Emily Hamel

Emily is an Ecologist with National Audubon Society’s Saline Lakes Program and a member of the Western Water team. As Saline Lakes Ecologist, Emily guides our scientific efforts and drives conservation outcomes for the network of saline lakes across the Intermountain West and the birds that depend on them.

Emily studied wildlife biology at the University of Vermont and began their ecological career restoring seabird nesting habitat on Kure Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The experience of living in an active albatross colony has guided Emily’s career path, leading them to positions focused on the monitoring and management of beach-nesting birds along the Southern New England coast. Emily has worked with non-profit and government organizations to collect data on shorebird and seabird nesting activity in order to promote population success, improve habitat quality, and limit disturbance.

Emily holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management from the University of Rhode Island, where they concentrated on conservation biology, partnering their research with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to accomplish a study in the interest of evaluating the accuracy of Piping Plover nest fate assessment on Rhode Island beaches.

Emily’s commitment to ecological conservation is rooted in values surrounding community, access to natural spaces, and a love of birds.