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ABC
Staff Biographies
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Dr.
George H. Fenwick has served as President
and CEO since ABC’s founding in 1994. Prior
to that, he worked in a variety of capacities
during 15 years with The Nature Conservancy, including
Director of Science, and Chair of the Last Great
Places Campaign Steering Committee. He received
a Ph.D. in Pathobiology from Johns Hopkins University.
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Bob
Altman, Northern Pacific Rainforest Bird
Conservation Region (BCR) Coordinator, Partners
in Flight, has a degree in wildlife biology from
Eastern Kentucky University with graduate course
work at Oregon State University. He has been active
in Partners in Flight since its inception, with
several committee positions at state and regional
levels, including his current position as Chairperson
of the Oregon-Washington chapter. Before coming
to ABC, Mr. Altman worked for seven years as an
independent ornithologist conducting avian research
and monitoring under the business name of Avifauna
Northwest. He is author of the Olive-sided Flycatcher
species account for Birds of North America, and
lead author on a book chapter on wildlife-habitat
relationships in western Oregon and Washington.
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Hugo
Arnal, Director of International Sustainable
Conservation, has worked throughout Latin America
on protected areas and natural resource management
for more than 25 years, conducting environmental
feasibility studies, new park creation projects,
nature tourism programs, and community-based conservation
projects throughout the Andes. He has also organized
numerous participatory training programs for Latin
America and Caribbean national park services and
NGOs. Before joining ABC, he worked for The Nature
Conservancy, from 1993 to 2003 as both the Venezuela
and Ecuador Country Program Director. Prior to
that, he worked for five years in the Not-for-profit
conservation sector of Venezuela, his native country,
leading the creation and expansion of protected
areas, as well as the establishment of the first
non-governmental conservation reserve in the Venezuelan
Andes. He has also been the Superintendent of
Sierra Nevada National Park and Acting Director
of the Andean Region of INPARQUES, the Venezuelan
National Parks Service. He holds a Degree in Biology
from Universidad Central de Venezuela, with majors
in ecology and marine biology, and a Certificate
of Graduate Studies on Tropical Ecology from Universidad
de Los Andes, Venezuela. Fluent in English and
Spanish, Mr. Arnal is an avid hiker and alpine
climber, with several new climbing routes and
major mountains throughout the Andes and the Venezuelan
Guayana highlands.
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Elizabeth
Brenner, Director of Membership, Liz
is a native of Rhode Island. Prior to joining
ABC in 2004, Liz was the manager of member services
and award programs for the Healthcare Distribution
Management Association in Reston, Virginia. She
lives in Virginia, with her husband and two sons.
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Dan
Casey, Northern Rockies Bird Conservation
Region (BCR) Coordinator, began his interest in
birds nearly 40 years ago in rural New Jersey.
He has both a B.S. and an M.S. in wildlife biology
from Colorado State University, his thesis work
focusing on bird community response to heavy browsing
by deer in western Pennsylvania oak forest. He
has conducted baseline bird surveys throughout
the western U.S. as a consultant. Before joining
ABC in 2000, Dan spent 16 years with Montana Fish,
Wildlife and Parks, where he designed and directed
research on the effects of habitat management
practices on forest breeding bird communities,
as well as projects directed at waterfowl, Ospreys,
Bald Eagles and elk. Dan served 6 years as chairman
of Montana Partners In Flight, and is a past Chair
of the PIF Western Working Group. He authored
the 2000 Montana Bird Conservation Plan, and was
awarded “Montana Conservationist of the
Year” in 2006. He has served on the Technical
Committees of the Prairie Potholes, Northern Great
Plains, and Intermountain West Joint Ventures.
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Susannah
Casey, GIS Technician - Northern Rockies.
Susannah grew up in the trees and creeks of eastern
Ohio. After getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree
in graphic design from Ohio State University,
she moved west to Colorado and then to Montana
in 1983 with her ornithologist husband, Daniel.
Prior to working for ABC as a GIS specialist,
Susannah started and ran an educational toy store
(1984-1994), worked as a graphic artist, carpenter,
teacher’s aide and medical transcriptionist.
She finds great satisfaction working for ABC and
the bird conservation causes it represents.
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Jenna
Chenoweth, Membership Coordinator is
a native of Colorado, and moved to Virginia very
early in life but visited Colorado on a regular
basis. Jenna is a Certified Master Dog Trainer,
and a Certified Groomer. Prior to joining ABC
Jenna worked for Navy Federal Credit Union in
a number of different financial and administrative
positions. She lives in Bealeton, Virginia with
her husband Kevin, daughter McKenna, and their
German Shepherd Greta.
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Tomeka Davis, Communications & Program Assistant, received a B.S. from Bowie State University in Communications Media Management and a minor is Business Administration. Prior to joining ABC, she worked for TV One (Cable Network Company) providing management support and strategy in digital content, production, marketing, and partnerships. She is currently attending University of Maryland University College Graduate School of Management & Technology.
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Dr. Chris Farmer, Science Coordinator for Translocation and Reintroduction of Endangered Hawaiian Birds, joined ABC in 2010 but has worked on the recovery and reintroduction of Hawaiian birds since 2004. In addition to Hawaiian forest bird ecology and behavior, his research on the island of Hawai‘i has addressed the impacts of exotic predators and ungulates, influences of invasive arthropods on native food webs, and forest regeneration and growth. He received his B.S. in Zoology from the University of California, Davis and his Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His dissertation focused upon host, habitat, and landscape factors affecting the distribution of Brown-headed Cowbirds in California. Prior to moving to Hawai‘i, he worked extensively on avian conservation in southern California, concentrating on riparian habitats.
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Rita
G. Fenwick, Vice President of Development,
received a B.A. from the University of Virginia
where she was a Latin American Studies Major.
From 1986 to 1992, Rita worked for the Virginia
Chapter of The Nature Conservancy where she filled
many roles including Director of Development and
Communications.
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Dr.
Jane A. Fitzgerald, Central Hardwoods
Joint Venture Coordinator, received her Ph. D.
in Zoology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Her course work and research emphases were on
avian ecology and animal behavior. During the
early 1990's, Jane was a lecturer at Southwest
Missouri State University and the Mayor of Reeds
Spring, Missouri. From 1995-2000, she served as
Partners in Flight Midwest Regional Coordinator.
Jane is the founder and Director of a small not-for-profit
organization whose work includes monitoring bird
populations in a rapidly urbanizing region of
southwestern Missouri.
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Dr.
Michael Fry, is the Director for
Conservation Advocacy at American Bird Conservancy,
and responsible for the pesticides and birds program,
and is the lead on projects concerning other contaminants
and wind energy risks to birds. Dr. Fry is an
avian toxicologist with expertise in the effects
of pollutants and pesticides on ecosystems, with
a focus on wild birds. He received his doctorate
at the University of California-Davis, followed
by postdoctoral fellowships at University of Melbourne,
Australia, and Univ. Calif. San Francisco, Cardiovascular
Research Institute. He returned to UC Davis as
a research physiologist in the Department of Avian/Animal
Sciences for 23 years, and joined American Bird
Conservancy in 2005. Dr. Fry has been a panel
member for the National Academy of Sciences on
hormone active chemicals in the environment and
has participated in toxicology reviews and international
symposia for the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) and for the United Nations
University in Japan. He is current Chairman of
the Scientific Committee of the Dept. of Interior,
Minerals Management Service Advisory Board, and
a federal advisory committee member for the EPA
pesticide program.
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Dr.
Jessica Hardesty Norris , Seabird Program Director,
joined ABC in Spring 2007 as she wrapped up her
PhD in Ecology at Duke with John Terborgh. She
received her BSc in Wildlife Biology from Humboldt
State University, and then spent a few years as
a field technician in the United States before
heading to Ecuador with the US Peace Corps. She
conducted her dissertation research in Venezuela,
Peru, and Ecuador, focusing on the ecology of
birds in Sangay National Park, Ecuador where she
spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar. In 2005,
she worked with ABC, WWF, CI, and TNC developing
project abstracts for Alliance for Zero Extinction
sites. Jessica now has 12 years of experience
as a conservationist, ecologist and social scientist,
with a focus on Latin America. She is fluent in
Spanish and learning Portuguese.
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Steve
Holmer, Director of the Bird Conservation Alliance,
received a B.A. degree in history and a minor
degree in political science from Pennsylvania
State University and has over fifteen years experience
in communications and press on wildlife and forest
conservation issues. He comes to ABC from the
Unified Forest Defense Campaign, a coalition of
national organizations working on National Forest
issues. Previously he served as Campaign Coordinator
of American Lands Alliance and began his wildlife
conservation efforts on the Greenpeace Tropical
Forests campaign.
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Bob Johns, Director of Public Relations, worked at the Interior Department for over 30 years in various communication capacities. Most recently, he was BLM Deputy Assistant Director for Communications where he oversaw the Divisions of Public Affairs, Congressional Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Intergovernmental Affairs and Environmental Affairs. Prior to that time he served as Director of Public Affairs for BLM in Arizona and prior to that, Eastern Regional Public Affairs Director for USGS in Reston, Virginia. Bob directed the complete re-design of BLM's 500,000-page web presence, chaired the agency's Web oversight committee, served as senior adviser to the agency's law enforcement leadership team, and has prepared senior Federal managers for appearances on virtually every major news program including 60 Minutes, 20/20, Dateline, and CNN/ABC/CBS/NBC Networks. In 2001, Bob and a small group of BLM managers were recognized by President Bush for management excellence and upon leaving the Interior Department recently, he received one of the Department's highest awards – The Meritorious Service Award.
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Sara Ines Lara, graduated from the University of Cauca in Colombia with a degree in civil engineering in 1997. She worked in the engineering field in Colombia and for Halliburton in the UK before joining Fundación ProAves in 2004 as Executive Director. For more than 5 years she oversaw the transformation of ProAves from an amateur group of bird conservationists and few projects to an effective professional conservation organization. Under her management ProAves established 16 bird reserves across Colombia dedicated to conservation of threatened species of birds, gaining national recognition by the government and national institutes, as a leader in bird conservation. Other important accomplishments include the establishment of a reserve Trust Fund, acceptance as a member of IUCN, receiving the Partners in Flight Award 2006, and recipient of the National Energy Award 2009 for the LoroBus. In 2009, Sara joined American Bird Conservancy as the Director of International Programs.
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Dr.
Edward J. "Ed" Laurent, Science
Coordinator for the Bird Conservation Institute
received a Ph.D. from the Department of Fisheries
and Wildlife at Michigan State University. His
dissertation focused on incorporating satellite
imagery into analysis of bird species distribution
patterns across forested landscapes. Prior to
joining ABC, he was a keeper for several zoos,
managed a live trapping and relocation company
in Georgia, studied water snakes for his MS degree,
and was a postdoctoral research associate with
the Southeast Gap Analysis Project. Over the past
decade Dr. Laurent has focused on expanding the
role of GIS, remote sensing and database technologies
in natural resource management and has published
on these methods in both the scientific and technical
literature. He is also an active member of NC
and Southeast Partners in Flight.
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Anne
Law, Deputy Director of Conservation
Advocacy, has broad experience in legislative
affairs, law, and politics. Prior to joining ABC,
Anne worked for Rapoza Associates, a public interest
lobbying and government relations firm located
in Washington, DC. At Rapoza, Anne secured federal
appropriations for housing and community development
organizations and worked to establish a micro-lending
program at the USDA. As a legislative assistant
for Audubon, Anne helped secure federal appropriations
for Audubon nature centers and worked on the campaign
to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from
drilling. On the legal front, Anne worked for
a private firm where she focused on class action
lawsuits and federal investigations. Anne has
also worked on federal compliance issues for Hillary
Clinton's Senate campaign in 2000 and as a field
organizer for John Kerry's Presidential campaign
in 2004. Anne has a Bachelor's degree in business
administration from Cornell University and JD
from The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University.
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Dr.
Daniel J. Lebbin, Conservation Biologist,
received a B.A. degree in Biology and Environmental
Science & Policy from Duke University, and
a Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
from Cornell University. His dissertation research
investigated habitat specialization among Amazonian
birds in Peru, where he spent a year as a Fulbright
Scholar. Daniel did work for WWF, TNC, the National
Zoo, and field research projects in Jamaica, Costa
Rica, Ecuador, and Venezuela. He speaks Spanish
and is learning Portuguese. A birder since childhood,
Daniel also enjoys bird illustration and photography,
and his images appear in a variety of publications
and exhibits.
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Erin Lebbin, Development Officer, grew up in Lexington, KY, where she reveled in horseback riding. After leaving Kentucky, she earned a bachelor's degree in English and Art History from Cornell, and a master's degree in Art History from Johns Hopkins. Erin currently enjoys running, backpacking, gardening and learning languages.
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Mary
Liles, Program Development Officer, graduated from The George Washington University with a B.A. in history. She worked in international economic development with American labor unions for nineteen years while living in the Washington, DC area. After moving to Piedmont Virginia with her husband and son, her career has centered on environmental conservation. Her favorite place to bird is on the back of her horse.
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Casey
Lott, Coastal and Waterways Program Coordinator,
has diverse ornithological experience working
with passerines, seabirds, and raptors. He has
researched landbird stopover ecology and the use
of stable isotopes to track animal movements.
He has participated in conservation programs monitoring
raptor populations and decreasing bird collisions
with towers on migration routes. He also directs
a long-term raptor migration research and environmental
education project in the Florida Keys for HawkWatch
International.
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Dr.
Moira McKernan, Pesticides and Birds
Program Director, is an avian toxicologist with
research interests in the effects of persistent
organic pollutants, metals, and pesticides on
wild birds. She earned her BA in Biology from
SUNY Potsdam, an MS in Zoology from Southern Illinois
University, and her PhD in Marine, Estuarine and
Environmental Sciences from University of Maryland.
While working on her PhD, Moira worked at U.S.
Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
where she researched the effects of environmental
contaminants in birds, and managed the Contaminants
Exposure and Effects-Terrestrial Vertebrates (CEETV)
database.
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Jack Morrison, Planned Giving Officer, was the longtime owner and operator of the Blue Dog CDs and Records in Fredericksburg, VA. He received his B.A. in Government and Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia in 1990. Prior to that he worked for many years with emotionally disturbed adolescents in Charlottesville. He is an avid, though amateur birder, competitive runner, and current President of the Fredericksburg Area Running Club.
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Merrie
S. Morrison, Vice-President for Operations,
served as Director of Administration for the Virginia
Chapter of The Nature Conservancy from 1988 until
1995 when she joined ABC. She was the recipient
of the 2003 Partners in Flight National Outreach
Award.
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Michael
J. Parr, Vice President, graduated from
the University of East Anglia, U.K., in 1986.
He worked at the International Council for Bird
Preservation International Secretariat (now BirdLife
International) as Development Officer before joining
American Bird Conservancy in 1996. His first book,
Parrots - A Guide to the Parrots of the World
was published by Yale University Press in April
1998. He is a co-author of two further books:
Important Bird Areas in the U.S., and
Wildlife Spectacles, a Conservation International/Cemex
publication. He is also a member of the Advisory
Committee of ProAves Colombia, and acts as Chair
to the Alliance for Zero Extinction.
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Dr.
David N. Pashley, Vice President of Conservation
Programs, received a Ph.D. from the School of
Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries at Louisiana
State University. His dissertation title was ‘A
Distributional Analysis of the Warblers of the
West Indies’. In addition to being an instructor
at the University of Southwestern Louisiana and
serving six years in the Science and Stewardship
programs of The Nature Conservancy, Dr. Pashley
has had a long association with Partners in Flight.
Among his responsibilities for PIF have been Chair
of the Southeast Working Group and National Coordinator.
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Gemma
Radko, Communications and Media Manager,
graduated from Allegheny College in 1985 with
a degree in Art and Biology. She has over 20 years
of graphic design experience and is also an avid
birder. She is a member of both the Montgomery
and Frederick chapters of the Maryland Ornithological
Society and often leads field trips for members.
Gemma is a licensed bird bander and runs a MAPS
(Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship)
station during summers. She is also involved in
the Maryland/DC Breeding Bird Atlas Project, which
runs through 2006.
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Darin
Schroeder, Vice President of Conservation
Advocacy, brings nearly 13 years of extensive
Capitol Hill experience to ABC, having served
as Wisconsin Offices Manager for U.S. Senator
Russ Feingold (D-WI) from 1993 until 2000, and
then joining the staff of U.S. Congressman Ron
Kind (D-WI) as Press Secretary. Over the course
of the next six years, Darin went on to become
Representative Kind’s Communications Director
and Senior Policy Advisor. He played an instrumental
role in expanding voluntary conservation programs
in the 2002 Farm bill and worked closely with
ABC staff to introduce legislation reauthorizing
the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act.
Darin brings strong experience in lobbying, coalition
building, media, as well as general political
savvy to ABC. Darin received a Bachelors of Arts
degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1993.
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Chris Sheppard,
Bird Collisions Campaign Manager earned her BA
and Ph.D. at Cornell University, as part of the
short-lived Six Year Ph.D. program. Her thesis
advisor was Dr. Tom Cade, who used captive propagation
and falconry techniques to restore the Peregrine
to the east coast of the US. Her interest in captive
propagation as a tool to save endangered species
led her to the Wildlife Conservation Society’s
Bronx Zoo, where she started as curatorial intern
and ended as department head of the Ornithology
Department. She has chaired American Zoo Association
taxon advisory groups for Coraciiformes, Galliformes
and Gruiformes and has chaired the IUCN Hornbill
Specialist Group. She is a lumper. She initiated
the Green Team at WCS and the Green Practices
Advisory Group for AZA. She became interested
in the issue of bird collisions because it combines
‘green practices’ and wildlife conservation
and this led her to ABC.
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Gavin
Shire, Vice President of Communications, obtained
a bachelor's degree in Zoology & Genetics
from Sheffield University. He began his career
in bird conservation on the island of Mauritius,
where he was part of the restoration effort for
the Mauritius Kestrel, once the world's rarest
bird. He conducted two years of field research
and captive rearing/release work before coming
to America in 1992. He developed the Trumpeter
Swan Restoration Project for Environmental Studies
at Airlie, aimed at restoring migratory populations
of swans to the eastern United States using ultralight
aircraft. Here he was project coordinator, outreach
specialist, aviculturalist and ultralight pilot.
He joined ABC in March 2000. He has also worked
as a free-lance photographer.
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Benjamin
Skolnik, Conservation Projects Specialist,
received his BS from Wheaton College, MA and received
his MS in the Sustainable Development and Conservation
Biology Program at the University of Maryland.
More recently, Benjamin worked as a Peace Corps
volunteer in a high Andean village in Ancash,
Peru, where he worked on community diagnostic
methodology, implemented an improved cooking stove
campaign, provided technical assistance to the
community in watershed conservation activities,
and conducted small business and leadership workshops.
He has participated in many avian field projects,
including several in remote regions of Ecuador.
Benjamin has worked with a number of organizations,
including as a GIS analyst for the US Fish and
Wildlife Service Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation
Act grant program, Conservation International,
Potomac Conservancy, and the New England Aquarium.
He is fluent in Spanish and can speak basic Quechua.
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Brian
Smith, Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture
Coordinator, has worked for the Kentucky Department
of Fish & Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) since
2002, serving as their Small Game/Farm Bill Program
Coordinator and most recently as their Wildlife
Diversity Program Coordinator. Prior to working
for KDFWR, he earned a B.S. in Wildlife Management
from Eastern Kentucky University, an M.S. in Raptor
Biology from Boise State University (Burrowing
Owl research), and a Ph.D. in Forest Resource
Science from West Virginia University (Ruffed
Grouse research for the Appalachian Cooperative
Grouse Research Project).
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Judy
Szczepaniak, Office Administrator, The
Plains Office, has degrees in History and Art
History from Northern Illinois University and
a Humanities degree from Stephens College. Prior
to her relocation from Michigan to Virginia, she
was Office Administrator for Charter Industries
in Grand Rapids, MI. Outside of work, she enjoys
needlepoint, cartooning, and the best friendships
with her husband and their raggedy old newfoundland,
Duncan. Her knowledge of birds is only expandable.
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Beth
Wallace, Administration & Program
Assistant, received a Master of Science degree
in Zoology from the University of Otago in New
Zealand. Prior to joining ABC, Beth spent several
years as a field ornithologist, working for the
Missouri Department of Conservation and Bird Studies
Canada.
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Dr.
George E. Wallace, Vice President for
Oceans and Islands, has been active in bird
research and conservation for 20 years. Most recently,
George served as Executive Director of the Rocky
Mountain Bird Observatory, a close and long-standing
ABC partner. Prior to that, he worked for the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
first as a Nongame Wildlife Biologist and then
as Florida’s state Bird Conservation Coordinator.
George has also worked for Bird Studies Canada,
The Nature Conservancy, Point Reyes Bird Observatory,
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. George
received his M.S. in Zoology from the University
of Guelph in Ontario, Canada for his research
on plumage maturation and breeding behavior of
the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. He received his Ph.D.
in Biology at the University of Missouri where
his dissertation research focused on the wintering
ecology of Neotropical migrant and Cuban resident
birds overwintering on Cayo Coco, Cuba. George
has also worked on migration monitoring in Canada
and California, research on seabird breeding ecology
in California and Antarctica, and is an experienced
bird bander.
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Dr.
David A. Wiedenfeld, Assistant Director
of International Programs, received a Ph.D. from
Florida State University, and a M.S. from Louisiana
State University. His work has focused on bird
population ecology and conservation biology. He
has worked with CITES authorities on developing
methods for surveying psittacid populations and
evaluating the effects of the trade on the populations.
He served for five years as Director of Research
at the Sutton Avian Research Center, working primarily
on prairie-chickens. Returning to the Neotropics,
he served for more than three years as Head of
the Department of Vertebrate Ecology at the Charles
Darwin Research Station, in the Galapagos Islands.
His work there was primarily with bird populations,
but took also included projects on invasive species,
including predators, diseases, and parasites.
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David
Younkman, Chief Conservation Officer
has more than 30 years senior management experience
working in conservation and environmental organizations.
David worked for two decades at The Nature Conservancy,
beginning as the Ohio State Director and leaving
as Vice President for Resources of the Latin America
and Caribbean Program. David also served as the
Executive Director for American Oceans Campaign
and the Western Regional Director of the National
Wildlife Federation. He ran Strategic Consulting,
a successful consulting practice, for five years,
and taught graduate level coursework at UCSD.
David is an avid sailor and has a Master’s
of Science in Landscape Architecture and environmental
design from UW- Madison.
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Dariusz
Zdziebkowski, IT and Website Coordinator
is an avid photographer, naturalist, and world
traveler in addition to keeping up to date with
the newest trends in the IT technology. Prior
to joining ABC, he spent few years managing his
own business Darweb Consulting, providing IT management
services to various small businesses and prior
to that managing all aspects of office infrastructure
and IT applications for a pharmaceutical association.
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