courtesy of Chris Strojan
My name is Chris Strojan, and I am very excited to be representing and raising money for The Peregrine Fund while running the 2026 TCS NYC Marathon.
Growing up in South Carolina and being raised by an ecologist father and public school educator mother led me to develop a deep respect of the environment, animals, and an understanding of the importance of wildlife in the ecosystem from a young age. My interest in raptors was sparked by a grade school field trip to a local raptor rehabilitation center: the Carolina Raptor Center. After that trip, my eyes often drifted to scanning the skies, whether it was watching Red-tailed Hawks in my neighborhood, Ospreys on the local lake, or watching Swallow-tailed Kites soar above nearby farm fields, these encounters cemented and deepened my interest. My passion for wildlife and conservation carried on through college and led me to a degree in wildlife and fisheries biology. To this day, it’s not unusual to find me pulled over on the side of the road to identify and photograph raptors I may see while driving.
These days, I live in Texas and spend much of my free time pursuing various outdoor hobbies on public lands and waters throughout the country and remain an active member of various conservation organizations. At a time when many environmental protection initiatives and conservation ideals are under threat, the work that The Peregrine Fund is doing for raptor conservation could not be more important to ensure the success of raptors in the ecosystem, for generations to come.
