Cinna Smallwood

Cinna is from Romeoville, IL and moved to Wisconsin to attend the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where they graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Education with a minor in Captive Wildlife. Growing up in the suburbs, they were not necessarily surrounded by wilderness, but their love for wildlife was fostered with frequent visits to nature centers, zoos, and other captive wildlife facilities. They have always had a strong connection with animals and the environment, but their particular love for birds was solidified during their internship at REGI in the summer of 2022. In this time, they learned just how rewarding wildlife education truly was!

Following their graduation, Cinna returned to the REGI team in 2023 as a Wildlife Educator to continue working with our Avian Ambassadors to provide educational programming. Cinna is also a freelance graphic designer and illustrator who helps to fill a creative niche at REGI - they have designed flyers, stickers, coloring pages, and even illustrations for t-shirts for education or fundraising. Their favorite part of their work is that they get to help nurture connections between humans and the environment we share with all other living things, just as many other wildlife educators did for them when they were young!