Corina Newsome is an American

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

birder Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities that connect science and society. Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the public awareness of and interest in sci ...

, and graduate student at

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

. In response to the racism faced by Black birder Christian Cooper in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

, Newsome co-organized

Black Birders Week Black Birders Week is a week-long series of online events to highlight black naturalists, nature enthusiasts and to increase the visibility of black birders, who face unique challenges and dangers when they are engaged in outdoor activities. The e ...

to celebrate Black birders.

Early life and education

Newsome grew up in Germantown,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and obtained her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in zoo and wildlife biology from

Malone University Malone University is a private Christian university in Canton, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1892 by Walter and Emma Malone as a small, co-educational Bible institute called Cleveland Bible College. The institution has always maintaine ...

in 2015. She was inspired to pursue a career in

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

after learning about

blue jay The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations ar ...

s in her ornithology field class. Newsome is currently a graduate student at

, focusing on avian conservation.

Career

Newsome worked as a zookeeper at the Nashville Zoo, where she specialised in outreach, environmental education, and training animals. She has also worked at the

Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo is a zoo located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It was the first true zoo in the United States; it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859 ...

and

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is a zoo in Cleveland, Ohio. The Zoo is divided into several areas: Australian Adventure; African Savanna; Northern Wilderness Trek, The Primate, Cat & Aquatics Building, Waterfowl Lake, The RainForest, Asian Highl ...

. Currently, Newsome's graduate research is focused on studying the roles of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

predation Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

on MacGillivray's

seaside sparrow The seaside sparrow (''Ammospiza maritima'') is a species of American sparrow. Description Adults have brownish upperparts with gray on the crown and nape, and a grayish-buff-colored breast with dark streaks; they have a dark face with gray che ...

s. Newsome is also a writer for the magazine ''

BBC Wildlife ''BBC Wildlife'' is a British glossy, all-colour magazine about wildlife, operated and published by Immediate Media Company. It produces 13 issues a year. ''BBC Wildlife'' was launched in January 1963 as ''Animals Magazine'', edited by filmmaker ...

''.

Diversity and outreach

Newsome developed the Pathway to Animal Care Careers program at the Nashville Zoo and served as the director of the

Wildlife Careers Program to provide career exposure to high school students from low income backgrounds. Newsome runs a

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

account and

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

, using the name Hood Naturalist, to communicate science, advocate for environmental equality and promote diversity in biology and other scientific careers. The nickname "Hood Naturalist" reflects her upbringing in an urban environment, and is an attempt to counter the assumption that all naturalists grow up in rural or wilderness areas. Her research and science outreach efforts have been featured in a number of podcasts and radio shows, such as NPR's ''Short Wave'', '' Ologies with Alie Ward'', and ''

Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 500 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by science ...

'', and was cast in the 2017 environmental documentary film '' Behold the Earth''. In April 2019, Newsome was part of a team of women who criticised

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

's response to science through song. Their response was a lip-synced music video set to "

Let Me Blow Ya Mind "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" is a song by American rapper Eve featuring American singer Gwen Stefani of No Doubt. It was released on April 2, 2001, as the second and final single from the former's second album, ''Scorpion''. It became Eve's highest-char ...

", and portrayed a diverse bunch of women doing science, demonstrating that science is for everyone. Later in April 2019, Newsome released a rap music video, "Anything For The Count", a remix of " Clout" by rapper Offset. The video demonstrated her love for birding and why it is important to study and protect birds. In 2020, to respond to a series of events including the

murder of Ahmaud Arbery On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was murdered during a racially motivated Hate crime laws in the United States, hate crime while jogging in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, Brunswick in Glynn ...

, an unarmed Black man who was shot while running nearby Newsome's field site in southern Georgia and the racism faced by Black birder Christian Cooper in the

birdwatching incident, Newsome and Earyn McGee co-organised

, a weeklong series celebrating Black birders and Black nature enthusiasts on social media. Black Birders Week garnered worldwide media coverage, including features in ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'', ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'', and ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

''. Additionally, the inaugural Black Birders Week produced unique content in collaboration with the

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

and the

Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in Octob ...

Awards and honors

*Humans2020, Motherboard by Vice, 2020 *''Inverse'' Magazine's Future 50 Forces for Good in the 2020s, 2020 *

Grist Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.'' Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on h ...

50 Fixers, 2020

Personal life

Outside of her studies, Newsome also enjoys

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescope, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newsome, Corina 21st-century African-American scientists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American women scientists 21st-century American zoologists African-American women scientists American ornithologists American zookeepers Birdwatchers Georgia Southern University alumni Living people Malone University alumni American science communicators Scientists from Philadelphia American women ornithologists Year of birth missing (living people)