MEET LAUREN
Lauren D. Pharr is an avian ecologist and Ph.D. Candidate at North Carolina State University (NCSU) pursuing her degree in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology. Her current research focuses on studying the effects of climate change on nestling success in the federally threatened Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Aside from her research, Lauren is an engaged and award-winning science communicator with written and contributed pieces haven appeared in a variety of outlets including National Geographic and WIRED and has served as a contributing editor for North Carolina Sea Grant as well as a member on the Editorial Advisory Board for The Wildlife Society. Lauren is an advocate for Black and historically excluded minorities in STEM; she has and currently serves on multiple Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees and co-founded a nonprofit: Field Inclusive, which seeks to amplify and support marginalized and historically excluded individuals in the outdoors. Both her research and advocacy work led to her being awarded many accolades, including the North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s 2023 Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award for Young Conservationist of the Year, one of the highest honors in the state of NC in the wildlife space. She currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.
diversity as a driver of conservation
A CONSERVATION CONVERSATION: Navigating the Field as a Black Woodpecker Biologist
There’s a new face in the field of Red-cockaded Woodpecker conservation investigating the impacts of a changing climate on their populations while paving the way for others who look just like her.
The Outdoors is for all
A New Book on Inclusive Nature is Coming
A new book on Inclusive Nature is coming soon from Johns Hopkins University Press. This collaborative book will feature perspectives and narratives from academics, scientists, and nature enthusiasts who all share a goal to amplify both the historical and present day challenges of marginalized and historically excluded individuals in the natural sciences, and who professionally work or recreate in the outdoors. The book will include a foreword by Joseph Drew Lanham, MacArthur Fellow and author of The Home Place, Sparrow Envy, and Joy is the Justice We Give Ourselves, and edited by Lauren D. Pharr, avian ecologist, award-winning science communicator, and the 2023 Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award Recipient for Young Conservationist of the Year
conservation icons
Ecology, Psychology, and the Art of Being You
View an interview between Lauren and MacArthur Foundation Fellow, Professor, Author, and Activist J. Drew Lanham.