Staff Biographies
Biographies of our staff
Ian Abraham, Naturalist-Educator and Offsite Program
Specialist since 2006, has been teaching within the Portland Metropolitan area
since 1999. Born and raised in Chicago, Il., he set out to work, teach,
and educate in the informal outdoor setting provided by the riches of the Pacific Northwest. With an extended stop in Alaska and backcountry leadership work with the National
Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in 1998 he moved to Portland. Ian holds a Masters of Art in
Environment and Community through Antioch University and has taught for many
outdoor education programs including, Multnomah Counties Outdoor School,
Cascadia Wild, Wolftree Inc., Tryon Creek and the Oregon Zoo. Ian’s focus
is within the science and art of animal tracking as well as wilderness living
skills.
Mary Coolidge, Assistant Conservation Director. Mary came to the Wildlife Care Center as a volunteer in 2003 and later served as our Peregrine Falcon Hack site attendant. She has worked as a contract biologist on various wildlife projects throughout the Western United States, including surveys of at-sea Marbled Murrelets, Burrowing Owls, Golden Eagles, Peregrine Falcons and Northern Goshawks. She has served as an observer with HawkWatch International on Bonney Butte (Mt. Hood) and with Wildlife Research Institute on Roger’s Pass (Montana), as a Field Crew Manager with the Institute for Bird Populations on the California statewide Burrowing Owl census, and for 3 years as a manager on the study of Burrowing owls in the Imperial Valley of southern California. Locally she has worked with Friends of Trees, the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services while serving in AmeriCorps, and has done her time slinging coffee and laboring on her fixer-upper. While her work with Audubon spans the full range of conservation issues, her specific focus is coordinating the Oregon Important Bird Area program, facilitating a network of statewide Audubon Chapters, building Audubon’s Citizen Science programs and attending to forest policy issues. In her free time Mary can often be found gardening, biking, knitting, reading, backpacking and hiking with her dog.
Tom Costello, Sanctuaries Director since June 2007. Tom holds a multi-disciplinary degree from Harvard University, where he studied the literature, traditional crafts, and religious practices of various cultures. After a two year stint as a high school teacher and wrestling coach Tom dusted off his boots, threw what he could in a backpack, and moved to Cascadia. After a few years playing in the woods, mountains, deserts, and rivers, Tom decided a return the the classrom was not in the cards; instead he chose to return to the work that occupied his summers through his high-school and college days: carpentry and landscape contruction. Tom has worked as a team leader for the Northwest Service Academy's EnviroCorps program, manager of the Portland Habitat for Humanity ReStore, tree planter for numerous plantation owners, and most recently as a project manager for the ReBuilding Center's Deconstruction Services. When not working, Tom spends most of his time with his awesome family, volunteering with the City Repair Project, and walking an incredibly round-about path towards spiritual enlightenment.
Tim Donner, Environmental Educator, spent two years volunteering at Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center before joining the staff full time. He received his Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies at the University of Texas and spent the next three years working as a miner, doing restoration work and tree planting throughout the West. He spent five winters studying bison around Yellowstone National Park, where he built and lived in an igloo to stay warm. He has also surveyed for Marbled Murrelets in the Coast Range of Oregon and banded Burrowing Owls in Wyoming, living 20 miles from the closest town in a broken down trailer with no electricity or water. Tim has spent the last three years as a trip leader for Cascadia Wild, teaching the public about wildlife surveys and animal tracking. Tim is excited to combine his passion for the natural world with his desire to strengthen the bonds between kids and nature. When he isn’t in the woods climbing trees and crawling along game trails, he can be found on his touring bicycle, pedaling with no destination in mind.
Steve Engel, Adult Programs Coordinator since 2006,
received his B.S. from Evergreen State College. Steve has worked in
the environmental education field since 1982 teaching students of all
ages in a variety of settings. He worked as a naturalist-educator and
Education Director for the Yosemite National Institutes Headlands
Campus in Sausalito, CA. from 1983 to 1991. Steve worked as an
observer at the Hawk Watch International Goshute Mountains, NV., raptor
migration site for four years and has traveled as a naturalist aboard
expedition cruises to Alaska, Mexico, Antarctica and Northern Europe
with Lindblad Expeditions since 1991. He moved to Portland in 1993 and
from 1994 to 1997 Steve was lead naturalist for the Green City Data
Program, a joint project between Audubon Society of Portland, Oregon
Graduate Institute and Portland State University. He has operated his
own business, Animal Tracks by Steve, since 1997, providing products
and services dealing with animal tracks and stories he has collected on
his travels.
Catherine Halpin joined Portland Audubon’s Membership and Development department in 2007. She originally hails from Massachusetts and after earning her B.A. in English from UMass Amherst, Catherine moved to Portland in order to, “try something different, just for a little while.” Many years later Oregon has worked its way into Catherine’s heart and she has developed a great love for the people and places of the Pacific Northwest. As the Membership Coordinator, she continually draws inspiration from fellow staff, volunteers and the many members she interacts with on a daily basis who make Portland Audubon a special community. Catherine greatly enjoys being out of doors: hiking, biking, or lounging with a book in her backyard.
Mike Houck has been Audubon Society of Portland's Urban Naturalist since 1982. He received a BS in Zoology from Iowa State University and an MST from Portland State University. Previously, Mike directed OMSI's Research Center and National Science Foundation summer research, taught at Oregon Episcopal School, and contracted with Portland Public School's TAG program to lead "Wild In The City, What's In Your Own Backyard" field trips. He co-founded the Coalition for a Livable Future and currently serves on numerous city and regional advisory committees. Mike recently co-edited "Wild in the City, A Guide to Portland's Natural Areas," a natural history of the Portland metropolitan region. Among his many honors, Mike has recently received the following: the National Conservation Award from Chevron. He was Designated as a "Giraffe" in 1995 by The Giraffe Project, for people who stick their necks out in community-oriented work; Metro recognized Mike in 1999 with its first annual regional growth award for his contribution to protect natural resources in the metropolitan region; and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council gave him a "Leadership" award in 2001.
Greg Kurtz, Sanctuaries Assistant since 2001.
Jim Labbe,
Urban Conservationist since 2003, grew up enjoying nature-rich West
Portland neighborhood. He has over 20 years of experience in natural
resource planning, research, and advocacy as a student, watershed
council coordinator, consultant, citizen advocate and general Oregon
enthusiast. He holds a BA in history from Reed College and an MS in
Physical Geography from Portland State University (PSU). His past
research includes a history of the Rogue River Salmon Fishery and a
study of river channel morphology in the Tualatin River Watershed. He
recently authored a chapter in the Coalition for a Livable Future's
Regional Equity Atlas that assessed access to greenspace in the
Portland-Metro region. Jim represents Audubon in advocating for local
and regional natural resource policies throughout the Portland-Metro
region. He also coordinates outreach and education through
www.urbanfauna.org and the Urban Natural Resource Directory while
leading Wild in the City Trips to local natural areas. Jim also chairs
the Coalition for a Livable Future's Natural Resource Working Group. In
March 2005 Jim received the Coalition for a Livable Future's Robert L.
Liberty Regional Leadership Award. Jim also serves on the board of the
Johnson Creek Watershed Council and the advisory board for Depave.org.
When he is not doing all that Jim enjoys biking, tango dancing, playing
music, and lollygagging in his garden.
Sally Loomis, Nature Store Clerk since 2007, grew up playing in fields and forests in the Pleasant Valley and Damascus areas around Portland. She then headed towards the Midwest to earn a B.A. in Social Anthropology at Oberlin College, while spending many hours at the campus radio station, and baking bread in a dining co-op. Subsequent years brought a variety of slacker jobs in book and record stores in Berkeley and Portland, before she settled in for a nine year stint at the Reed College Library. She handles the book buying duties for the Nature Store, and loves to combine her interest in nature and environmentalism with her book background. Sally lives in Northeast Portland with her husband, Metro Naturalist James Davis, goldfish Tugboat Annie and Jules Verne, and a backyard full of wildlife.
Nancy Mattson has been the manager of the Nature Store at our Wildlife Sanctuary since 2007. Born and raised in Southern Nevada, Nancy left the Mojave Desert for the woods of the Pacific NW when she moved to Portland to attend Lewis & Clark College. For many years she was a piano tuner and technician working with Reed College, Chamber Music Northwest and most of the lively nightclubs that made up Portland’s jazz music scene. Later, she managed a retail nursery specializing in wetland and pond plants. She is delighted to bring her retail skills to the Portland Audubon Nature Store where she loves working with serious birders, backyard nature lovers and families exploring the Audubon sanctuary. Her home in SW Portland lies within the conservation zone for Arnold Creek. With a pond and surrounding forest, there are frequent encounters with chipmunks, deer, waterfowl, songbirds and even the occasional coyote. Nancy loves to garden, hike, canoe and occasionally roller skate at Oaks Park.
Tammi Miller,
Office Manager since 2002, came to Portland Audubon in 2000 as a volunteer in
the Wildlife Care Center and Peregrine Watch Monitor. In addition to
keeping the office running smoothly, Tammi manages the
Society's IT systems and maintains its website and e-newsletter. When offline, Tammi can be found hiking the Dark Divide, photographing, making prints in the darkroom, paddling, digging in the garden, or hanging out with a vulture, falcon, or raven.
Karen Munday, Urban Wildlife Specialist at
Audubon Society of Portland has been on staff since 2001. Karen originally started at Audubon in the
Membership and Development Department and has been a part of the Audubon Conservation
team since 2003. Previous to joining Audubon, Karen worked at the
California Academy of Sciences, in San
Francisco. She graduated from University
California Santa Cruz with a BA in Biology and Portland State
University with a MS in
Science Teaching.
Marilyn O’Grady has worked as the Nature Store assistant since 1988. In that time she has touched the hearts and minds of thousands of store visitors, sharing her rich knowledge of the Pacific Northwest, from its wildlife, plants & geology to our regional parks & natural areas. Marilyn was born in Portland and grew up in Multnomah Village. Before she began working at the Nature Store Marilyn was already a member and volunteer, actively supporting the Audubon Society of Portland and its mission. Marilyn lives in the woods near Estacada with her husband, Milan Peterka. Her son, Mike, shares her love of the Oregon outdoors.
Meryl Redisch, Meryl Redisch has served as Executive Director of Audubon Society of Portland since July 2003. Since that time, she has served on numerous city and statewide stakeholder committees and currently serves as Board Chair for the non profit organization, Friends of Trees and as commissioner on the City of Portland’s Urban Forestry Commission.
Prior to Audubon Society of Portland, Meryl directed TreeUtah, a statewide non-profit organization, based in Salt Lake City that promotes urban forestry, conservation, and community building. In this position, she managed a $500,000 project to design plant and maintain forty-one landscape schemes in communities associated with the 2002 Winter Olympics. During her tenure in Salt Lake City, Meryl served as a board member for the Utah Non Profit Association, the National Alliance for Community Trees and as a member of the Salt Lake City Parks Board. Ms. Redisch spent ten years with the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation, rising from the position of Urban Park Ranger in Central Park, to Director of Natural Resources for Forest Park in the Borough of Queens. Ms. Redisch holds a BS in Environmental Science and Forestry from Skidmore College and a BS in Geography from the University of Utah.
Steve Robertson,
Education Director since 1998, also currently serves on the Board of
Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve. He previously managed OMSI's Science
Classes, Camp-In and Science Academy Programs, and the Outreach
department, which delivered programs over an eight-state region. Steve
also spent five years at OMSI's Marine Science Camp and five years at
Multnomah County Education Service District's Outdoor School program.
He holds a BS in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University, and an
MST and secondary Teaching Certificate from Portland State University.
Steve's interest in wildlife have taken him to Australia, New Zealand,
Africa, Madagascar, and South America, where he has spent significant
time in the field.
Bob Sallinger, Conservation
Director, has worked for Audubon since 1992 and previously served as
the Society’s Wildlife Care Center Director and Urban Conservation
Director. His current responsibilities include managing the Audubon
Statewide Important Bird Area in Oregon, recovery of imperiled species,
and promoting wildlife conservation in the Portland Metropolitan
Region. He has a particular interest in anthropogenic impacts on
wildlife and promoting wildlife stewardship in urban ecosystems. His
work in this area is informed by his experience overseeing the
rehabilitation of more than 40,000 injured wild animals and responding
to more than 200,000 wildlife related phone calls. In 2001, Bob
developed Audubon’s “Living with urban Wildlife” program to proactively
promote wildlife stewardship on the urban landscape. A highlight of
Bob’s career with Audubon has been his work managing Audubon’s
Peregrine Project which has combined educational outreach, management,
captive rearing and release, and citizen science to promote peregrine
falcon recover in the Portland Metropolitan Region. Today Portland area
peregrine eyries comprise 5% of the known peregrine nesting population
in Oregon and the Audubon Program has been recognized with awards for
the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Oregon Chapter of the Wildlife
Society. Bob’s passion for conservation was developed early exploring
the woods of Massachusetts and later on solo hikes from Mexico to
Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail and from Canada to New Mexico on the
Continental Divide. Bob has a B.A. in Biology from Reed College and a
J.D. from Lewis and Clark Law School. He currently serves on the Board
of Directors for the Coalition for a Livable Future and the East
Multnomah County Soil and Water Conservation District. He lives in
Northeast Portland with his wife Elisabeth Neely, two children, a dog
and a couple of chickens
Deanna Sawtelle, Volunteer Coordinator since 2007, comes to Audubon with years of experience training and working with volunteers, first as a teacher and then as an assistant principal. In 1987, she decided she wanted to return something to the community so she started volunteering at the Oregon Zoo (and later at Audubon). Eventually, Deanna was hired as Oregon Zoo show staff where she did animal displays, assemblies, classroom presentations, and summer on-grounds shows for 18 years. Between the Zoo and now with Audubon’s education birds, Deanna has trained over 300 volunteers how to care for and handle hawks, owls, falcons, ravens and vultures. “Volunteers are absolutely wonderful people. They are dedicated and fun and bring all sorts of skills and talents to any organization. Their enthusiasm is infectious. Over the years, volunteering has enriched my life in ways too numerous to mention. It’s my honor to share the experience with Audubon’s terrific volunteers.”
Deb Sheaffer, DVM, Wildlife Care
Center Operations Manager has her own Veterinary practice in Milwaukie.
Deb volunteered her veterinary services for years before joining the
wildlife care center staff.
Sarah Swanson, Camp Director and Onsite Programs Coordinator since 2006, originally started visiting Portland Audubon as a bird-obsessed 4th grader, and went on to volunteer in the Wildlife Care Center in high school. She has a B.A. in Biology from the University of Oregon, and did graduate research on birds and English Ivy in Forest Park. Before coming to Audubon, she taught school groups and camps for the Tualatin Hills Nature Park. Sarah and her husband, Max Smith, travel often to the Oregon Coast where they survey beaches for beached seabirds with their trusty sidekick, Andie the dog.
Ann Takamoto, Development Director
After completing studies in art and design at the University of Illinois,
with a copy of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Ann responded to the call of
the west and the lure of progressive communities and moved out to Oregon. First
landing in Corvallis, Ann enjoyed the slow pace of the small town while students
were away for the summer, and lucked into joining a marimba band which was a
part her life for some 20 years.
After 5 years in Corvallis, Ann moved to Portland and developed management, production, recruiting, sales and new business development skills in the for-profit sector, which prepared her quite nicely for her current role in development. Volunteering gave her satisfaction that she had been sorely missing, so she made the switch to nonprofits. A love for building things and an entrepreneurial spirit that guided her career in the for-profit world helped Ann make impacts at her previous positions in development at InAct, Inc., Schoolhouse Supplies and Hands On Greater Portland. It is this same love and spirit that Ann brings to help build a stronger future for The Audubon Society of Portland.
