Alecia Smith is a bird photographer and former Beach Naturalist Coordinator with Ventura Audubon’s Shorebird Recovery Program, where they spent five years documenting shorebirds, mentoring volunteer naturalists, and engaging local communities in coastal bird conservation. She is currently the staff Senior Communications Coordinator at Audubon California, where they lead digital communications.

Even before their prior role with Ventura Audubon’s program, Alecia recognized how deeply healing their connection with birds had been and felt compelled to return the favor. In 2021, they completed a 10,000-mile solo road trip across the U.S. to deepen that connection with birds and the people who love them, an experience that sharpened their focus on conservation storytelling work. 

Lately, Alecia has been enjoying photographing birds, especially along California's awe-inspiring coast, and contributing to the California Bird Atlas (CBA) project outside of work through their observations and volunteer efforts as CBA's Outreach Coordinator. In that role, Alecia is part of the core team that coordinates all aspects of this monumental effort involving dozens of organizations and thousands of volunteers.

Using what they continue to learn, Alecia advocates for birds through high-impact conservation projects and visual storytelling, helping others deepen their connection with birds and recognize the many invitations we all have to support them.

You can find Alecia's photography featured in the book, Birds of Instagram: Extraordinary Images from Around the World, edited by David Allen Sibley.

If you're interested in purchasing any of the photos in Alecia's homepage or their IG page, please contact them.