Linda Detroy Alexander
Communications Specialist,
Linda received her degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduation, she worked for newspapers and as a freelance writer in Madison before moving to Bloomington, IN, where she worked for the Herald-Times, and then to Iowa City, IA, where she was an editorial writer and columnist for The Gazette. Linda’s professional experience also includes working as the director of the Iowa City Community School District Foundation and as a writer for the University of Iowa Foundation, and teaching beginning journalism courses at the University of Iowa. She and her husband Peter moved to the mountains in Colorado in 2008, as soon as their youngest child graduated from high school. In her spare time, Linda loves to cook, and she and her family are avid hikers and backpackers. They’re working their way up all the Colorado Fourteeners and doing as much climbing as they can. Linda carries her binoculars and bird guide with her wherever she goes, and is committed to informing RMBO members and partners, and the public, about the crucial work of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.
Contact: (303) 659-4348 x10

Jason Beason
Special Monitoring Projects Coordinator, Science Division
Jason received a BS from The Ohio State University (1990) where he majored in Natural Resources (Parks and Recreation). After college, he moved out west and took up the hobby of birding. He has worked on a wide variety of projects involving birds in 8 western states. He has conducted bird surveys in locations as remote as the Frank Church Wilderness Area in Idaho and as urban as "the strip" in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is the Special Monitoring Projects Coordinator and assists with other monitoring projects. Jason, his wife, Kerry, and their son, Otus, run Rain Crow Farm near Paonia.
Contact: (970) 527-4625

Jenny Berven
Northern Goshawk Project Coordinator, Science Division
Jenny received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology in 2003 and a M.S. in Biomedical Sciences in 2007, attaining both degrees from Colorado State University. Since moving to Colorado she has worked and volunteered for a variety of agencies researching multiple avian species including raptors, waterfowl and upland game birds. Most of her research experiences have concentrated on how diseases like West Nile virus and avian influenza affect individual birds and avian populations. As a hobby, Jenny has volunteered for the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program for several years and values the opportunity to interact with birds of prey requiring rehabilitation. Jenny joined RMBO in 2009 as the Northern Goshawk Project Coordinator.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x26

Jeff Birek
Biologist, Science Division
Jeff received his B.S. in Environmental Biology and Management from University of California, Davis (2003). Since 2003, he has worked with raptors, songbirds and gamebirds in 4 U.S. states and Mexico. Jeff was the Wyoming crew leader for RMBO in 2007 and conducted point counts in Southern Colorado in 2008. He is currently working on monitoring projects in the Fort Collins office.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x25

Jennifer Blakesley
Biometrician, Science Division
Jennifer received her BS in Biology from Utah State University, her MS in Wildlife Resources from the University of Idaho, and her PhD in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University. She studied the demography, habitat relationships, and breeding dispersal of Northern and California Spotted Owls for 18 years. Prior to owl research, she studied habitat relationships of songbirds in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming. Jennifer joined RMBO in July 2006.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x18

Bart Bly
Nebraska Prairie Partners Biologist, Stewardship Division
Bart received his B.S. (2001) in Aquatic Science from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, and earned his M.S. (2004) in Ecology and Evolution at the University of North Dakota where he developed various landscape and population viability models for various amphibian populations. He has a diverse background and has assisted with research in a variety of different ecosystems, and most recently conducted surveys on Northern Saw-whet Owls in the southern Appalachian Mountains. In cooperation with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Bart is responsible for the monitoring and research on birds of conservation concern in the Nebraska panhandle.
Contact: (308) 762-1131

Cassy Bohnet
Education Assistant, Education Division
Cassy studied at the University of Northern Iowa, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in biology education in 2007, and her professional science master’s degree in ecosystem management in 2008. Cassy moved from the Iowa plains to the mountains of Colorado in August 2008. As a graduate student, she worked on a prairie biomass research project at the Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa, and it was there she decided to combine her teaching skills with her knowledge of ecosystems to work as an environmental educator. Cassy gained experience in the environmental education field as an intern at the Lost Island Nature Center in Ruthven, Iowa. Cassy believes education is essential in order to improve our societies conservation practices.
Contact: (303) 659-4348 x15

Nancy Drilling
South Dakota Projects Coordinator, Science Division
Nancy, a native Iowan, received her M.S. at Illinois State University and is finishing her PhD in Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota. She has worked on many avian projects in all corners of the U.S., including research on forest passerines, shorebirds, waterfowl, and colonial waterbirds. She also has experience in Southeast Asia, including three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand, and several years working and conducting avian research in Indonesia and Malaysia. At RMBO, Nancy coordinates RMBO projects in South Dakota, including the second SD Breeding Bird Atlas.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x14

Kacie Ehrenberger
Education and Outreach Director, Education Division
Kacie received a B.S. in Forestry and Wildlife from Virginia Tech in 1999 and is a devoted Hokies fan. She also received a M.S. in Forestry and Natural Resources from Purdue University where she studied the bird and amphibian response to a wetland restoration project. Kacie recently left the Indiana Department of Natural Resources where she first worked for the nongame and endangered species program and then as the aquatic resources education coordinator. Kacie believes education plays a vital role in conversation as a natural resource management tool. Kacie is now RMBO’s Director of Education and Outreach. She will be working out of the Brighton office and will be leading education programs and outreach events throughout Colorado.
Contact: (303) 659-4348 x16

Seth Gallagher
Stewardship Division Director, Stewardship Division
Seth earned an AS in Wildlife Management from Minot State University-Bottineau, North Dakota (1997) and a BS in Wildlife Management from Lincoln Memorial University, Tennessee (2000). He went on to study nesting ecology of Red-shouldered Hawks in northern Michigan at Central Michigan University. Seth joined RMBO in February 2004. His duties include managing the NRCS-CDOW Private Lands Wildlife Program, assisting with landowner outreach activities, and designing and implementing on-the-ground ground habitat enhancement projects with partners.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x12

David Hanni
Science Division Director, Science Division
David has 8 years of professional experience conducting and managing large scale monitoring programs. Currently David and the Monitoring Division are monitoring avian populations in seven states for federal, state and private organizations. The goal is to provide natural resource managers with scientifically defensible population information to support informed decisions that will conserve Rocky Mountains and Great Plains birds and their habitats. David is currently participating in several local, regional and international efforts to conserve species and habitats in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. Education: Colorado State University, Wildlife Biology, B.S.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x13

Corey Kanuckel
Private Lands Wildlife Biologist in Southwest Colorado, Stewardship Division
He received his BS in Biology/Ecology from the University of Findlay (1997) and his MS in Env Studies/Conservation Biology from Ohio University (2003). He spent two seasons with the US Forest Service in Salida, CO as a field biologist before coming to work with the NRCS/CDOW/RMBO partnership program. A native of Ohio, Corey has worked on a number of wildlife research projects across the country. This has included a stream ecology study in southeastern OH, radio-tracking Sharp-Shinned Hawks in PA, monitoring Bald Eagles in Eastern North Carolina, and breeding raptor survey and nest monitoring in Colorado and Utah. Corey had also worked as a habitat biologist with NRCS and the PA Game Commission in Western PA where he planned native grass plantings, riparian buffers, and wetlands on private lands.
Contact:

Amanda Keep
Nebraska Shortgrass Prairie Education Coordinator, Education Division
Amanda attended Central Community College and received an Associates degree in Applied Science in 2004, then transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to obtain a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife in 2006. For the past two summers Amanda had been working at a Nebraska State Park as a temporary Naturalist/Outdoor Educator. During this time she was able to deliver many outdoor education programs, coordinating school events, and helped plan many of the parks annual events. Amanda coordinates the Nebraska education and outreach activities focusing on wildlife habitat of the ponderosa pine and shortgrass prairie ecosystems.
Contact: (308) 220-0052

Patty Knupp
Private-Lands Wildlife Biologist, Stewardship Division
Patty received her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Wildlife Management, Biology and Natural Resources and an M.S. in Wildlife Management from South Dakota State University. Her thesis included work on wild turkeys and their habitat. Patty worked as a Farm Wildlife Biologist with the VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) for 13 years, with statewide duties working primarily on bobwhite quail and other early succession wildlife on private lands. Patty has been working as a PLWB in Southeast Colorado with NRCS and CDOW for the past 4 years. She is stationed in the Pueblo NRCS Field Office.
Contact:

Greg Levandoski
Biologist, International Programs
Greg received a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of New Hampshire in 1996 and then promptly fell in love with avian field research. He has worked on a wide variety of research projects ranging from monitoring nesting alcids in the Bering Sea, to counting migrating raptors along western ridgelines and chasing warblers through Carribean thorn forests. However, most of his work has been in monitoring populations of passerines in the western U.S. The search for a broad base of experience to understand avian conservation needs has led him to work in 15 U.S. states (10 western), 3 Mexican states, and Jamaica. Currently, Greg is working with the International Program on a broad scale project throughout northern Mexico which aims to better understand the distribution and abundance of wintering birds in Chihuahuan Desert grasslands.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x15

Ross Lock
Mountain Plover Nest Conservation Project Manager/Wildlife Biologist, Stewardship Division
Received a B.S. in Zoology and Botany (1964) and a M.S. in Zoology (1966) both from Fort Hays State University. He worked for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission as a Wildlife Biologist from 1966 to 2001, serving as a District Supervisor of Wildlife Management Areas for 5 years and as the Nongame and Endangered Species Coordinator for 30 years. He was a member of the Whooping Crane and Piping Plover national recovery teams. Ross retired from the Nebraska job in 2001 and moved to Colorado. He began working with RMBO in 2004 as a seasonal field biologist conducting Mountain Plover nest surveys in southeastern Colorado and bird surveys on playa lakes throughout the eastern plains of Colorado. Became the Mountain Plover Nest Conservation Project Manager in 2007.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x23

Noe Marymor
Private-Lands Wildlife Biologist, Stewardship Division
Noe received her B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University in 2005. Since then she has worked as a private lands biologist in both Nebraska and Colorado, helping landowners develop and implement habitat conservation projects on their land. Noe joined RMBO in September 2008 as a PLWB and works with the NRCS and CDOW to deliver habitat conservation projects through Farm Bill funding sources in Northeast Colorado. Noe is stationed in the Regional NRCS office in Greeley.
Contact:

Brandon Miller
Private Lands Wildlife Biologist (northwest Colorado), Stewardship Division
Brandon earned an AS in Recreation & Wildlife from Hocking College and a BS in Wildlife Resources from the University of Idaho. Brandon gained field experience and familiarity of northwestern Colorado while working on two greater sage-grouse research projects for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Brandon has also worked for the US forest Service on a range of field projects throughout the west. As a Private Lands Wildlife Biologist, Brandon’s position is designed to provide technical resources for private landowners and land managers to incorporate wildlife management into their conservation efforts utilizing Farm Bill and other conservation programs.
Contact: (970) 879-3225 x111

Arvind Panjabi
International Program Director, International Programs
Arvind received a BS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont (1993) and an MS in Wildlife Biology from Louisiana State University (1999). Before coming to RMBO in 2000, he worked on wide range of bird conservation projects from Alaska to Panama. Arvind managed RMBO’s Black Hills Bird Monitoring project through 2005, and published several informative reports on the avifauna of this unique region. He works closely with the Partners in Flight, manages the PIF Species Assessment Database, and was instrumental in applying the PIF assessment process to the Mexican avifauna, in conjunction with federal and NGO partners in Mexico. In 2005, he launched RMBO’s International Program to build a permanent bridge for bird conservation throughout the Americas. He is currently involved in several cooperative projects in Mexico in Chihuahuan grasslands, western Mexico, and in the Sierra Madre Oriental.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x20

James Pauley, CPA
Accounting Manager (CPA),
James earned his BS and MS in Accounting from the University of Wyoming in 2002 and 2003 respectively. After finishing his education, he worked for two years in Public Accounting in Lubbock, Texas, passed the Uniform CPA exam, and became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). After moving to Colorado, James worked for two years as Reimbursement Analyst for The University of Colorado Hospital. James began working for RMBO in September 2007. James enjoys outdoor activities including hiking and biking.
Contact: (303) 659-4348 x14

David Pavlacky
Spatial Ecologist, Science Division
A Colorado native, David received a BS in Wildlife Biology from Colorado State University (1995) and a MS in Zoology and Physiology from The University of Wyoming (2000). He earned a PhD in Zoology from The University of Queensland, Australia (2008), where he studied landscape genetics and ecology of rainforest birds. David first worked for RMBO as a field technician in 1995, and he rejoined RMBO in April 2008 to work on the spatial ecology of playa wetlands in eastern Colorado and western Nebraska. His research interests include quantitative methods for the distribution and abundance of wildlife and landscape ecology of forest birds.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x11

Andrew Pierson
Shortgrass Prairie Coordinating Wildlife Biologist, Stewardship Division
Andrew received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2005. Since, he has performed at-risk species monitoring for the U.S. Forest Service in central Idaho before moving back to his home state where he held positions in private lands conservation with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) and Pheasants Forever, Inc. In cooperation with NGPC, Andrew currently uses the Landowner Incentives Program and other conservation program offerings, to implement stewardship activities on prairie, ponderosa pine woodlands, streams, and wetlands for the benefit of at-risk species in the Nebraska panhandle.
Contact: (308) 220-0052

Laura Quattrini
Stewardship Biologist, Stewardship Division
Laura received her B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Ohio University with an Environmental Studies Certificate. Laura has assisted with numerous avian research projects with organizations including Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, HawkWatch International, Southern Sierra Research Station, and Humboldt State University. She was also an Americorps VISTA and has experience organizing outreach activities with landowners in southeast Ohio. Laura is currently finishing her M.S. thesis at CSU involving a proposal for a community forestry project in the southernmost extent of the Northern Spotted Owl range in northwestern California.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x10

Jora Rehm-Lorber
Biologist, Science Division
Jora Rehm-Lorber joined the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory in April 2009. She will work with the Regional Bird Monitoring Program out of the Fort Collins office and is currently the Wyoming crew leader. Jora graduated from The Evergreen State College in 2003 with a Bachelors of Science in ecology and received her Masters of Environmental Studies in ornithology in 2009. Jora moved to Colorado from California, where she worked as an avian field biologist for the Point Reyes Bird Observatory; the University of California, Berkeley; and the Tahoe National Forest. Her graduate work focused on the design and implementation of an avian monitoring program for her college’s forest reserve. She continues to be passionate about the value of long-term monitoring to conservation efforts.
Contact: 970-482-1707 x27

Travis Runia
Farm Bill Biologist, Stewardship Division
He recieved his B.S. Wildlife and fisheries sciences from South Dakota State University in 2006. He will be finishing his M.S. Degree from South Dakota State University this spring. His graduate research looked at the influence of large scale land use and CRP on the demographics of prairie grouse in Northeastern South Dakota.
Contact: 308-882-4263

Chandman Sambuu
Information Technology Specialist, Science Division
Chandman has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree from Colorado State University. He graduated in 2005 and joined RMBO. Chandman designs and develops web sites, databases and application software as well as administering the systems in the Fort Collins and the Brighton office. Currently, he’s working towards his Masters degree in Computer Science also.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x21

Larry Snyder
Nebraska Prairie Partners Assistant, Stewardship Division
Larry Snyder is a lifetime resident of Kimball, Nebraska. Larry received an A.A.S degree in Production Agriculture from Northeastern Junior College in 1986, and has 26 years of experience in livestock and dry land crop production in the southern Nebraska Panhandle. Larry is an avid outdoorsman, and has an eye for watching wildlife. Larry began working with the Nebraska Prairie Partners as a seasonal field technician conducting special species surveys in 2002, and currently works full-time as the Nebraska Prairie Partners Assistant. Larry is responsible for implementing the Mountain Plover Nest Protection program and Wildlife Escape Ladder project, and is very involved in the Nebraska Prairie Partners Education and Outreach programs. Larry continues to help conduct special species surveys, and most recently has begun the implementation process of playa restoration projects in the southern panhandle.
Contact: (308) 762-2372

Rob Sparks
Research Biologist/GIS Manager, Science Division
Rob received a degree in Botany from Miami University in 1998. Before working for RMBO in 2003, he worked in Costa Rica with the Great Green Macaw Conservation Project and the Arizona Bald Eagle Nestwatch Program. Rob is responsible for implementing study designs, managing spatial data and creating distribution models. He also has used generalized linear models to explore habitat relationships for wintering grassland birds in Mexico.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x19

Tammy VerCauteren
Executive Director,
Tammy, a native of Michigan, received a BS in Wildlife Management in 1995 from Michigan State University and obtained her MS in 1998 from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she studied Sandhill Cranes. She began working for RMBO in 1999 as a specialist in GIS and landowner outreach for the Prairie Partners program. She serves as the Prairie Partners Coordinator and the Division Director for Outreach. She enjoys working with private landowners and encouraging proactive voluntary efforts for species conservation. She believes wildlife conservation and agricultural production go hand-in-hand.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x16

Chris White
Biologist, Science Division
Chris received a B.S. in Biology from Arizona State University in 2002. After graduating, he volunteered at Liberty Wildlife, an avian rehabilitation facility in Arizona, and worked occasional field jobs. After moving to Fort Collins, Colorado, he took a job working for RMBO as a data entry technician in the fall of 2006. He currently works in the Monitoring Division planning and conducting field work.
Contact: (970) 482-1707 x24