Lauren Smith is WFO’s newsletter editor and a nonprofit communications specialist with a decades-long love of birds. Her background is in science communication, nonfiction writing, and ornithological field research. After a number of years working as a seasonal field biologist and environmental educator in locations across North America, she settled in Montana and earned a graduate degree in environmental studies with a writing focus from the University of Montana. When not writing about birds or bird-related topics, she can often be found exploring trails, climbing rocks, and collecting bird stories from everyone she meets. And birding, of course.