Abstract
Artist and wildlife rehabilitator Sheida Soleimani is the Executive Director of Congress of the Birds, Rhode Island’s only avian-specific wildlife rehabilitation center with an onsite release facility. Soleimani will discuss what wildlife rehabilitation entails—from emergency triage and medical care to the ethical responsibility of preparing animals for successful release—and how these practices guide the organization’s 24-hour triage clinic in Providence and its rehabilitation and release center in Chepachet, where over 1,000 avian patients are treated annually. Drawing on her background as an artist, Soleimani will also explore how Congress of the Birds integrates art, education, and advocacy as tools for community engagement, ecological awareness, and reimagining our interdependence with the natural world.