Alina brings her passion for the natural world to her role at Mainspring, where she plans and leads engaging events that connect people with the region’s remarkable landscapes. Drawn to western North Carolina by its incredible diversity of salamanders, birds, and plants, she fell in love with the temperate rainforest and close-knit community.
A Baltimore, Maryland native, Alina grew up exploring forests and marshes with her outdoors-loving family. She earned a B.A. in English from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where she spent as much time birding and hiking as studying literature.
Her curiosity for wildlife led her to pursue intensive training in botany and ecology, birding from Maryland to Arizona, where she surveyed Mexican Spotted Owls in the Sky Islands and Grand Canyon region. An avid eBird and iNaturalist user, Alina loves sharing her knowledge of birds and plants to inspire a deeper connection to nature.
