Faces of AOS: Kevin Omland Bio

• Email:
omland@umbc.edu

• Twitter Handle:
@keomland

• Website/Blog/Etc:
omlandlab.umbc.edu

• My position with AOS:
Council Member
Diversity & Inclusion Committee, Co-Chair

• My current full-time title and institution:
Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

• My current career stage:
Senior Professional

• My lineage of mentors/labs:
Undergrad mentors Dick Holmes & Tom Sherry Dartmouth
PhD Ken Able SUNY Albany
Postdocs Scott Lanyon UMN & Rob Fleisher Smithsonian

• #badlyexplainyourjob:
#BahamaOrioleProject cons gen/pop ecol. Mentor grad & undergrad research. Teach tree thinking – SMH “ladder of progress”

• My favorite bird and why:
Bahama Oriole: for starters, it’s an oriole. Both sexes elaborate, both sexes sing, amazing habitat. BUT endangered & poorly understood

• I am involved with AOS because:
Because great people to work with & the work is important. Birds play crucial roles in the ecosystems of our planet.

• The best part about being a member of AOS is:
Going to meetings and seeing friends made over 30 yrs. Working with colleagues on committees & council.

• Birds are important to me because:
Get to hear and see birds everywhere on the planet. Easy for everyone to enjoy and relate to. Birds are mascots for conserving planet Earth.

• Advice I have to offer a student (master’s level or younger) in ornithology:
No need to hurry. Get field, lab &/or museum experience. Work hard and have fun with birds.

• One ornithology question or problem I would like to solve or see solved:
Reliable population estimates for all endangered birds in the Caribbean. AND understand role of interspecific gene flow in evolution.

• Fun random fact about myself:
High school job with GreenMtnNatForest. Learned forest bird songs from wildlife biologist Hispanic woman from LA in VT 1979=diversity hero.

• Something else birdy I’d like to share:
AOS needs to increase diversity to improve our science, reach out to diverse student body, & remain relevant & impactful. #AOSdiversity