Join Sophie Wood Brinker at Mrs. Dalloway’s bookstore in Berkeley as she discusses her new book, Birds of Santa Cruz. Sophie will be joined by fellow Birds of California series authors Oliver James, Alex Harris, and Aaron NK Haiman. She will show slides of art from the book and will sign copies her book after the presentation.

Sophie Wood Brinker (she/her) is a science illustrator who works with paint and pencil to communicate the brilliance and intricacy of the ecosystems that surround us. Sophie also works in a small town library, helping spread library joy and community resources. She has a BA in peace and global studies from Earlham College and is a graduate of the Science Illustration Program at California State University, Monterey Bay. Sophie grew up in Santa Cruz, California, on unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe, and lives in Bolinas, California, on unceded Coast Miwok territory.

Aaron N.K. Haiman volunteered from a young age with bird research organizations before receiving a BS in Environmental Science from UC Berkeley as well as MS degrees in Avian Science and Animal Behavior from UC Davis. Aaron guides bird walks, mentors high school students in ecology and sustainability, leads a youth bird-a-thon team, and gives presentations on birds and habitat restoration. He works for the State of California and lives in West Sacramento.

Alex Harris, born and raised in Berkeley, California, is an artist interested in using art and technology to look at how humans interface with the natural world. He has a BA in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and previously worked as the web editor and electronic communications manager at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. He lives and works in Oakland, California.

Oliver James started watching birds in his backyard on Colusa Avenue at age five and never turned back. Since then, he has competed in national birding tournaments, worked as a birding tour guide, and joined ornithological research teams from Peru to Alaska. He graduated from Berkeley High School in 2009 and Wesleyan University in 2014, and in 2021 he received master’s degrees from the Energy and Resources Group and the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. James is also the author of A Field Guide to the Birds of Wesleyan (Wesleyan University Press, 2014).