Alumni Spotlight: Bill DeLuca - September 2026

Bill earned his PhD in Wildlife Conservation at UMass Amherst before joining NE CASC as a Research Fellow. During his fellowship, he worked on the Designing Sustainable Landscapes Project, collaborating with landowners and a diverse network of stakeholders to support applied conservation research. His experience at NE CASC reinforced his interest in science that directly informs management decisions and conservation action. Bill later joined the National Audubon Society, where he now serves as Director of Migration Science. Today, his work takes a hemispheric, full-annual-cycle approach to understanding and conserving migratory birds. In collaboration with a diverse network of stakeholders, Bill contributes to our understanding of the factors contributing to migratory bird population declines and identifies conservation actions to address them.

“From the beginning when I went back to grad school, I knew that I wanted to do applied conservation science, not purely academic or theoretical work…the CASCs were really good about prioritizing making sure you were working with the right people to have them provide input on the science that you’re producing so that it can actually have on the ground impact. That often led to a complex network of stakeholders, and I really enjoyed the fact that it was so wide reaching…That was a direct set-up for me later being able to work with a hemispheric perspective [for bird conservation]…essentially doing really similar work but at a broader and more diverse scale. Those core skills and experiences that I had at NECASC were totally the foundation of what I’m doing now.”