Congress of the Birds

Congress of the Birds founder, Sheida Soleimani, started rehabbing wildlife with her maman, a political refugee from Iran, who was a nurse back in their home country. After seeking asylum and moving to the United States, her mother was unable to continue her practice as a nurse. Wanting to continue to help and nurture, she found a local wildlife rehab center, where she began to volunteer. Sheida was raised around the wild animals her mother would rehabilitate, and through this, grew to pursue it as a passion of her own. Throughout college and grad school, while studying to receive her degrees in art, Sheida continued to volunteer as a bird rehabilitator and would rehab a handful of wild birds out of the bathroom of her apartment every year. The birds became a primary source in her artwork, and after graduating with a Masters in Fine Arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2015, she moved to Rhode Island to teach at the Rhode Island School of Design. While getting settled into a new life in Rhode Island, she realized that she missed caring for birds. In 2016, she received her state rehabilitation license, and began rehabilitating wild birds out of the basement of her rental carriage house.The rest is history. When she joined the visual arts faculty at Brandeis University in 2018, Sheida founded Congress of the Birds in her home on Congress Avenue in Providence, RI. Having a larger space meant that she could treat more avian patients, and the intake numbers grew! In 2020, Sheida received her Federal Migratory Bird Rehabilitation Permit. in 2024 Congress of the Birds became a 501c3 nonprofit organization. The Providence facility houses a fully-equipped wildlife clinic, complete with an oxygen concentrator and chamber, incubator for hatchling and debilitated birds, washing station for waterproofing baths, seabird and waterfowl tub, species specific enclosures, microscopy and blood testing equipment, and four large outdoor aviaries/flight enclosures for birds of various sizes. Sheida works alongside a team of volunteers who help care for our avian patients, as well as maintaining our facilities.

Congress of the Birds rehabilitates birds with release in mind. We are both state licensed and federally permitted to care for all species of wild birds at our clinics in Providence and Chepachet. Providing both medical and rehabilitative care, we treat upwards of 1,000 avian patients every year and provide triage and stabilization for all species of wild animals.