Brianna Amingwa

The Birder Who Educates Teachers and Conservationists

A portrait of Brianna Amingwa at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia in 2020. Adapted from a photo by Jessica Griffin.

Brianna Amingwa is working to create change both locally and nationally in her role as leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Environmental Education Community of Practice. The teachers and students she works with actively participate and engage in shared learning that fosters environmental literacy and sustainability practices.

Brianna Amingwa horseback riding.

Brianna Amingwa was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 27, 1992, to Elvis and Angela Patrick. As a girl scout, Brianna got to ride horses on a farm and immediately fell in love. Later, an acquaintance of her grandmother’s introduced them to a lawyer named Doug Lewis, who is director of legal services at the University of Michigan. Doug was a black cowboy with a large farm in Southeast Michigan that was open to urban youths who wanted to volunteer their time and services in exchange for horseback riding lessons. Doug took Brianna and several children from the city under his wings and taught them about horses. Riding in the woods was an awakening experience for Brianna, as it was her true introduction to nature.

She rode with Doug through high school, then applied to Michigan State University and majored in animal science, which centered on livestock studies. During her freshman year, Brianna attended a career fair provided by Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS), a national organization that promotes academic and professional advancement by empowering ethnic minorities in those fields. A representative of the Student Conservation Association approached her for an interview. That led to an internship with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where she worked in wildlife refuges. During our interview, Brianna revealed:

In my first summer internship, a biology internship, they had me working outside all day, every day. Daniel, I thought I was going to die. [We both laugh.] I was so scared because I was out in the marsh searching for these little prairie orchids and was totally overwhelmed and unprepared for working by myself out there. I’m wearing waders and sweating. It was intense.”

Portrait of Brianna Amingwa and her spark bird, the American Goldfinch. Illustrated by Daniel J. Middleton.

One day, she worked with the visitors’ services team and a park ranger, Laura Bonneau, required her assistance on a children’s program called Nature Tots. Brianna interacted with children in rural Ohio and taught them about nature, an experience she thoroughly enjoyed. Laura also took Brianna out birding some mornings, and Brianna remembers the first bird Laura taught her about: the goldfinch. Laura told her to note the bouncing flight pattern and listen for the distinctive call they make, which sounds like “potato chip.” Brianna became an avid birder after that.

A career conversion led to Brianna working at a wildlife refuge in Iowa, where she engaged in visitors’ services and education and school programming. She is currently the education supervisor at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, the first urban wildlife refuge in the United States, located in Philadelphia. Brianna works directly with local teachers and minority students from the city, helping them to forge deep connections with their local environment.

• Where you can find Brianna Amingwa

  Twitter: @Ranger_Bri

  Instagram: @ranger_bri

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This article appears in 12 Modern Black Birders.

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