Anna Macnak has been named Executive Director of Mitchell Lake Audubon Center in South San Antonio, bringing a public health background and a lifelong love of the outdoors to a key urban conservation site; her arrival links community health, habitat work, and wildlife education at a refuge along the Central Flyway.
Macnak steps in with more than a decade working inside the City of San Antonio on neighborhood resilience and food security, where she built programs rooted in local needs. Her experience managing public health initiatives gives her a practical toolkit for expanding access to nature in underserved communities. That civic grounding matters for a nature center that serves both people and migrating birds.
As Health Program Manager for the City’s Healthy Neighborhoods Program, she relied on a Community Health Worker model that emphasized listening and direct engagement. Macnak’s approach was to let residents shape programs, not the other way around, which translated into durable neighborhood partnerships. Those same principles are useful when creating outdoor programs that actually meet families where they are.
Her environmental roots trace back to Southeast Alaska, where childhood hikes and camping in the Tongass National Forest sparked a deep commitment to stewardship of wild places. Now a Texas Master Naturalist, Macnak pairs hands-on field experience with formal study, holding a Graduate Certificate in Public Health from the University of North Texas and a Bachelor of Science from Bastyr University. That mix of lived passion and academic training shows up in how she leads.
Mitchell Lake Audubon Center occupies a watery pocket of habitat inside San Antonio that draws migratory birds along the Central Flyway and offers local residents a rare urban refuge. The center is more than bird lists and boardwalks; it’s a training ground for habitat restoration and a place where children can encounter ecology directly. For many families in South San Antonio, Mitchell Lake is the closest classroom for learning about wetlands and wildlife.
Audubon Texas framed the hire as a boost for community connection. “We’re thrilled to have Anna join the Audubon team, bringing her lifelong passion for connecting people with the natural world to the organization,” said Lisa Gonzalez, Vice President and Executive Director of Audubon Texas. That endorsement signals a hope that Macnak will strengthen both conservation outcomes and local engagement.
Under her leadership the center is likely to expand programs that link human health and nature, from outdoor learning to projects addressing food access through community gardens and green infrastructure. Expect more volunteer restoration days, school partnerships, and family events designed to reduce barriers to visiting natural spaces. The practical aim is to make Mitchell Lake a resource for neighborhood well-being as well as for migratory species.
On the conservation side, Mitchell Lake’s habitat work delivers measurable benefits for biodiversity and the Central Flyway, and volunteers will remain central to that progress. Macnak’s history of coalition-building suggests she will deepen alliances with neighborhood groups and city agencies to leverage resources and local knowledge. Those partnerships can help scale restoration projects and sustain long-term stewardship.
Outreach will likely increase, with seasonal bird walks, youth programming, and workshops that connect environmental stewardship to everyday health concerns. Targeted efforts toward historically underserved neighborhoods should make the center more welcoming and relevant to people who haven’t traditionally used urban nature preserves. The result would be a stronger sense of ownership among residents who live closest to the lake.
With leadership rooted in both public health systems and naturalist practice, Mitchell Lake Audubon Center is poised to expand its role as a community asset and wildlife refuge. As programming broadens and partnerships deepen, the center could become a model for how urban nature sites support ecological resilience and neighborhood vitality in South San Antonio and beyond.
