Jessica G. Wilson, Executive Director | March 26, 2026
On behalf of everyone at NYC Bird Alliance, I am deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of our board member Elizabeth Norman on March 9, 2026.
Since joining the NYC Bird Alliance board of directors in 2020, Elizabeth helped guide the organization through an important period of change and growth. She brought thoughtful insight, a deep sense of fairness, and a strong belief that our work to protect birds and nature in New York City must be welcoming and accessible to all. She was a trusted advisor to me and a valued voice around the board table. I will miss her thoughtful counsel and the steady kindness she brought to our work together.
Elizabeth discovered birding in 2017 and, as the Urban Audubon newsletter noted when she joined the board in 2020, quickly became a devoted convert with an infectious love of birds. Board President Mike Yuan recalls a moment that captures Elizabeth’s deep connection to birds and how she moved through the world:
“This past January, I told Elizabeth about a field near her home in Connecticut where Short-eared Owls had been spending the winter. She went a few nights later and wrote that they had put on an incredible show – the kind most birders only hope to experience. At dusk, two owls appeared, and one dropped into the snow just thirty feet away, emerging with a vole before lifting and turning to look straight at her. She could hear them calling and watched them hover together in the fading light. She called it magical. What stays with me is not just that she went, but how fully she experienced it. That same presence was something she brought to the board – a quiet reminder to slow down and pay attention.”
Elizabeth first became involved with NYC Bird Alliance as a community science volunteer, monitoring horseshoe crabs and rescuing injured birds, before being elected to a leadership role on the board.
Elizabeth cared deeply about making conservation more inclusive. She believed that protecting birds and nature in New York City should involve and inspire people from every community. As an active member of the board’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (EDIA) Committee – and as its Chair from 2021 to 2023 – she encouraged us to think more broadly about who our work reaches and how we can remove barriers to participation. She was also an early champion of the organization’s name change to NYC Bird Alliance, recognizing the opportunity it created to better reflect our mission and welcome more people into the conservation movement.
Her impact on the EDIA committee and on fellow board members was deeply felt. Board member Angie Co remembers how Elizabeth welcomed her to the organization:
“When I joined the NYC Bird Alliance board, Elizabeth was one of the first people who made me feel truly welcome. We met at the Fall Roost gala at the Central Park Zoo. She introduced herself, and we ended up spending much of the evening exploring an exhibition together.
That night she encouraged me to consider joining the board’s EDIA committee. I had never served on a board before and there was a lot to learn, but Elizabeth shared openly about her own experiences and I always felt I could call her when I needed advice. Before long we were co-chairing the committee together.
She had a way of helping us pause and see things differently. At meetings she sometimes led an exercise she called “observing from the balcony,” asking us to imagine stepping back and describing only what we could see. It helped me question my assumptions and think about how decisions might look from other perspectives. I’m deeply grateful for her friendship and for the example she set for all of us.”
Elizabeth’s distinguished career included leadership roles in finance and administration at the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget, the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development, the International Rescue Committee, and most recently New York City Health and Hospitals. Her expertise in nonprofit finance was invaluable to NYC Bird Alliance; through her service on the board’s Finance and Audit Committees, she helped strengthen the organization’s financial stewardship during an important period of growth.
Immediate Past President of the board Karen Benfield remembers Elizabeth as a thoughtful and compassionate presence during a period of significant change for the organization.
“My first impression of Elizabeth was that she was shy and quiet, but while she was quiet, she was listening.
During the stressful period of COVID and the conversations around racial justice, the board spent a lot of time reflecting on the kind of organization we wanted to be and how we could reach more people across the City. Elizabeth was a vital voice in those discussions. She could always be counted on to ask whether we had considered the impact of a decision on a particular community, or to bring an idea for a training or conversation that could help move the board forward. She cared deeply that we live our EDIA values as an organization. Her kindness and thoughtful perspective helped guide many of those conversations.”
Elizabeth brought a deep sense of equity and fairness to her work with NYC Bird Alliance. She had a way of gently reminding us to consider the people and communities affected by our decisions, an approach that informed her work on the board’s Personnel Committee as the organization strengthened policies and governance during these years of change.
Her compassion also showed up in the way Elizabeth experienced nature. Executive Vice President Linda Freeman recalls traveling with Elizabeth on birding trips and witnessing her deep connection to both birds and people.
“I admired Elizabeth’s clarity about her life’s purpose – caring for others: her family, her wife Jane, her work uplifting vulnerable communities, and of course birds. On a trip to Block Island we helped tag songbirds that had been netted at a banding station. Holding those tiny birds in our hands, feeling how soft they were and how fast their hearts were beating, moved us both to tears.
Elizabeth often combined her love of birds with her commitment to social justice. When she traveled abroad for work in places like Ethiopia, Ecuador, or Colombia, she made a point of hiring local bird guides, preferably women, and ensuring they were respected and well paid. She had a huge heart and a constant concern for those who were often overlooked.”
Deeply committed to service, Elizabeth served not only on the board of NYC Bird Alliance but also Raising Health and Action Corps. Previously she co-chaired the NYC AIDS Housing Network board and served on the board of Neighbors Helping Neighbors. She also volunteered with organizations including the Community Food Resource Center and Sylvia’s Place, an emergency shelter for homeless LGBTQ+ youth. She served as a volunteer Emergency Medical Responder in Norfolk, CT and had recently become a volunteer firefighter and police support in her hometown of Colebrook, CT.
Above all, Elizabeth was a thoughtful colleague, generous leader, and passionate ambassador for birds and for the community. We extend our deepest condolences to Elizabeth’s wife Jane and to her family.
Elizabeth’s huge heart, thoughtful voice, and steady presence will be deeply missed. We are profoundly grateful for the care she brought to NYC Bird Alliance. Her commitment to inclusion, community, and the joy of birds will continue to shape our work in the years ahead.
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