The Urban Bird Project is proud to introduce our new 2026 cohort of Spring Scholars!
Congratulations to each of you!
Monica Barbay
Monica (she/her/hers) is a second-year PhD student in English. Before moving to San Antonio, she lived in Nashville, Tennessee, where she received her M.A. in English and B.M. in Music Performance and Theory from Belmont University. Her primary research interests are utopian/dystopian literatures, which are inherently linked to discussions of the environment and environmental politics. She is from a rural, small town in North Carolina where she developed a deep respect for nature. When she visits home, she loves sitting on the porch with her family watching the birds.
Harold Rosario Navarro
Hello! I am Harold Javier Rosario Navarro, a first-generation undergraduate student at UTSA majoring in Environmental Science with a focus in Aquatic Sciences. I moved from Puerto Rico to San Antonio back in 2019. I enjoy working with fish and other wild animals. Last Summer I participated on the desert trip for Environmental Science and Biology majors with UTSA, which increased my interest in birds. This trip also amplified my love for nature, inspiring me to join the Urban Bird Project. I am really excited to work with the Urban Bird Project!
Maria Elena Vargas Magana
Hello! My name is Maria Elena Vargas Magana, and I am a Ph.D. student in Environmental Science and Engineering at UT San Antonio. My research focuses on using satellite data to assess air quality and its impacts on human health. Alongside my scientific work, I am a visual artist with more than sixty exhibitions in Mexico and abroad. My art explores themes of identity, migration, and social and environmental awareness. In December 2025, I had the opportunity to bring science and art together for the first time, presenting a 14-painting collection at the EnJust 2025 Conference at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn, Germany. I am truly honored to receive the Urban Bird Project fellowship. This opportunity will allow me to learn from inspiring mentors and fellow participants while creating a meaningful project that connects birds, science, society, art, and environmental justice.
Cathlin Noonan
Cathlin Noonan (she/her) is a PhD student in English at UTSA and a poet based out of San Antonio, Texas. She recently completed her MFA in poetry at Texas State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. Her current research focuses on transnational ecofeminist poetics and examines how poetry engages in ecological repair through cultural production. She is interested in transformation texts, embodiment, poetics, spatiality, memory, and the politics of language.
Sol Roberts-Lemus
Hey, I’m Sol RL (they/them). I’m a Guatemalan-American from lots of different places, but San Antonio has been my home for the last several years. I recently graduated from UTSA as an English major focused in creative writing, though most of my time is spent doing anything but writing. I have a great interest, and have had the great privilege of working, in the realms of agro-ecology, gardening, food security, and birds. Many of these topics then find their way into my creative projects. While short fiction is my main medium, I spend a lot of time designing games, play-based experiences, or collaborative storytelling engines. I’m looking forward to working with UBP and helping create unique ways of interacting with birds, people, and the world around us.
Kaitlyn Endicott
Hello! My name is Kaitlyn Endicott, and I grew up here in San Antonio. I am a senior pursuing my undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at the University of Texas San Antonio, with a focus in Conservation and Restoration Ecology. I enjoy anything outdoors such as hiking and backpacking, as well as creating art, and writing. I have always been passionate about the environment and the roles we play in our own communities, and any opportunity to learn more excites me. With the Urban Bird Project I hope to explore our roles as stewards of the environment and its relation to our culture and further invest into multidisciplinary research!
Alexandra Carrillo
Hello, my name’s Alexandra Rose Carrillo (she/her/hers), I’m a San Antonio native, and lifetime lover of all things nature. At this time, I’ve just completed my Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from UTSA. While in undergrad, I had the amazing opportunity to study Regenerative Agriculture and Ecologies in Veracruz, MX, where my mind was opened to the world of agroforestry and other sustainable farming practices. Since then, I’ve developed an interest in food sovereignty, biocultural restoration and deepening the understanding of my own roots as a Mexican-American. I express these interests by volunteering for numerous local organizations and building relationships with members of the community. I’m honored to serve in the UBP team and can’t wait to create research surrounding birds, la comunidad, and the places we call home.
Lauren Guzman
Lauren Guzman is a San Antonio native and Environmental Science undergraduate passionate about driving effective, community-informed conservation. Through her involvement with her local caving club, Bexar Grotto, and community-based research efforts, she has developed a strong interest in karst biology and urban ecology. She loves being outdoors in any capacity and is especially motivated by projects that begin with thoughtful questions shaped by community engagement. Through the Urban Bird Project, she hopes to further develop her interdisciplinary skills while contributing meaningful research to her hometown.
Jill Pugh
Jill E. Pugh is a Ph.D. student in English at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and Women’s Studies from Eastern Michigan University and her M.A. in English Literature from Texas State University. Her research examines haunting, the spectral, and the ways marginalized writers challenge and disrupt the archive. She is honored to be part of the Urban Bird Project and looks forward to learning from its interdisciplinary attention to birds, place, and environmental justice, as well as the community of scholars and practitioners involved in this work. Jill lives in Austin, Texas, where she enjoys camping with her family, walking her dog, and spending as much time outdoors as possible.
Joedy Yglesias
Joseph “Joedy” Yglesias is a native Texan from Corpus Christi. He has a lifetime of experience in activism beginning with his election as the State Director of Texas LULAC Youth in high school in 1987. He served in the US Navy for over 21 years helping to advocate and advise for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy as it developed and evolved. After retiring from the Navy he became certified as a Texas Master Naturalist & Texas Waters Specialist, was a park ranger at Big Bend Ranch State Park, is the Bexar County representative on the San Antonio River Authority’s Environmental Advisory Committee, serves on the Texas & Oklahoma Regional Council for the National Park Conservation Association, and is an Outings Leader for Latino Outdoors. He is a senior MAS Major at UTSA. His research project will focus on equity for people of indigenous ancestry in state and national parks in the Texas Borderland region and the feasibility of and interest in creating an educational pipeline for students from the borderland regions to become park rangers and stewards of their ancestral homelands.
Mariana Perez-Isaza
Mariana S. Perez-Isaza is an environmental policy researcher and undergraduate student in Public Administration & Policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio, participating in the Coordinated Admission Program with the University of Texas at Austin. Her work focuses on water governance, sustainable infrastructure, and community-centered environmental policymaking across Texas. She has contributed to environmental and transportation advocacy through her work with San Antonians for Rail Transit, Environment Texas, Environment America, The Public Interest Network, Save Our Springs Alliance, and the Texas Legislature. In 2025, she completed a 21-mile raft journey across Lake Austin, becoming the first person to travel dam-to-dam on the lake on a homemade vessel, advocating for water-based parks to promote water access, conservation, and regional stewardship. Mariana lives between San Antonio, Fredericksburg, and Austin, enjoying the outdoors, composing music, and exploring Texas waterways.
More Scholars coming soon!