PEOPLE
Ari Martínez
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Long Beach
National Geographic Explorer
Dr. Martinez is a Mexican-American who grew up in LA in an urban setting, received bachelor's and master's degrees from UC Santa Barbara, and a PhD from University of Florida. His research has focused on understanding how social information shared across species can influence species interactions using mixed-species flocks of birds as model study system.
Advancing Inclusive
Mentoring Program
Alessandro Bartolo: Community Ecology
Alex is a first generation college student who didn't go on his first "real" hike until his 20s, but was quickly hooked by what the natural world had to offer. He studied avian responses to land management strategies as an undergraduate at Hampshire College and has since worked as a field technician for projects in the US, Panama, Costa Rica, and Hawai'i. Alex is currently studying the mechanisms that drive avian biodiversity patterns at large spatial scales. He also enjoys rock climbing, gardening, and activism.
Ynez Díaz: Urban Ecology
A Latina from Southeast Los Angeles, Ynez is a first-generation college student who is passionate about environmental justice, and equity in the field of conservation. She studied organismal biology at CSULB as an undergrad, and has a wide interest in all fauna and flora. She enjoys looking for wildlife that exists in urban ecosystems. Her research looks at avian mobbing behavior at the community-level in urban areas.
Benjamin Ewing: Urban Ecology
Master's Student, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Long Beach
Ben grew up in the Midwest, and has had a lifelong interest in the natural world. He studied zoology at the University of Florida, before working for several years as an avian field technician. He is currently investigating avian mobbing responses in urban areas.
Chelsey Hunts: Behavioral Ecology
Chelsey has worked in a variety of biological systems. Her work focuses on the relative importance of safety information to bird communities along disturbance gradients.
Eliseo Parra: Behavioral Ecology
Currently a PhD student at UCLA but a founding member and current collaborator with the Forest Fear Lab, Seo has been a lifelong naturalist, and has over a decade of field experience in the Peruvian Amazon. He is currently studying the relative importance of alarm and safety networks in Amazonian mixed species flocks and how they are mediated by forest distrubance.
William Sweet: Behavioral Ecology/Evolutionary Biology
Will grew up in Massachusetts and has always been an avid birder. His passion for the avian world pushed him to study biology at Wheaton College (Massachusetts). After graduating from Wheaton, Will realized his main interest was in tropical birds while working on various field projects in Costa Rica and Peru. He just successfully defended his Masters thesis at CSULB, where he studied the evolutionary patterns of ant following in neotropical birds.