Posted on December 4, 2023
Victoria will lead our efforts to protect and restore natural habitats in Connecticut and New York.
Audubon is dedicated to creating a connected network of climate-resilient lands and waters across the Americas. To reinforce and expand our efforts in Connecticut and New York, we are thrilled to welcome Victoria “Vicky” O’Neill to the team!
As Director of Coastal Resilience, Vicky will lead our efforts to help coastal areas in Connecticut and New York deal with sea level rise while conserving and restoring natural habitats that support priority birds and benefit coastal communities.
She will support our on-the-ground coastal habitat work in places like Stratford’s Great Meadows marsh while advocating in Hartford and DC in support of coastal policies and public funding directed towards this important issue.
Vicky has been working in the fields of habitat restoration, land conservation, and environmental education and outreach in the Connecticut and New York area for over 16 years. Most recently, Vicky was the Long Island Sound Study Habitat Restoration & Stewardship Coordinator at the New York State DEC/NEIWPCC, working with Connecticut and New York partners around the Sound to restore and protect coastal habitat and wildlife.
Fishing and boating in Long Island’s South Shore bays and the Atlantic Ocean – one of her family’s favorite pastimes.
She received her BS in Biology from SUNY Geneseo and her MS in Biology from The College of William & Mary. For her Master’s thesis, she studied the impact of predation on the nesting success of diamondback terrapins in the lower Chesapeake Bay in VA. Vicky started her career at NYC Parks in their Natural Resources Group managing oyster reef restoration, tidal wetland restoration, and fish passage projects in the Bronx. After NYC Parks, she moved to the Randall’s Island Park Alliance where she managed wetland, woodland, and coastlines at the park, along with developing a Wetlands Stewardship Program that educated thousands of residents in Harlem and the South Bronx about wetlands, wildlife, and water quality issues.
Vicky is a lifelong New Yorker, growing up on Long Island and spending her childhood exploring the Island’s coastline and natural areas. She fell in love with conservation work (and birds!) through a seasonal Piping Plover Stewardship position at Robert Moses State Park on Long Island during college and hasn’t looked back since!
