DR. MARIA WHITEHEAD
Winyah Bay and Pee Dee River Basin
Maria is part of the Land Protection staff and is located in the Charleston satellite office of SC TNC. She obtained a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from Clemson University in 2003, Masters of Science in Wildlife Ecology and Management from the University of Georgia in 1999, and a BS in Biology from Davidson College in 1995. During her graduate and professional career, Maria has studied avian community ecology – including brood parasite-host dynamics, fluctuation in resource availability and songbird communities, and Swallow-tailed Kite breeding ecology. She has taught courses in Biology, Conservation, and Ornithology at Furman, The Citadel, and The College of Charleston.
Maria is co-chair of the National Swallow-tailed Kite Conservation Alliance and research advisor to the Center for Birds of Prey. She continues to work with undergraduate and graduate students on avian research projects.
Maria is Project Director for The Nature Conservancy’s Winyah Bay and Pee Dee River Project Area. Maria joined the Conservancy in summer of 2007, and now works with private landowners, federal, state and local government agencies, as well as other conservation organizations on land protection, science and stewardship projects in the Winyah Bay and Pee Dee River Basin.