Haley Andreozzi, M.S.
Wildlife Outreach Program Manager
UNH Cooperative Extension
In my role as the wildlife outreach program manager for UNH Extension, I work with volunteers, landowners, natural resources professionals, communities and conservation organizations to enhance, restore and conserve wildlife habitat in the state. I provide technical assistance for outreach, citizen science and stewardship projects related to New Hampshire’s wildlife species and their habitats.
I grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island in a house on the bay. It was situated in a crowded waterfront neighborhood that didn’t have a lot of typical ‘open space’ to explore, but I spent hours every day crawling on the rocks along the shoreline and exploring the small patches of trees that lined our property. I really fell in love with nature and the environment during the summers I spent at a summer camp in New Hampshire – hiking, canoeing, and spending a lot of time outside. I didn’t always know that I wanted to do what I’m doing now, but I knew I wanted to do something to help the environment. In my sixth grade yearbook, where other young girls wrote that they wanted to be a ballerina or movie star, I responded that I wanted to be an environmental lawyer. Looking back, I realize that was the only job I’d ever heard of that worked for the environment. At the time, I had no idea that you could be a wildlife biologist or an environmental educator, which are the two major components of my role as UNH Cooperative Extension Wildlife Outreach Program Manager.
I graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in Environmental Science & Natural Resources Management and have an M.S. in Wildlife & Conservation Biology from the University of New Hampshire. During my undergraduate degree, I took advantage of as many opportunities to get hands-on experience as possible – an internship at a local watershed association that combined brook trout research and public outreach, a research trip to Costa Rica to study small mammals, and volunteering for a program that provided environmental education experiences to underserved youth. I also spent my senior year studying in Alaska, which allowed me to experience education in different ecosystems. After graduation, I continued to seek out as many different types of jobs as possible – including environmental education, research, and environmental consulting. There were also some stretches in there where I wasn’t able to find work in my field and I waitressed/bartended or managed a coffee shop. I also spent a couple of summers running a summer camp and helped to develop their environmental education curriculum. Those experiences seem unrelated to my current work in wildlife, but they really helped me understand how to work and communicate with people effectively, which is important in my work now. Pursuing a lot of diverse job opportunities after my undergraduate experience really allowed me to determine what I like doing and what I don’t like doing, so I was clear on what I wanted to focus on when I applied to graduate school. Taking that time to explore and get experience was really important for me in terms of ending up in my current position that combines aspects of outreach, wildlife biology, and conservation, which I really enjoy.