Sundaes Outside in Rainier Beach (photo by Glenn Nelson)
Inclusive Change: Birds Connect Seattle
Our dedication to following an equitable, just, and antiracist path had been encumbered by a namesake steeped in racism and scientific fraud. We underwent a process to remove that significant barrier to fulfilling our overall mission to advocate and organize for cities where (all) people and birds thrive. That process led us to a new name: Birds Connect Seattle.
Click Here for Our Name Reveal Video
Click Here for Recording of ‘By Any Other Name …’ with Drew Lanham
Click Here for the New Name Announcement
Click Here for How We Found Our New Name
Click Here for Membership Update on Name
Click Here for Statement on National Audubon Announcement
Outside News Coverage
From our initial announcement in July, 2022, our move from “Audubon” to Birds Connect Seattle has generated considerable local and national news attention.
The Path to: Birds Connect Seattle
We have been conducting a thoughtful and inclusive process to discuss with our community, present and future, the values that should be reflected in a new name and the mission for which it stands (see “Actions & Commitments” below for more). Our timeline has been:
- July 14, 2022: Board of Directors vote to drop Audubon as organizational namesake.
- July 26, 2022: Open membership feedback on Zoom.
- September, 2022: Internal stakeholder focus groups.
- October, 2022: External stakeholder feedback begins.
- October, 2022: Online values/mission survey.
- November, 2022: Assemble name selection committee.
- November, 2022: Local & National outreach continues.
- January, 2023: Selection Committee evaluates feedback.
- February, 2023: Selection Committee stress tests name candidates.
- February 21, 2023: Selection Committee recommends name finalists to SAS Directors.
- February, 2023: Finalists receive additional legal vetting.
- March 11, 2023: Directors recommend name to Board of Directors.
- March 11, 2023: Board of Directors unanimously approve new name recommendation.
- March 15, 2023: NAS announces it will retain Audubon as organizational namesake.
- March 28, 2023: Birds Connect Seattle™ is announced to membership.
- March, 2023: Name change process begins (legal, logo and web design, logistics).
- June, 2023: New logo, name video, artwork revealed.
Actions & Commitments
- We have received feedback from more than 1,000 people during our inclusive naming process. Those include 14 members of a Name Selection Committee, eight internal focus group sessions that included 50 participants (including 26 committee members, 9 staff, 9 board members, and 8 other volunteers), six external 1:1 focus group sessions, an internal online survey (639 respondents), an external online survey (50 respondents), and approximately 265 pieces of email/phone feedback. We also had an open Zoom meeting on July 26, 2022, days after the initial announcement, that had 147 attendees.
- The Name Selection Committee considered 263 name suggestions from our community, the public, and committee members itself.
- The organization is moving forward on a thoughtful and inclusive process following the Board of Directors’ adoption of a resolution on July 14, 2022, to remove “Audubon” from the organizational namesake.
- The organization’s Board of Directors previously adopted a resolution on July 8, 2021, affirming support for the campaign to change eponymous names for birds (Bird Names for Birds) and calling on the National Audubon Society to initiate, no later than September 30, 2021, an inclusive and transparent re-examination of John James Audubon as our shared organizational namesake.
- To help set the stage for the harder and messier work to come, the organization already has made some significant investments, including making equity one of three core themes in our Cities at the Center strategic plan, internal culture auditing, developed and implemented training for all of our community in inclusive leadership and antiracism practice, initiating more equitable and inclusive hiring practices, and hiring a Community Director to lead our antiracism practices, as well as initiating efforts to create and execute targeted and more inclusive programming.
Arguments for Change
The organization’s Equity & Justice Committee, an all-BIPOC body, compiled an FAQ on the most common objections to removing “Audubon” from the organizational namesake: Click Here for FAQ
Learn About the Reckoning & Its Impacts
- For a suggested reading list about the legacy of John James Audubon and its impact on conservation: Click Here for Reading List
- For a list of Antiracism resources curated by the organization’s Equity & Justice Committee: Click Here for Antiracism Resources
Member of Outdoor Asian (photo by Glenn Nelson)
A New Name for an Inclusive Future
No longer a barrier, our new name represents an open door for new communities to join us in our mission to advocate and organize for cities where people and birds thrive.
How We Found Our New Name
We conducted a transparent and inclusive process to choose our new name. Read more to learn about how we found our new name.
Letter from Executive Director on NAS Announcement
This morning, the National Audubon Society (NAS) announced that they would retain the Audubon namesake. They do not dispute that the success of John James Audubon’s Birds of North America hinged on scientific fraud, plagiarism, and the forced labor of enslaved people.
I believe those facts should preclude further elevation of such a figure at the forefront of our conservation movement.