He co-developed the "Stop the Thud!" initiative in collaboration with the UMN Office of Sustainability, a citizen science program that engages the campus community in tracking and reporting bird-building collisions, with the goal of identifying patterns and reducing strikes on campus. His interactive StoryMap visualizing bird collision data across the Twin Cities campus earned the U-Spatial Grand Prize, recognizing his innovative use of geospatial tools to advance wildlife conservation. Andrew's research is particularly focused on the hazards posed to migratory birds along the Mississippi Flyway, where glass-façade buildings pose significant risks during spring and fall migration.