NABCI DEIJ Community of Practice

The North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) is an assemblage of government agencies, private organizations, and bird initiatives that foster collaboration and help partners across the continent meet bird conservation objectives at various scales.

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Community of Practice is a joint effort of NABCI and the Diversity Joint Venture. The objectives of the Community of Practice include:

Black-necked Stilt preparing to take off on a beach.
Black-necked Stilt
Photo: NABCI

1) Providing a forum for organizations to learn from each other

2) Creating a space that encourages diverse participation and different voices within NABCI

3) Providing additional resources to help partners expand diversity/partnership opportunities.

DEIJ Community of Practice webinars:

January 14, 2021 11-1 EDT | Recordings: David Buggs – Sue Bonfield
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Initiatives: Models and Lessons Learned

In this session, David Buggs of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Sue Bonfield of Environment for the Americas provided an overview of their efforts leading DEIJ efforts and shared lessons learned.

May 25, 2021 2-4 EDT | Recording
The Fundamentals of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in Conservation

This session, led by David Buggs of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Natalie Sexton of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, aimed to build a foundation for participants to understand and communicate the “why” of DEIJ in bird conservation.

July 28, 2021 2-4 EDT | Recordings: Christopher Kennedy – Danielle Ross-Winslow
What Can I Do?

This session aimed to challenge people’s assumptions about how DEIJ work can happen and help participants think about initial steps that they can take within their organization, with or without organizational support. Christopher Kennedy of the Missouri Department of Conservation and Danielle Ross-Winslow of the US Fish and Wildlife Service shared their experiences implementing DEIJ work at the individual level that expanded to organizational efforts.

October 13, 2021 2-4 EDT | Recording
Recruitment and Retention of a More Representative Staff

This session presented best practices for recruitment and retention of a diverse staff, with a focus on what individuals can do. The session highlighted three speakers: Sangita Chari (National Park Service’s (NPS) Office of Relevancy, Diversity & Inclusion), Robyn Rees (Department of Interior’s Office of Human Capital), as well as a panel featuring Kris Barnes (NPS), Mirella Gutierrez (NPS), Julia Harenčár, Mikko Jimenez (National Audubon Society), Gus Martinez (NPS), and Alexi McHugh (NPS).

Survey: What Do You Want to See Next? Use your voice to tell NABCI what kind of trainings or events you would like to see put forth by the DEIJ Community of Practice.

Sign up for the NABCI mailing list to share your ideas about where the NABCI DEIJ Community of Practice should go from here and keep up with upcoming events.

What can the NABCI DEIJ Community of Practice offer land trusts?

Land trusts can connect with other land trusts or nonprofit conservation organizations to swap DEIJ resources on how to diversify hiring and partnerships as well as create an equitable, supportive workplace for employees. The NABCI DEIJ Community of Practice also helps contextualize where DEIJ work fits into bird and land conservation. The recorded webinars are an especially great place for land trusts to start their understanding of DEIJ and where blind spots might exist in their organizations.