Jessica Howell is the Local Conservation Specialist with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center's Shorebird Science and Conservation Collective. She coordinates with agencies, conservation practitioners, and landowners in the Northern Great Plains and Prairie Potholes Regions to incorporate shorebird tracking and survey data into on-the-ground habitat work.

Prior to her current role, Howell worked as a Conservation Specialist with American Bird Conservancy, partnering with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks, World Wildlife Fund, and private landowners to enhance grassland bird habitat on working lands in northwest South Dakota. Howell has also worked in outreach and education as an interpretive Park Ranger for Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Howell is from Ohio and received her Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology from Ohio University. Howell received her Master of Science in Biology from the University of Saskatchewan, where she studied Sanderling migratory movements and wind energy development risk at a major staging site in southern Saskatchewan, Canada.

Howell lives in Colstrip, Montana. Outside of work, she enjoys sketching, gardening, wildlife watching, and hiking with her family.