I have been a nature-lover all of my life but discovered a passion for birding in 2017 during a women’s retreat at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. In 2019, I completed the Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist (OCVN) training to acquire skills to volunteer in meaningful ways and to be an advocate for and steward of Ohio’s natural spaces and wildlife. I earned my OCVN certification later that same year by completing more than 40 hours of volunteerism with conservation organizations, one of those being Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society (WCAS) for which I currently serve on the Board of Directors. In 2020, I took up nature photography in an effort to document my experiences with nature and donate my photographs to WCAS and other conservation organizations.