Friends of the Festival include our generous event sponsors, guides, and volunteers who are vital to the festival’s success and whose support is critical to our mission to protect and sustain the unique lands, waters, and biodiversity of West Marin.

Please be sure to thank them in the field!

Are you an experienced naturalist, birder, or expert in your field and want to join our team? Contact us for more info.

Enrique Aguirre | Bilingual Spanish and UK English Speaker is an award-winning wildlife and nature photographer. He lives and works in beautiful Marin County. 
His work has taken him to locations on all seven continents, from Emperor penguins in Antarctica to Howler monkeys in the jungles of Central America, or from the cheetah in The Mara to Steller eagles in Japan, but his passion is documenting the local California wildlife. He is represented by Getty Images and is regularly published worldwide. He is also one of the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin’s Marin MPA Watch volunteers on Drakes Beach, spending countless hours in the National Seashore. Some of his art will be on sale in our office over the festival weekend and through August 2025, with proceeds benefitting our mission.

Scot Anderson has been studying sharks since 1987. After graduating with a degree in Environmental Studies, Scot began volunteering to help document predation events at the Farallon Islands island by developing the use of decoys (seal shape) with a video camera mounted underneath to film the sharks. He recognized that white shark individuals could be identified by their markings, including the dorsal fin notches. In 1993, Scot’s video was used in the production of a BBC documentary, “Great White Shark,” for which he received an Emmy award for “Individual Achievement in a Craft: Cinematographers”. He later teamed up with Stanford University to deploy the first PSAT satellite tags, which led to the discovery of shark migration to the White Shark “Café.”

Sharon Barnett is co-owner of Marin Nature Adventures, a science teacher at Marin Country Day School, a hiking instructor for the College of Marin, and one of Marin’s most dynamic interpretive naturalists. Known as Sharon Heron, she gets children and adults excited about nature. Sharon is the 2011 Terwilliger Environmental Award winner for excellence in environmental education and was recently honored with the EAC's Peter Behr Environment Award for Stewardship of Land & Sea. Over the years, she has volunteered with many organizations and most recently founded California Toad Crew.

Lauren Bettino (@earthlingelle) is a wildlife photographer, rehabilitator, and advocate. She received her BS in Wildlife Ecology & Conservation with honors from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she was recognized for her conservation work, including a GIS study analyzing movement patterns of elephants in Botswana and a field study of endangered lemurs in Madagascar, which she successfully published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. She has worked hands-on with a wide variety of wildlife, including cheetahs, wolves, and marine mammals, and has been a volunteer wildlife rehabilitator at Marin County’s primary wildlife hospital, WildCare, for over 3 years. She is thrilled to have taken up wildlife photography full-time in the last year and looks forward to harnessing her work to bring awareness to a variety of conservation efforts.

Frank Binney is a professional interpretive planner who has helped enhance visitor experiences at Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Mount St. Helens, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, and numerous California State Parks. He is the author of Point Reyes and the San Andreas Fault Zone: The Aerial Photography of Robert Campbell. In 2004, he was named Volunteer of the Year, Pacific West Region of the National Park Service, for his pro bono help in assisting National Seashore biologists with Tule Elk and Snowy Plover studies.

Lori Budish of Blue Waters Kayaking is an experienced kayaking guide and passionate naturalist with a deep love for the outdoors. With a decade of kayaking experience, she has spent years exploring the waters of Point Reyes and has developed a keen eye for the subtle details of nature. Lori is dedicated to helping others explore the natural beauty of the waterways while providing engaging insights about the local ecology and wildlife. Her adept knowledge of the region, paired with her love for adventure, makes her a wonderful guide for both beginners and seasoned kayakers alike. She is certified by the ACA as an open-water kayaking instructor, as well as certified in Wilderness First Aid. When she’s not leading kayaking tours, you can find her rock climbing, backpacking, hiking, and stand-up paddleboarding.

Heather Cameron has enjoyed a lifelong passion for birds. She has birded extensively around Marin over the past 28 years and has a special affinity for birding at Point Reyes.  She is a long-time member of Point Blue Conservation Science, and the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, a volunteer block leader for the Marin Breeding Bird Atlas, and a dedicated participant and area leader for the Point Reyes and other local Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs).

Scott Carey is an avid birder, and he has guided local birdwatching trips in Marin and Sonoma counties, as well as some further afield in Humboldt County and Arizona. When Scott is not out birdwatching, he participates in several bird surveys and volunteers for the Marin Breeding Bird Atlas. He currently conducts shorebird and Marbled Murrelet surveys for Avocet Research.

Mark Clark | Bilingual French Speaker is a Marin County native and a former teacher at the College of Marin, with a degree in zoology from UC Davis. He leads a monthly Marin Audubon bird walk at the Las Gallinas ponds, participates in the Southern Marin Christmas Bird Count on Mount Tamalpais, and assists the Marin Breeding Bird Atlas. He likes to teach about the interconnectedness of wildlife and always brings humor to his group outings.

Natalie Clark is a lifelong resident of Marin County and a former elementary school teacher. Currently, Natalie leads naturalist hikes through the Community Education Program at the College of Marin and teaches nature classes for children. Natalie finds joy in sharing her knowledge and feels that there is always something new to discover and learn from our natural world.  

Catie Clune is on our festival committee and is the Director of Education at Audubon Canyon Ranch. She is an experienced naturalist and science educator who has a passion for building more inclusive outdoor spaces. She has spent over 12 years managing education and outreach programs in West Marin on topics including endangered salmon, redwoods and climate change, and marine conservation. She has taught the UC California Naturalist Certification course and led professional development workshops for science teachers. She holds an MA in science education from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in Community Studies, with a focus on environmental justice, from UC Santa Cruz. She also currently serves on the board of LandPaths in Sonoma County.

Jerry Coe is a naturalist and former mountaineering guide with over ten years of training in ornithological field identification under Professor Joseph Morlan at San Francisco City College. He spent 15 years as a volunteer in Great Basin, Nevada, doing point count surveys using bird activities to assess the health of habitats. He has led guided expeditions all over the world and is currently a California State Park ranger working in China Camp State Park.

Emiko Condeso is an ecologist and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) specialist for Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR). She holds a master's degree in biology/landscape ecology from Sonoma State University and a dual bachelor's degree in biology and environmental studies from UC Santa Cruz. Emiko's research interests include understanding how spatial patterns, particularly in human-altered landscapes, influence biological communities. Her graduate work focused on sudden oak death and examined the role of the spatial pattern of host woodland on disease dynamics. At the Cypress Grove Research Center, Emiko manages ACR's long-term biological monitoring projects and collaborates with staff and partners in conservation research. She is an active member of the local conservation GIS community.

Mark Dettling is an avian ecologist with Point Blue Conservation Science. He is one of the supervisors and trainers for the bird banding interns at the Palomarin Field Station located at the south end of Point Reyes National Seashore. He is passionate about conservation and spends much of his free time birding in the Point Reyes area and abroad (when that's possible!). His passion for birds and birding started in his home state of Michigan, where he graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. After realizing his true calling was more in the natural sciences, he completed a Master’s Degree program in Natural Resources at Cornell University. His experience includes studying Least Bell’s Vireos along the San Joaquin River, wintering songbirds in the Central Valley, and Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoos along the Sacramento River. He has co-authored several scientific papers and often presents at scientific conferences.

John Dell’Osso, | Bilingual Italian Speaker is a retired National Park Service Ranger who spent most of his 36-year career at Point Reyes National Seashore, where he served as the Chief of Interpretation and Public Information Officer. John has been birding since he was a young teenager. He has since been to every corner of the U.S. to bird, including multiple trips to Canada. He has led countless bird walks for the public and brought the Christmas Bird Count 4 Kids to Point Reyes National Seashore. He is the Chair of the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation in Sonoma County.

Molly Donahue is an educator and nature enthusiast from West Marin. She has been exploring these hills since she was a child and now loves to adventure and bird with her husband, Larry Nigro. She is a certified California Naturalist and participated in the Marin County Bird Breeding Atlas. Sharing, learning, and exploring our natural world is one of her greatest joys.

Daniel Edelstein is a freelance Consulting Biologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist Asc. who has led birding tours for more than 25 years and presented public birding presentations in more than 20 states, including an upcoming week-long San Francisco State University “Birding By Ear In The Sierra.” Daniel’s website — warblerwatch.com — hosts several birding handouts (via the “Birding Links” pulldown menu), and his warbler-centric blog — warblerwatch.blogspot.com — has hosted warbler articles and photo quizzes since 2007. He has also taught diverse adult birding classes since 2003 at Merritt College in Oakland, CA, and for Point Reyes National Seashore Association, Marin Audubon, and Golden Gate Bird Alliance.

Amy Faulkner is a nature-based educator with 30 years of teaching experience with elementary-aged children. As a Marin native, she has walked the trails of Marin for decades and now leads nature walks for children and adults to explore the flora and fauna of our county. Her goal is to bring wonder and joy to the outdoor world with small groups, families, and friends in a way that is both educational and playful.

Audrey Fusco is the Program Director for the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN). She is a restoration ecologist and manages the restoration nursery. She works with all aspects of revegetation for riparian restoration projects, from collecting seeds to plant propagation to out-planting. Audrey focuses on restoring habitat for all of the wildlife that use riparian corridors, including pollinators such as the endangered Western Monarch Butterfly.

Tom Gaman is a California registered Professional Forester (#1776) and forestry consultant since 1978. He has provided technical forestry advice and support for many agencies, including private landowners, the State of California, and all its 18 national forests, including a detailed forest inventory for Tomales Bay State Park. Tom's focus areas are forest planning and management, inventory, oak woodlands, wildlife habitat, urban forests, fire, and forest carbon.  He has worked with the local community to develop a fuel break between Inverness and Tomales Bay State Park. He is a former EAC board member who spearheaded the Phoenix Team that published the report, After the Vision Fire, in 1996.

Kandis Gilmore is broadly trained in organismal biology and ecology. She has worked as a field assistant in the rocky intertidal, oak woodlands, and vernal pool grassland ecosystems. She received her Master of Science degree from Sonoma State Biology Department in 2017. Her master's thesis research focused on pollinators of three of Sonoma County's endemic and endangered vernal pool plant species: Blennosperma bakeri (Sonoma sunshine), Limnanthes vinculans (Sebastopol meadowfoam, and Lasthenia burkei (Burke's Goldfields). Kandis serves on the Board of Directors of Conservation Works and served as President of the Pacific Coast Entomological Society from 2020 to 2021.

Keith Hansen is an internationally known birder and wildlife illustrator in Bolinas, Marin County, California, specializing in bird illustrations with scientific accuracy. He has illustrated a dozen books, including The Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution, authored by Ted Beedy and Ed Pandolfino for the Yosemite Association, his first solo project, Hansen’s Field Guide to the Birds of the Sierra Nevada, and his latest book, Birds of Point Reyes which was released in June 2023. He and his wife, Patricia Briceño, lead birding tours to Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the Yucatan. His workspace and backyard, The Wildlife Gallery, is located in Bolinas, California (behind the Bolinas Museum), where people are welcome to visit.

Theresa Harlan is the director of the Alliance for Felix Cove, an Indigenous women-led organization that works to rematriate, protect, and restore her family’s 19th-century Tamal ko (Coast Miwok Tomales Bay) home and ancestral lands at Point Reyes National Seashore. The Alliance aims to re-indigenize the ancestral homelands of the Felix Family—the last Tomalko family to live on the western shores of Tomales Bay at Felix Cove, known as Laird’s Landing. Listen to the podcast "Coming Home to the Cove: A Story of Memory, Family and Stolen Land."

Ayano Hayes is the Watershed Conservation Manager for the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN). She has been working in fisheries monitoring and restoration within the Lagunitas Creek Watershed for the last 6 years. Ayano is passionate about the outdoors, spreading environmental awareness, protecting endangered species, and habitat restoration. She hopes to empower people to take action in their watersheds and help foster environmental stewards for the future of our planet. 

Luanna Helfman is a long-time festival volunteer and Marin County birder who has studied birdsong with mentors Bob Stewart, Howard Williams, and the late Rich Stallcup. She has led birdsong walks for Marin Audubon for over twenty-five years and enjoys helping others discover birds by sound. She has over 30 years of experience working in local nurseries and is knowledgeable about the area's flora.

Kenneth Hillan | Bilingual French and UK English Originally from Scotland, Kenneth graduated in medicine from the University of Glasgow before making the Bay Area his home. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Pathologists of the United Kingdom and developed his biotech career at Genentech. He has held leadership and board positions at several North American Life Sciences companies over the past 30 years. A fervent advocate for our winged companions, he is passionate about working with others to create a world where birds and humans can flourish together. He is a graduate of the 2022 Golden Gate Bird Alliance & California Academy of Sciences master birding class and is currently a block leader for the Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas 2 project.

Hannah Hindley is a wilderness guide and the recipient of the Thomas Wood Award in Journalism, the Ellen Meloy Desert Writers Award, and the Barry Lopez Prize in Nonfiction, among others. She graduated from Harvard with degrees in English and Evolutionary Biology; she holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Arizona. Her stories can be found in Bay Nature, The Sun, Terrain, Alaska Magazine, Hakai, and more. Hannah writes about small creatures, big landscapes, and the scientists who care for them. She delights in opening doorways for people to write bravely, beautifully, and attentively about the things they love the most.

Lisa Hug is a biologist and freelance naturalist specializing in Marin and Sonoma counties, especially around Point Reyes National Seashore and Bodega Bay. She is an experienced birder in the North Bay whose frequent haunts include Bolinas Lagoon, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Bodega Bay. She teaches bird identification classes for the Community Education Program at the College of Marin. Her latest pursuit is starting a birding program for youth with a special interest in birds. This group has become known locally as Y.A.M.S. (Young Ancient Murrelets) and is a chapter of the Redwood Region Ornithological Society. She loves sharing her knowledge of and enthusiasm for the natural world with others. Her former experience includes working for the National Park Service as an Interpretive Ranger for the Point Reyes National Seashore, as a research assistant with Point Reyes Bird Observatory (now known as Point Blue Conservation Science), and as a research assistant for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. She was the former president of the Redwood Regional Ornithological Society for two years.

Ken Johnson holds a Lifetime California Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential, as well as one in Fire Fighting, Fire Control, and Safety, and has been professionally teaching for 35+ years. He’s also a registered State Fire Training Instructor.  He brings his field experience into the classroom, preparing students to effectively bring order to chaos. All of Ken’s classes garner the highest scores in student evaluations.

Dr. Paul Kanive has been studying the white shark since 2008 when he volunteered to assist with field operations on the white shark project. In 2009, he began his graduate studies, which focused on modeling and estimating the population parameters of white sharks, at Montana State University in Bozeman. After earning a Master’s degree in Fish and Wildlife Management in 2015, he continued his work on white shark population dynamics, earning a Doctorate in Fish and Wildlife Biology in 2020. Paul lives in Montana when not looking for sharks with his lovely wife, where they are raising a fantastic daughter.

Ernst Karel is the host of Local Locations, broadcast every other Friday morning from 9:00-10:00 on KWMR, 90.5 West Marin community radio. For over thirty years, he has been interested in listening through microphones to the world around us. He has taught audio recording and composition in the Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard University, and the Department of Film and Media at UC Berkeley. He is a certified California Naturalist and lives in West Marin.

Susan Kelly has been birding for about 25 years, primarily in Marin County. She is the organizer and compiler of Cheep Thrills, one of the three Audubon Christmas Bird Counts in Marin County. Susan is a long-time volunteer for the Greater Farallones Association's Beach Watch program, conducting monthly beach surveys to document both living and deceased birds and mammals. For the past 4 years, she has served as the volunteer coordinator for the Marin Breeding Bird Atlas and previously served as a board member of the Western Field Ornithologists.

Sarah Killingsworth is an EAC board member, California Naturalist, wildlife conservation photographer and filmmaker (@skwildlifephotos), and the Keeping it Wild Youth Education and Outreach Program Coordinator for Project Coyote. She has volunteered with several nonprofit organizations, including in WildCare’s bird room. Sarah’s photography has been featured in local and national media, in print and online. She is passionate about sharing the magic of our wilderness areas with children, both by bringing the wild into classrooms and by getting our youth outdoors to learn about their environment

Dave LaCasse is a lifelong birder and naturalist. His travels have taken him to many points in North and South America and Canada. Dave leads public bird walks for the City of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County Regional Parks.

Susan Cochrane Levitsky is a botanist who has dedicated her career to conservation, leading California's programs to understand and protect endangered plants and overseeing conservation policy to protect our state's natural diversity as the Chief of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Natural Heritage Division. She also oversaw the production of several educational books on California's unique plants and wildlife. Now a landscape artist, she shares her love of nature through her paintings and by leading botanical tours in beautiful natural areas of California.

Liz Lewis | Bilingual Spanish Speaker is a Project Coordinator for the Marin Breeding Bird Atlas II. She has a background in wildlife ecology and has served as a survey leader to the Atlas II since 2021, covering blocks in China Camp State Park, McNear’s Park, the town of Tomales, and several of Marin County’s coastal communities (West Marin). She has been exploring the birds of Marin since 1995, when she moved here from Miami, FL.

Carolyn Longstreth is a former Board Director of the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin (EAC) and a co-founder of our Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival. She currently serves on the board of the Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. She is an avid birder, and the creator of the EAC's Birding by Ear at Point Reyes 2-CD set. She taught classes on birdsong at an Audubon Center in Connecticut and past festivals.

David Lumpkin | Bilingual German Speaker is an avian ecologist working at Audubon Canyon Ranch. He is involved in several research programs, including radio tracking Dunlin, surveying shorebirds and waterbirds, and conducting breeding bird surveys. He has worked with various bird species around North America, mostly centering on population monitoring and conservation work.

Liz Martins brings her passion for connecting people to wildlife through the Living with Lions education program, a conservation research project and program between Audubon Canyon Ranch and True Wild that teaches children about our wild neighbors and the valuable role mountain lions play in the ecosystem. Liz draws on her experience as an environmental educator in South Africa, where she set up and ran the Cape Leopard Trust's Education Project. Liz was previously a Waldorf teacher and has a degree in Anthropology and Archaeology. She has been a docent at Audubon Canyon Ranch's Bouverie Preserve since 2016  and is now their School Programs Manager, overseeing field trips to Bouverie Preserve and ongoing docent training. She is also Managing Partner with her husband, Quinton Martins, at True Wild, their conservation and safari company. 

Dr. Quinton Martins is the founder and managing partner of True Wild, a conservation and safari company based in Sonoma County, striving to effectively connect people to nature and have a significant positive environmental impact on our rapidly deteriorating natural world. Quinton is a passionate conservationist from South Africa who has dedicated 30 years to wildlife and conservation, both as a professional African safari guide and a scientist specializing in big cat research. He founded and was CEO of the Cape Leopard Trust, a successful predator conservation NGO based in South Africa, where he completed his PhD on leopards. He is also the founder and principal investigator of the North Bay “Living with Lions” project (in partnership with Audubon Canyon Ranch), a grassroots mountain lion conservation and research project working with communities to coexist with wildlife.

Kacy McKinney is an artist, avid birder, and scholar. She was raised in Point Reyes Station and now lives in Portland, Oregon. Kacy has a Ph.D. in geography and has taught at the university level for 15 years. She is currently Artist-Scholar in Residence at the Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative at Portland State University. Kacy was a resident at Mesa Refuge in 2019, and she will have her art on display at the EAC office festival weekend through August 2025. View her work, or follow her on Instagram: @kacy.mckinney.

Dr. Jerry Meral is an Environmental Action Committee of West Marin Board Member and co-chair of the Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival. He studied newts at Penn State University and was formerly a staff scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, Deputy Director of the California Department of Water Resources, Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League, and Deputy Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency.

Jeff Miller is a hardcore birder, amateur naturalist, and professional conservationist who has dedicated several decades to championing the protection of endangered species and native wildlife habitats in the Bay Area. He’s the founder of the nonprofit Alameda Creek Alliance. He has served as its executive director since 1997, working to restore steelhead trout and salmon to Alameda Creek and protect the Bay Area’s largest local watershed. He’s a senior conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity, spearheading biodiversity protection campaigns throughout the Bay Area and California, preparing endangered species listing petitions, writing press releases, and doing public outreach and organizing around wildlife protection issues. Jeff's new book is Bay Area Wildlife: An Irreverent Guide, published by Heyday Books. Follow Jeff’s events and eco news through the Irreverent Naturalist.

Ayla Mills is the Nursery Program Manager at the Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation. She graduated from Chico State University with an MS in Biology, focused on botany, and has over ten years of experience in the habitat restoration field. Before joining the Laguna Foundation, Ayla worked at Floral Native Nursery and managed the nursery operations at Central Coast Wilds and the Sonoma Ecology Center’s native plant nursery. She has also worked as a botanical consultant, restoration technician, and teacher. 

Jason Mills holds a Master of Science focused on the role of fire in California Grasslands. He is also a California-licensed landscape Contractor and Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner with 25+ years of experience managing natural resources for public agencies, non-profits, and private landowners throughout northern California. Jason’s skills began as an AmeriCorps intern for Golden Gate Parks, to currently informing and carrying out effective vegetation management projects with Ecological Solutions. He has been deeply involved in fire-related fuel reduction practices and advocates for ecological approaches to vegetation management for the communities of the North Bay.

Eddie Monson | Bilingual Spanish Speaker of San Francisco is the current President of the California Young Birders Club - Bay Area Chapter since 2021. For the last three years, Eddie has been researching birds as part of the Marin Breeding Bird Atlas. His passion for birdwatching started at seven years old and continues through engagement and participation in various festivals, outings, and collaboration with other young birders.

Joe Mueller has been teaching biology at the College of Marin for 30 years and is the coordinator for the Natural History Program. Of the 15 different courses he has taught, subjects of particular interest include ecology, marine biology, ornithology, and environmental science. Taking a holistic approach to science, Joe emphasizes the inter-connective approach to understanding biology. He is the recipient of the 2008 Terwilliger Environmental Award and the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin’s 2023 Peter Behr Steward of the Land & Sea Award.

Nicole Myers is a geologist and teacher. She currently teaches at Sonoma State University in the Geology Department, offering popular classes such as Age of the Dinosaurs, Natural Disasters, and Geology of Climate Change. She also teaches OLLI classes for community education summer EXCEL classes for kids through SSU and spent ten years leading geology field classes through the College of Marin. Nicole brings her enthusiasm for Earth appreciation to the community through earth science field explorations of Northern California offered through Appreciating Earth.  

Melinda Nakagawa, founder of Spark in Nature, is an internationally recognized naturalist, nature connection mentor, and author who lives near Monterey, California. Her offerings bridge science, nature, art, and heart to creatively awaken your innate connection to nature and ability to tune into the language of nature. She uses nature journaling—a practice that brings deeper awareness and connection through sketching and writing about the natural world to inspire people to retrain their senses to see beyond ordinary nature and reveal unseen wonder. She is a long-time bird lover, having worked with seabirds in Monterey Bay and lived on SE Farallon Island.

Larry Nigro is a retired Marin County educator and avid birder.  He has completed the California Academy of Sciences Master Birder Program and is a certified California naturalist.  In 2024, he traveled North America and identified 801 species of birds.  Larry loves sharing the joy of birding with people of all ages.

Demitri Peñuelas (@walkingwiththewildlife) spent his formative years in San Francisco’s East Bay, where he was first exposed to a rich tapestry of wildlife and ultimately discovered his passion and knack for herpetology. He has extensive knowledge of California's reptiles & amphibians and has spent over twenty years refining the delicate art of tracking wildlife in a variety of environments. He is an experienced outdoor guide and hosts private workshops for clients looking to learn more about their local wildlife. Despite his considerable experience, he remains steadfast in his belief that the outdoors is an inexhaustible wellspring of knowledge and considers himself a student as much as a teacher.

Brian Peterson is the Fire Ecologist and Interim Director of the Fire Forward program at Audubon Canyon Ranch. He holds a master’s degree from San Francisco State University in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. His graduate research investigated the relationship between seed-caching rodents and manzanita recruitment after fire. Getting his start in 1997 doing oak woodland restoration and fuels reduction work in Southern Oregon, Brian has gone on to work as a botanist and vegetation ecologist all across the California floristic providence, including on research projects at the Farallon Islands, Yosemite’s Illoette Valley, Sierra Foothills, Mount Diablo State Park, Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, Sugarloaf State Parks, and Pepperwood Preserve. Most recently, he worked with Nomad Ecology, where he focused on botanical studies in post-fire chaparral. Brian has completed two Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREX) and is trained as a wilderness first responder. Brian serves as a board director of the California Native Grassland Association.

Chris Pincetich | Bilingual Spanish Speaker is a naturalist, marine biologist, and instructor for the California Naturalist training program at the Point Reyes National Seashore. He is passionate about sharing the details of the California Current marine ecosystem and the marine mammals, birds, and invertebrates that rely on its productivity. Chris has been leading trips and local excursions for over fifteen years, including classes for the Point Reyes Field Institute, whale watching around the Farallon Islands for the Oceanic Society, and sea turtle conservation experiences in Costa Rica.

Jennifer Phillips is a Senior Project Manager with Point Blue Conservation Science’s STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) program and manages habitat restoration projects around the Bay Area. She has been an avid birder for the last 15 years, and over her professional career has conducted point counts, nest searches, and habitat assessment and vegetation surveys throughout California and other parts of the U.S. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys adding to her bird life list, participating in local Christmas Bird Counts, and sharing her passion for birding with others. 

Todd Plummer has over 30 years of experience as a birder and conservationist. He has worked as a wildlife biologist in the Sierra Nevada and has led many birding and nature hikes on both U.S. coasts. He became a Certified California Naturalist through the UC Davis program in 2014 and has taught many workshops in using iNaturalist for the program. He studied bird population dynamics and endangered species management at the University of Georgia. He operates Wild Marin Nature Tours and works part-time as a kayak guide for Blue Waters Kayaking. Todd's motto: Every day is a treasure hunt.

Dede Sabbag has had a lifelong career in the field of environmental education. She has worked and volunteered with various schools and non-profits, including The Headlands Institute, The Watershed Project, The Marine Mammal Center, and WildCare/Terwilliger Nature Center. Her passions all along have been teaching others to love nature and going birding. Retirement allowed her the time to help with the Marin Breeding Bird Atlas II, and she spent the last two springs visiting Chileno Valley ranches every week to document the breeding birds of the area. She looks forward to sharing about the birds in this remote but bountiful habitat.

Andrea Salazar | Bilingual Spanish Speaker is the Bilingual (Spanish) Environmental Education Specialist at Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR). She was born and raised on the ancestral lands of Ohlone, Miwok, Muwekma, and Confederated Villages of Lisjan (currently recognized as the SF Bay Area). Her ancestral roots are anchored in central-western Mexico on the ancestral lands of the Huichol, Coca, and Caxcan peoples. Andrea earned her bachelor’s degree in ecosystem management and forestry and a minor in ethnic studies from UC Berkeley. While studying, she participated in multiple professional and extracurricular programs, gaining years of experience in community engagement with and for BIPOC communities, emphasizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her experience spans an array of knowledge such as ecology, natural resource management, community-oriented agroecology, wildlife ecology, fire ecology, Indigenous science(s) and knowledge(s), community engagement and activism, climate change, and holistic healing

David Sexton has been an avid Marin County birder for the last twenty-five years, with ten years on Hawk Watch with GGRO, Co-compiler for the Cheep Thrills CBC, and leader of many CBC counts as well as annual Shore Bird Census counts.  He has been the bird census compiler for the Hamilton Wetlands restoration for the last ten years, coordinating the volunteers twice monthly to complete census counts of the wetlands. He is a member of the Golden Eagle Monitoring Team for the East Bay Regional Parks and has tracked Golden Eagles using telemetry for the last eight years.  He has a B.S. degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Dave Shuford is currently co-leading a project (with Lisa Hug) on the distribution and relative abundance of subspecies of White-Crowned Sparrows in winter in four North Bay counties (Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano). He retired as the senior scientist in the Wetlands Ecology Division at Point Blue Conservation Science in 2019 after 44 years of service. His primary interests include the status, distribution, trends, and conservation of birds in California and the West. Major research projects have focused on shorebird distribution and abundance throughout the Pacific Flyway; colonial breeding waterbirds in California; reconnaissance surveys at the Salton Sea and Klamath Basin; and long-term trends and reproductive success of California Gulls at Mono Lake relative to concerns over water diversions.

Dan Singer has been a student of ornithology since childhood. His interest and expertise in identifying issues and the status and distribution of birds led to many years as a regional editor for the journal North American Birds and a long-time member of the California Bird Records Committee. He is currently an eBird regional reviewer for California. Dan spends an inordinate amount of time watching gulls but would rather be at sea looking for petrels. 

Dallas Smith is on the festival committee and co-owner/guide of Point Reyes Adventure Co. (website includes his full CSV). He has over 20 years of experience as an adventure guide in over 20 states. Dallas is a seasoned professional who grew up in the outdoor recreational industry and can lead groups of all sizes. In addition to his work in the outdoor industry, Dallas is a dedicated environmentalist and community volunteer. Serving on the board of the Tomales Bay Foundation since 2016, he plays a crucial role in monitoring water quality, distributing grants for scientific research, and organizing educational events. He also lends his time and expertise to numerous other local organizations, making a positive impact on the community whenever he can. When he's not leading expeditions or volunteering, you can find Dallas honing his skills as a kayak repair technician, capturing stunning moments through his photography, or co-hosting the West Marin Naturalist Hour on KWMR 90.5FM.

Sam Smith is a habitat restoration technician for Point Blue Conservation Science’s STRAW (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed) and an avid naturalist. He has been birding Marin County for four years and worked on habitat restoration projects across Marin and Sonoma counties. He’s also passionate about fungi and plant gall identification and sharing in the diversity of our natural world on iNaturalist. In his free time, he volunteers on prescribed burns, collects mushrooms for DNA sequencing, and participates in Christmas and summer bird counts.

Vinicius (Vini) Souza | Bilingual Portuguese Speaker is the Education Partnership Coordinator at Audubon Canyon Ranch. He brings with him his experience as a marine ecologist, naturalist, and science educator. Vini received his bachelor's degree in marine biology from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2019 and his master's degree in biology from Sonoma State University in 2024. As a scientific diver, he’s executed scientific research, marine fieldwork, and underwater surveys in Corsica, Monterey, Sonoma, and Mendocino, focusing on conservation and restoration projects on ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrass, and kelp forest. Furthermore, as an educator, he has taught over 100 students and mentored half a dozen. Vini’s passions fall in between partaking in meaningful projects and communicating science to the general public while making it more accessible and inclusive for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Kevin Stockmann is curious and friendly, and his guiding style inspires a feeling of connectedness. He is a veteran Marin County naturalist and co-founder of Marin Nature Adventures. Intimately familiar with the topography and natural history of Marin County, Kevin cherishes our landscape and enjoys sharing the trails. He is a commercial fishery observer for NOAA Fisheries and has degrees in biology and economics with a deep love for trees, birds, and the web of life.

Amy Tan is the author of several novels, including The Joy Luck Club and The Bonesetter's Daughter. She is a co-producer and co-screenwriter of the film version of The Joy Luck Club and is on the board of American Bird Conservancy. Her latest book is The Backyard Book Chronicles, a #1 New York Times Bestseller, and the Barnes & Noble Gift Book of the Year.  She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts & Letters, was given The National Humanities Medal, and was profiled in a PBS American  Masters documentary, “Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir.” In 2024,  her bird art was on exhibition at the Roger Torey Peterson Institute, and a future exhibition is being planned for the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley.  She lives in Sausalito, California.

Teresa and Miles Tuffli are avid birders from Sonoma County who run the website I'm Birding Right Now. They especially love helping fellow nature-lovers and “bird-curious” folks take the next step of getting into the field to enjoy the bird world! They’ve led guided bird walks for the Marin Audubon Society, Redwood Region Ornithological Society, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, LandPaths, and Point Reyes National Seashore Association’s Field Institute. 

Richard Vacha is a deeply experienced and knowledgeable animal tracker (Class 3) and teacher.  He became interested in tracking at a young age and studied tracking under Tom Brown Jr. at his Tracker School in the 1990s and with Jon Young, Mark Elbrock, James Lowery, and anyone else he could find who knew a little more than he did. He founded and has led the Point Reyes Tracking School for more than 20 years, hosting ongoing classes throughout the year. He has written extensively and has published a book of his writings, "The Heart of Tracking," available on his website.

Sky Road Webb is a lineal descendant of the Tamal’ko people - the Tomales Bay Miwok of present-day West Marin. He is a traditional storyteller and songwriter. In addition to being a founding member and Fire Keeper of the Coast Miwok Tribal Council of Marin, Sky is president of both the Marin American Indian Alliance, and the Miwok Archeological Preserve of Marin.

Liz Wilhelm is on the festival committee and co-owner/guide of Point Reyes Adventure Co. (website includes her full CSV). With a solid foundation in adventure from her Eco-Tourism and Adventure Travel Degree, Liz has been an integral part of the guiding community in Point Reyes for over 15 years. She is a certified massage therapist and yoga instructor, and she embodies holistic wellness alongside her environmental advocacy and community engagement. When she's not leading expeditions or lending a hand to local causes, she can be found sharing her knowledge as a co-host on the West Marin Naturalist Hour on KWMR 90.5FM, immersing herself in the beauty of the local landscape or mingling with the community like the social butterfly she is.

Step Wilson is a freelance biologist working with several non-profit organizations and the former Hawkwatch Program Manager at the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory (GGRO). For the past 20 years, he has monitored raptors at breeding, migration, and wintering sites throughout the Great Lakes and Rocky Mountain Flyway. He has studied raptors through counting and banding efforts in Italy, Israel, Mexico, and Canada. Step’s main interest is identifying the raptor use of landscapes through observation, banding, and telemetry to focus conservation efforts on important use areas.

David Wimpfheimer is a biologist, naturalist, EAC board member, and co-founder of the Point Reyes Birding & Nature Festival. He has a passion for the birds and the natural history of the West. David has been leading trips and expeditions for almost forty years, including classes for the Point Reyes Field Institute, Marin Agricultural Land Trust, and the California Academy of Sciences, as well as tours in Mexico, Alaska, Scotland, and other regions for groups including the Smithsonian Institution, Wild Wings, and Road Scholar.

Melissa Witte is a naturalist and field biologist turned high school science teacher. She is an avid birder, backpacker, native plant enthusiast, and general outdoor devotee who relishes time in the field observing everything from pollen baskets on bees to constellations in the night sky.  She has banded birds in Texas & tracked Black-backed Woodpeckers in Plumas National Forest, monitored sea turtle nesting at Cumberland Island National Seashore, and served as an educator for Hawkwatch, International, in the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico, in addition to volunteering for several nonprofit, field research, and education-oriented projects.

Alison Wood LAc has been practicing herbalism and making medicine in Northern California for over 15 years. She is the owner of Abalone Apothecary and Chinese Medicine Clinic, a natural community medicine practice, and organic apothecary located in downtown Point Reyes Station, just two doors down from the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin’s office. Alison treats a wide variety of health issues using acupuncture, herbs, and the language of nature. She teaches classes both in-person and online to empower people to listen to their bodies and source their medicine from the earth and from within.