BirdNote Team

Board Members  -  Production Team  -  Staff  -  Other Team Members

BIRDNOTE BOARD

Liam Lavery - President
Liam is general counsel for Valve, a video game company. When BirdNote was first set up, he provided pro bono assistance. He joined the organization’s board in 2010 and became president in 2012 ... read more >>

Dan Drais - Secretary
Dan joined BirdNote’s board in 2011. He previously worked with Chris Peterson and other BirdNoters at Seattle Audubon when the idea of BirdNote began to take shape. Dan has worked in management at other non-profit land-use and ... read more >> 

Alan Hartmann - Treasurer
Alan has been a member of BirdNote since 2012, when he joined the board as treasurer. He’s a certified public accountant, member of the WSCPA and AICPA, and works as a manager at Moss Adams LLP, a public accounting firm ... read more >>

Tom R. Darden - Board Member at-Large
Tom Darden is a retired biologist who received his PhD from the University of California and then spent two years as a post-doc at the University of Washington. His research efforts during those years focused on the European Starling ... read more >>

Jenn Leach - Board Member at-Large
Jenn has served in a variety of professional and volunteer roles for arts and environmental organizations, and has extensive experience in environmental research and consulting, media production, business development, and ... read more >>

Tom Luhman - Board Member at-large
Tom is a retired senior manager from The Boeing Company, who holds a Ph.D. in materials science. He has over 30 years experience in program management, strategic planning, and organizational leadership ... read more >>

Andrea McFadden - Board Member at-large
Andrea joined the BirdNote board in 2010.  She is a venture capitalist and start-up professional with grounding in natural sciences and information technology work.  Her work has included stints with the Academy of Natural Sciences ... read more >>

Gerrit Vyn - Board Member at-large
Gerrit joined the BirdNote board in 2009 after moving from Ithaca, NY to Seattle. He is a conservation photographer and a natural history multimedia producer at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He has led expeditions to film, photograph, and ... read more >>

PRODUCTION TEAM

WRITERS

Ellen Blackstone - Photo Editor
An Iowa girl, Ellen started birding at the age of 8, helping her father with his “bluebird trail” of more than 40 boxes. Ellen now puts her passion to work for birds and nature. She edited Seattle Audubon’s newsletter, Earthcare Northwest ... read more >>

Frances Wood
Frances Wood inherited her love of nature from her writer-naturalist father and a mother who loved to garden. Writer, artist, teacher, and mother of two sons, Frances completed the Master Birding course offered by Seattle Audubon ... read more >>

PRODUCER

John Kessler
John was musical director of Public Radio International’s Mountain Stage radio show for 14 years. After years as a traveling bass-player, John settled in the Shoreline neighborhood of Seattle with his wife, her two teenagers, and their cats ... read more >>

NARRATORS

Frank Corrado 
Frank Corrado first became aware of the wonder of birds when he was a young child in the wilds of Brooklyn, New York. The long streets of his neighborhood were home to countless thousands of pigeons and nearby Prospect Park ... read more >>

Mary McCann
Mary McCann creates with sound – as a poet, internet radio programmer, broadcast radio DJ, producer, and performer. She's traveled the world by motorcycle and camped under the stars in both hemispheres ... read more >>

Michael Stein
Storyteller Michael Stein draws on a wealth of life experience as a construction worker, radio DJ, producer, Keith Moon-clone, baker, and record label dude. He travels a bit, works some, speaks passable German (with a "Schwabisch" accent) ... read more >>

LISTENER ENGAGEMENT AND DIGITAL MEDIA

Adam Sedgley - Director
Adam’s interest in birding started when he was a child, when he first viewed Acorn Woodpeckers in California. His mother was then the Seattle Audubon coordinator, and his passion quickly took root in the supportive culture of the organization ... read more >>

SCIENCE ADVISORS

Gordon Orians - Writer
Gordon Orians began birding as a child in Wisconsin. At the age of 13, when he discovered that people were actually paid to watch birds, he decided to pursue a biological career. After getting a bachelor's degree in zoology ... read more >> 

Dennis Paulson - Writer
Dennis Paulson received a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Miami, and taught college and adult-education courses about natural history for 35 years. He recently retired after 15 years as the Director of the Slater Museum of Natural History ... read more >> 

Bob Sundstrom - Lead Writer
Bob leads birding tours year round for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. Tours have taken him many places throughout the world. He has taught many birding classes for Seattle Audubon, and leads regional tours through Mercer Island Parks ... read more >> 

Idie Ulsh
Idie Ulsh, Master Birder and former president of Seattle Audubon, has been a birder for 40 years, with an expertise in birdsong. A freelance photographer, Idie took the photo of a Marsh Wren, which was the inspiration for ... read more >>

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STAFF

Chris Peterson, Executive Producer
The idea for BirdNote grabbed Chris in 2002 – and never let go! As executive director of Tune In to Nature.org, the organization that produces BirdNote, Chris continues her deep interest in creating ways for people ... read more >> 

Sallie Bodie, Managing Director
Sallie has worked with public broadcasting and nonprofit programming including the Smithsonian, the Corcoran Gallery, National Public Radio, and the Seattle Symphony. She currently consults as a project manager... read more >>

Shelly Ellison, Director of Donor Relations and Revenue
Web Content and Communications Editor
Shelly brings a passion for conservation and more than 16 years of experience in public relations and non-profit fund development to BirdNote. Her interests include birding, reading memoirs, practicing yoga and ... read more >>

OTHER TEAM MEMBERS 

Kristine Johnson - graphic designer
Kristine Johnson holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in BioCommunications, Master of Associated Medical Science, and several years of post-graduate study in visual communication design at the School of Visual Concepts ... read more >>

Sue Palmason - administrative assistant
Upon leaving full-time employment, Sue understood that finding new, meaningful activity would be important. Having been a former co-worker and longtime friend of Chris Peterson, she knew of Chris’ ongoing conservation and ... read more >>

Lois Woolwine - bookkeeper
Years of experience in business accounting with her own clients led Lois to volunteering and then working with non-profit organizations. With this experience, she applied for the accounting position at Seattle Audubon where ... read more >>

VOLUNTEERS
BirdNote is grateful to the many volunteers who contribute their time and talent, helping our organization to grow. Read more >>

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