Natalia is a Research Fellow at the University of Kent in the UK, and an interdisciplinary conservation scientist. Natalia’s research spans applied ecology and social science, with a particular focus on birds and soundscapes across English landscape, including viticultural systems. She also investigates how people engage with nature and the relationships between biodiversity and wellbeing. Natalia chairs BOU’s Engagement Committee and the Equality and Diversity Working Group.

Leila has responsibility for the day to day management and running of the BOU including conferences and events, the business side of our journal IBIS, communications, website development and servicing BOU Council and its Standing Committees.

Emma is responsible for managing the British Ornithologists’ Union’s scientific journal, IBIS, overseeing manuscript submissions and peer review while supporting the editorial team to maintain high publishing standards. She also leads member engagement, acting as a key point of contact for the ornithological community and helping to enhance the membership experience. In addition, Emma supports conferences, governance activities and organisational operations, ensuring the smooth delivery of work that promotes ornithological science and support researchers worldwide. Emma’s background is in climate science and science communication, and she has spent 10 years working in international research-focused organisations.

Heather Fortune (she/her) is editor of #theBOUBlog and an MRes student at Imperial College London, researching avian bioacoustics across an Amazonian forest restoration landscape as part of the CaLE Lab. Before this, she worked as species policy officer for the RSPB, and as an associate scholar of the University of St Andrews, undertook a self-led ornithological research project, ‘Fight for Flight’, investigating anthropogenic pressures on bird species across Eurasia.