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Ben Haywood serves as the Director of Community Science at the Ô¼ÅÚÊÓƵ, where he leads the organization's flagship community science initiatives including the Christmas Bird Count, Climate Watch, and Great Backyard Bird Count programs. In this role, he works at the intersection of program management, scientific research, and community engagement to advance Ô¼ÅÚÊÓƵ's strategic Flight Plan while fostering inclusive and accessible community science opportunities across the Americas. He collaborates with cross-functional teams across the organization to develop innovative approaches to community science, create meaningful data products, and build partnerships that strengthen the connection between volunteer participants, birds and their habitats, and conservation outcomes. 

As an environmental geographer, Ben's research spans across social and natural sciences to focus on public engagement in science and informal science learning. Specific areas of emphasis include place-based learning and sense of place, human animal studies, community-based research, and science and conservation literacy. He brings experience from previous roles in community engagement, science extension, and higher education where he worked alongside government, corporate, nonprofit, and local stakeholders to build research, information, and action networks. Prior to joining Ô¼ÅÚÊÓƵ, Ben served as the Associate Director of the Faculty Development Center at Furman University (Greenville, SC), where he focused on STEM learning and curriculum design, program assessment and evaluation, professional development programs, and inclusive pedagogy. 

Ben is a USGS Master Bird Bander, has supervised a Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) station through the , conducted Purple Martin MOTUS geotagging, served as a wildlife rehabilitation medic, and supports an ongoing research collaboration with the seabird monitoring program (COASST). He has a PhD in Environmental Geography and a Master’s of Public Administration with an emphasis on environmental management and policy both from the University of South Carolina. He lives in Greenville, SC where he enjoys cooking, hiking, gardening, writing, bird watching, and creating a bird-friendly backyard habitat.