The National Audubon Society has merged Audubon Pennsylvania and Audubon Maryland-DC into a new entity called Audubon Mid-Atlantic. Its executive director is Suzanne Biemiller, who will also hold the title of vice-president at the National Audubon Society. Ms Biemiller commenced her services February 15, 2021.
Suzanne brings two decades of experience in the philanthropic, non-profit, and government sectors to Audubon. She founded the policy-focused consulting firm Highland Strategies and had a notable tenure in former Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s administration as First Deputy Chief of Staff for the City of Philadelphia. Among her many notable achievements, she helped spearhead the creation of and wrote Greenworks Philadelphia, which united the city’s sustainability work and became the catalyst for Philadelphia’s innovative sustainability efforts. She also served as senior program officer at The Pew Charitable Trusts, where she developed, advanced and oversaw local and national civic initiatives, including the Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative and the restoration and renewal of the Fairmount Water Works and the National Park Service’s Benjamin Franklin Museum.
In the coming weeks, she will take on the task of uniting a robust grassroots network of 26 local chapters and more than 150,000 members as advocates for Mid-Atlantic birds. Audubon Mid-Atlantic will continue to champion community-based initiatives, partnerships, and Bird-friendly Community programs in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C., including at Audubon’s nature centers like The Discovery Center in Philadelphia and the Patterson Park Audubon Center in Baltimore. After the integration of these entities, National Audubon anticipates consolidating other state and local chapters in Audubon Mid-Atlantic.
This merger has already been beneficial to Prince George’s Audubon Society. Mid-Atlantic has assigned Amy Sobel as a chapter coordinator. Thanks to her efforts our chapter has been able to coordinate its activities with other chapters, and shared best practices information with other chapters. Prince George’s Audubon Society Looks forward to continuing its relationship with the region. As of the posting of this notice, no decision has been made as to its representation on the Mid-Atlantic board of directors.