crows

Kaeli Swift, 32, is a bird girl.

As a lec­tur­er at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Wash­ing­ton with a Ph.D. in Avian Behav­ior and Ecol­o­gy, she spends her days talk­ing about the lives of birds. And as a researcher with an avid inter­est in avians, she some­times spends her nights that way, too.

Mar­ried, with five pets (sur­pris­ing­ly, no birds), Kaeli enjoys nee­dle felt­ing, read­ing, run­ning and bird­watch­ing. When not work­ing or engaged with her hob­bies, you can find Kaeli involved in sci­ence out­reach, speak­ing for dif­fer­ent orga­ni­za­tions, such as the Audubon Soci­ety, as well as to stu­dents and at senior homes. When she takes the stage at TEDxSalem in Jan­u­ary, Kaeli will share her fas­ci­na­tion with our feath­ered friends and dis­cuss the pow­er of crows to enrich our lives and con­nect us to nature.

Do you have a favorite TED Talk? How has it impact­ed your life or per­spec­tive? Rethink­ing infi­deli­ty… a talk for any­one who has ever loved, by Esther Per­el. Amaz­ing talk on adul­tery and why peo­ple cheat.

What does this year’s theme “Vision” mean to you? I think it means appre­ci­at­ing that there are dif­fer­ent ways to see the world and dif­fer­ent ways to solve prob­lems. Hav­ing cre­ativ­i­ty to see things and prob­lem solve in unique ways is real­ly great to val­ue.

What is one of your favorite child­hood mem­o­ries? Going to the golf course with grand­moth­er to catch tree frogs in Sty­ro­foam cups. Spokane (dur­ing ele­men­tary school)

What do you feel most grate­ful for in your life? Health and that of the peo­ple around me

How has your life been dif­fer­ent than what you’d imag­ined?. Less pre­dictable.

What are some of the most impor­tant lessons you’ve learned in life? How did you learn them? Resilience, prob­a­bly the biggest les­son, learned that from being knocked down a lot and hav­ing to get back up.

What is some­thing unex­pect­ed that has changed about you in the last few years? Moved to a city I nev­er thought I’d live in — small, rur­al com­mu­ni­ty.

What song best describes your life? Bird­ing by Swet Shop Boys.

If you could live in the set­ting of any book or movie, with­out nec­es­sar­i­ly being involved in the sto­ry, which would you choose? Guernsey Lit­er­ary Pota­to Peel Soci­ety. 

What is the scari­est thing you have ever done for fun? I don’t like heights and I went on one of those sling­shot reverse bungee jump attrac­tions at Ore­gon State Fair. 

If you could instant­ly become an expert in some­thing, what would it be? Lichen. I think they’re so pret­ty and neat. Or mush­rooms.

What is the best gift any­one has ever giv­en to you? Hus­band bought me a cam­era – DLSR Nikon. Using it for bird­watch­ing

Would you rather have a rewind but­ton or a pause but­ton on your life? Pause – Need more time to get things accom­plished, going back seems painful and futile.

Favorite book? The Poi­son­wood Bible, By Bar­bara King­solver.

Top 3 movies of the moment? Day After Tomor­row, Coco, the first Men In Black

Top 3 songs or artists? Artists – Alt‑J, Mod­est Mouse, Band of Hors­es 

Where would you go in a time machine? Pleis­tocene Era (only if ful­ly armed) 

Make one change in the world? Snap my fin­gers and make every­one appre­ci­ate the con­nec­tion between social jus­tice and envi­ron­men­tal jus­tice.

Chunky or smooth peanut but­ter? Depends on my mood…

Great­est fear? US health care sys­tem. Pos­si­bil­i­ty of get­ting old with­out health care.

Some­thing some­one should know about you? “I con­sume way too much pop cul­ture.” Celebri­ty gos­sip, enter­tain­ment news, etc.

Favorite col­or? Rich yel­lows – marigold yel­low.