Welcome Day: Fierce!

Beth Pratt

A lifelong advocate for wildlife, Beth Pratt has worked in environmental leadership roles for over thirty years, and in two of the country’s largest national parks: Yosemite and Yellowstone. As the California Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, Pratt leads the #SaveLACougars campaign to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which broke ground on Earth Day in 2022. The largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the world, it will help save a population of mountain lions from extinction. Her innovative conservation work has been featured by The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, BBC World Service, CNN, CBS This Morning, the Los Angeles Times, Men’s Journal, The Guardian, NPR, AP News, and more.

Miguel Ordeñana
Miguel Ordeñana is an environmental educator and wildlife biologist. As the Senior Manager of Community Science at NHMLA, Miguel promotes and creates community science projects, and recruits and trains participants. Miguel utilizes his mammal research background by conducting urban mammal research in L.A. and leads NHMLAC’s Southern California Squirrel Survey and Backyard Bat Survey. Miguel serves as an advisor on a jaguar project in southwestern Nicaragua that he initiated in 2012 as well as a Board Member for the Friends of Griffith Park and National Wildlife Federation. Notably, Miguel discovered the first photo of P-22, the famous Griffith Park mountain lion, through a grassroots camera trap study called the Griffith Park Connectivity Study in 2012. Miguel is dedicated towards making science and access to nature more equitable with a goal of increasing the representation and retention of underrepresented communities within the environmental field. 

Samantha MJ Yang

Samantha Morales Johnson Yang is a native biologist from the Gabrieleno Tongva San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians. She currently works for her tribe developing educational materials for students of all ages in the LA County area interested in learning more about indigenous science. She is also the founder and lead of the Tongva Land Stewardship Crew, a group of tribal youth whose work in invasive species removal saved homes during the Eaton Canyon Fire of 2025.

Warren Dickson

Warren Dickson, Hip hop artist and Co-Owner of 3rd Rock Hip-Hop, is from Watts, CA., uses his voice, the arts, and his life experiences, to inspire change through acknowledging intersectionality between his community and world change initiatives. Warren highlights the connections between different social causes, wildlife conservation, and environmental protection, to emphasize the need for all of us to join together to create change.

Ghost Cat Publications

P22 The Journey and P22 The Park tell the story of the ambassador Mountain Lion as he journeys from his home in Liberty Canyon to Griffith Park. The story is told through prose and art and includes articles by those involved in protecting the wildlife of the Santa Monica Mountains. This book project proudly supports the #SaveLACougars campaign.

National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Discover what NPS biologists have learned about mountain lions and bobcats in the Santa Monica Mountains and how we can work together to conserve these wild cats.

Poison Free Malibu

Protect mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, owls, hawks, and other wildlife from rodent poison exposure.

Tail Town Cats

Tail Town Cats is a non-profit Cat Adoption Center and Event Lounge. Over 35 friendly and free-roaming cats are ready to welcome you for fun events like Pilates, Painting, Yoga, Bingo and more!

Living Collections
Did you know the museum has a team of professional animal keepers on site 365 days a year? They take excellent care of all animals on exhibit and behind the scenes at the museum, utilizing the natural history expertise of our scientists as well as our veterinarian, who advises on any medical and nutritional needs. Because even a frog needs a doctor sometimes. We have around 15-25 species of vertebrates, and 70-100 species of invertebrates at any given time.  
Follow Living Collections on Instagram @nhmla_liveanimals

Museum Educators

The Museum Educator team at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County are the knowledgeable staff that enhance the visitor experience through personal interaction. Through research and training, Museum Educators create and facilitate educational programs for general museum visitors, for school groups, and for special events, both in-person and virtual.

Performing Arts

The team behind the Performing Arts department at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County creates live theatrical performances based on our exhibits, research, collections, and events. Learn more about this unique program HERE. 

Research and Collections
The Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County protect and share more than 35 million specimens and artifacts, the largest natural and cultural history collection in the western United States. The Research and Collections Department is the research institution within the museums. They create new knowledge through academic scholarship in history and science. Visitors can get up close to these fascinating objects and specimens, which are sometimes displayed in exhibitions and during museum events.