Keynote Speakers

Meet Dexter Patterson, also known as the Wisco Birder, on social media. Passionate about making birdwatching inclusive for everyone, Dexter's lively "You Ready? Let's Go!" videos showcase his discoveries of various bird species and have garnered millions of views online. As an educator, photographer, writer, and co-founder of the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Dexter is committed to demonstrating that birding is accessible to all. His goal is to promote inclusivity and help people connect with nature's beauty through Bird Joy. He also co-hosts the Bird Joy Podcast and is the author of Birds of the Great Lakes (Timber Press/Hachette, 2025), a birding field guide that blends birding, storytelling, and community. Through his work, he encourages a new generation of birdwatchers to explore the outdoors and appreciate the diverse life around them.

A dedicated naturalist from the age of six, Kenn Kaufman burst onto the birding scene as a teenager in the 1970s, hitch-hiking all over North America in pursuit of birds—an adventure later chronicled in his cult-classic book Kingbird Highway. After several years as a leader of birding tours worldwide, he transitioned to a career as a writer, editor, and illustrator. Most of his energy currently goes into book projects and painting bird portraits. His 14 books include his latest, The Birds That Audubon Missed, published in May 2024. Kenn is a field editor for the National Audubon Society, a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society, and the only person to have received the American Birding Association’s lifetime achievement award twice. 

In 1989, Ms. Makeda established the WorldBeat Cultural Center, transforming a former water tower in Balboa Park into a nonprofit multicultural center. As Executive Director, she built it into a thriving hub of music, art, ecology, and education.

Her work has also extends into environmental stewardship. She founded the WorldBeat Ethnobotany Garden, where medicinal and edible plants are used to teach about ecology, health, and regenerative agriculture. Her projects have grown to include collaborations with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Science Foundation’s NOISE Project, advancing research on culture, ecology, and environmental justice. Through initiatives like “Growing to Preserve Ancestral Seeds,” she has championed food sovereignty, seed preservation, and climate resilience.

Over the years, Jason Hall has transformed his love of birding into a movement for community and inclusion. He is a son of SoCal (Pasadena) and the adopted son of Philly.  He is the founder of the In Color Birding Club (ICBC), a nonprofit that creates safe, joyful, and welcoming entry points into birding for historically marginalized communities. Through ICBC, Jason and his board work to expand access to nature across the Philadelphia region—partnering with local organizations to host bird outings, sponsor buses for public school field trips, provide classroom supply scholarships for teachers, and organize community food drives.

In 2024, Jason teamed up with Dexter Patterson to launch the Bird Joy Podcast, a vibrant space where birders of all backgrounds and experience levels can explore the diverse stories, ideas, and joy that make birding such a powerful connector in our lives.

Marilú López-Fretts serves as the project leader of Celebrate Urban Birds, a participatory science initiative from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that connects communities with birds, nature, and science. She works closely with diverse communities across the Americas, the Caribbean, and Ghana, fostering partnerships that center local knowledge and priorities. Marilú co-develops and facilitates culturally relevant educational materials about regional birds and their habitats. She enjoys finding creative ways to bridge science, people, and nature through bird observations, habitat restoration, gardening, culture, and the arts. She is passionate about making birdwatching, and environmental education welcoming to all, amplifying diverse perspectives in science and birding, and creating spaces where different voices are heard and valued.