Winter Speaker Series: Charles Clarkson
February 21, 2026 2:00 pm In person at the Museum and virtually on Vimeo
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Conserving Birds in an Age of Biodiversity Loss: The Tools for Recovery
Birds are facing an uncertain future. Despite being on this planet for nearly 160 million years, birds are experiencing steep and rapid declines – with North America losing approximately 30% of its total bird abundance in just a 50-year period. This talk will discuss the amazing evolutionary history of birds, the growing threats they now face, and what we must do to slow their loss and contribute to population growth. In this “all hands on deck” period of conservation, we all have a role to play in saving our birds and biodiversity.
About the Speaker:
Charles Clarkson, born in the mountains of central Virginia, grew up exploring the woods and developed a lifelong passion for birds that deepened after his first college ornithology course. As an undergraduate, he joined multiple avian field studies before completing a master’s degree at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he researched song production in warblers, documented owl demography, and built an ornithological museum collection. He then spent three years at Camp Lejeune leading efforts to rebuild endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker populations before pursuing a PhD in avian toxicology at the University of Virginia, studying mercury’s effects on nestling waterbirds and teaching ecology, ornithology, and conservation through Semester at Sea while engaging in global conservation and sustainable agriculture projects. After earning his doctorate, he moved to Rhode Island to teach at Salve Regina and Roger Williams Universities, later coordinating the Rhode Island Bird Atlas and then serving as Director of Avian Research for the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, where he advanced bird conservation through statewide research on abundance, distribution, habitat use, and pesticide impacts. He now works for the American Bird Conservancy leading conservation-focused birding tours worldwide and, since 2015, has also run his own international birding tour company, Antbird Tours.
About Winter Speaker Series:
The Winter Speaker Series has been a cornerstone of the Newport Art Museum’s annual programming since 1928. Each year, the Winter Speaker Series Committee and Museum staff curate this series to reflect the ideas of our times and to educate, illuminate, delight, and inspire.
Join us for these in-person and live-streamed thought-provoking talks, accessible to you wherever you happen to be! All Lectures will be recorded for later viewing by in-person and virtual subscribers and ticket holders.
Each lecture will be followed by audience Q&A, and continued conversation in the galleries over hot tea, coffee, light fare, and desserts.
Together, we can positively impact our creative community. We sincerely thank the following sponsors for their partnership and support.
WINTER SPEAKER SERIES CORPORATE SPONSORS
Gold:
Bronze Sponsor
WINTER SPEAKER SERIES INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS
The Lockett Ford Ballard, Jr. Family
Johanna Becker
Angela Fischer
Mary M. Jennings Fund
Kathleen & Joseph Gallichio
Santiago & Maureen Neville
Edwina Sebest
Cynthia Sinclair
In-Kind Sponsors
Winter Speaker Series Committee
Johanna Becker, Chair
Eleanor Doumato
Joseph Gallichio
Susan Kieronski
Santiago Neville
Susan Pasquarelli
Thomas Palmer
Emilia Sywolski
Contact Susan Hanley, Director of Advancement, at 631-599-1950 (shanley@newportartmuseum.org) for more information on sponsoring the Winter Speaker Series.
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Bronze Sponsor
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