Deborah (Deb) Patrick MD, FAWN, and Amos Butler’s new Bird Safe Indy (BSI) Chair, initially resisted calling herself a “birder”.
“I preferred the title ‘naturalist’. I just couldn’t see myself in the ‘traditional’ image – floppy hat, baggy pants, multi-pocketed vest, long socks; smelling of sunscreen and bug juice; loaded down with binoculars and field guides!”
She’s come a long way since her husband of 20+ years, Randy R. Patrick, enticed her into birding approximately15 years ago with her first pair of Monarch 8×42’s. She proudly now includes birding as one of her avocations. “Binoculars, like telescopes or microscopes, open new worlds and can change lives. As a birder, I’ve met people of all ages and professions with diverse backgrounds. We’ve attended Birding festivals from The Biggest Week of Birding in Ohio to the International Crane Festival in Texas to this year’s Indiana Dunes Birding Festival. I’ve melded birding with my lifelong love of travel with amazing international birding trips.”
Deb is a lifelong Indiana resident. Born in Kokomo, Indiana, the “City of Firsts”, she attended Purdue University. A BS in Biology was followed by IU Medical School and a Family Medicine Residency at Methodist Hospital. “What I loved about Family Medicine was the variety and the diagnostic challenges. Since I also loved teaching, I incorporated this in my career by being community part-time faculty at IU and St. Vincent Residency programs, staffing Family Medicine residents in their clinics. For a time, I also developed curricula and taught Allied Health students in IU’s School of Allied Health and was appointed Associate Professor.”
Retiring January 2, 2020 (before Covid!) started Deb’s volunteer work with ABAS. This will be her 6th year on the Birdathon Committee, and her first as an ABAS Board Member and as Chair of Bird Safe Indy. “My hope is to advance all the initiatives which Austin Broadwater started for this critical Committee. Please help by signing our petition, see QR code below, demonstrating interest for bird-safe building legislation in Marion County!”
When not volunteering for ABAS, Deb may be found working in her first love (Biology), volunteering for the Curator of Paleobiology in the Indiana State Museum Natural History Lab (think bones and shells), hiking a new trail, reading a book (loves to mix-up genres), vegetable gardening, or watching one of the movies she missed during all-the-work decades.
“We are seeking additional volunteers for BSI projects so please reach out to us for information about these opportunities. We would love you to join our team!”
