Loreen Lee, Trainee

Loreen (she/they) is a queer artist, educator, and naturalist-in-training who grew up in Southern California, then made Minnesota her second home later in life. She developed a passion for the outdoors as a child during many family road trips, visits to national parks, and camping throughout the Southwest and Pacific Northwest. Loreen earned her B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in 2007 and her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of the Pacific in 2012. During her tenure as a youth worker and an elementary school classroom teacher, Loreen loved building relationships with students and families from a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences. Loreen’s spark bird happened during a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, when she visited a Magnificent Frigatebird rookery. After that, Loreen bought her first binos and field guides, which led to many birding adventures, taking up wildlife photography, and becoming a leader with Urban Bird Collective in 2019. In this role, Loreen loves connecting people with the plentiful green spaces throughout the Twin Cities, supporting individuals in developing their bird identification skills, and advocating for how the public can help the birds in their own neighborhoods. This summer, Loreen completed coursework to become a Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge’s Rapids Lake Unit. She is over the moon to be working with migratory birds up on the Ridge this fall and is looking forward to joining the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory team as a trainee.