MEET BRENNA MARSICEK!
Director of Outreach, with the organization since October 2016
A winter-time pilgrimage to the North Shore of Lake Superior (photo courtesy of Brenna).
I grew up in southern Minnesota in a camping family. My parents own an RV-related business, so when we explored, it had to be far away from home and people who knew my dad could fix their camper if he needed to, so we often spent our summers exploring the North Shore of Lake Superior or the Porcupine Mountains of the Upper Peninsula. We went for long bike rides, hiked back to waterfalls, and spent full days on the beach. In winter, we cross-country skied and snowmobiled into parts of the woods otherwise unreachable. Through all this, I learned a love for not only recreation of all sorts, but the awe-inspiring diversity of habitats and creatures that live in those habitats. One of my favorite memories from my childhood is my mom and me riding our bikes at dusk down a bike path, lit up by a million fireflies.
I did my undergrad degree in Geography, International Sciences, and Environmental Sciences from UW-Madison, then moved to Laramie, Wyoming with my husband for 7 years while he did his graduate work in climate science. We came back to Madison at just the right time when Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance (then Madison Audubon) was hiring for a communications director and I was lucky enough to get the gig!
Brenna (left) and fellow Faville Grove Sanctuary interns hand-pollinate orchids in 2007 (photo courtesy of Brenna).
Why did you want to join the team at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance?
Actually my first job with the organization was in 2007 as an ecological restoration intern at Faville Grove Sanctuary. At that time I thought I wanted to be a translator for the United Nations, but this internship sounded interesting and outdoorsy. Then I spent a summer completely submerged in the glories of the prairie and it changed everything. I looked for jobs in the environmental field after that and always volunteered for communications-related tasks until communications and outreach became my full-time role. When it was time to move back from Laramie to Madison, I wanted to be part of this organization that valued land and plants as much as birds, that wanted to make nature available to everyone, not just the privileged. I'm grateful to be part of this group!
Look at this cute little American Kestrel chick! So fuzzy! (photo by Ruth Smith).
What's your favorite bird?
I honestly don't have one! I am amazed by whatever is in front of me, or that I'm reading about. Northern Flickers are the prettiest, but Brown-headed Cowbirds are the most interesting. Hummingbirds are the most impressive, but American Kestrel chicks are the cutest. American Robins and Blue Jays remind me of my kids, and Gray Catbirds remind me of my childhood and meowing back and forth on lazy summer afternoons. A bird for every season, interest, and mood.
Name your top three favorite outdoor places.
Faville Grove Sanctuary, Mirror Lake State Park, Laura Lake in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. And any place I can canoe or paddleboard.
Share something cool you've learned since joining the team.
Brood parasitism is fascinating. It's not the prettiest side of nature, but it sure is smart.
Also, I've learned that everyone—and I mean everyone—has a story about birds. Birds are wonderful ambassadors for conservation because of that.
Cover image: American Kestrel chick, photo by Ruth Smith
