Conservation Spotlight: Ohio Young Birder Doug Whitman will share his experiences during a nine-week work trip to Ecuador this past summer. The experience was sponsored in part by the John Wilson Memorial Fund. 7:30 p.m. – Join American Birding Association President Jeffrey Gordon for a celebration of the power of birding to heal and transform, not only our own lives but even our world. Birding is a passion, a practice, and a community whose time has come. Jeff will not only address some of the many benefits of a strong, diverse birding community for our birds and for our natural heritage, he’ll also address ways to conquer some of the special challenges that birding faces as it reaches a wider audience. Jeffrey Gordon is the president of the American Birding Association, headquartered in Delaware City, Delaware. In addition to leading birding tours around a goodly portion of the globe, he is a frequent speaker and trip leader at birding and nature festivals. He served as field editor for Birdwatcher’s Digest, and is the coordinator for the Delaware Birding Trail. A lifelong nature enthusiast, Jeff worked as an interpretive naturalist at national parks including Yosemite and Acadia, and at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. He spent 12 years leading birding tours full- time, specializing in North & Central America, as well as guiding trips to Antarctica and Africa. For more information on the ABA and on Jeff, visit www.aba.org.