CNCC Chapter Leadership
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President: Kent Barnes
Wildlife Biologist The Yurok Tribe Kent Barnes is a Wildlife Biologist with the Yurok Tribe. Kent graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology/Vertebrate Ecology from Humboldt State University. His work primarily focuses on environmental compliance related to Threatened and Endangered Species including northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, and Humboldt marten. Kent also works on the Yurok Tribe's ongoing efforts to reintroduce the California Condor to Yurok ancestral land. Kent's dedication for wildlife conservation comes from a passion for hunting. |
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Past President: Kate Howard
Partner Biologist Point Blue Conservation Science in partnership with Natural Resources Conservation Service 5630 S Broadway St Eureka, CA 95503 (707) 694-4853 www.pointblue.org Kate is a Partner Biologist with Point Blue Conservation Science in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. She received her B.S. from Humboldt State University in 2012 and her M.S. through Tarleton State University (TX) in 2015 studying Black-shouldered Kites in sugarcane fields of Swaziland as part of ecologically-based pest management. She spent her first three years as a Partner Biologist in the Yuba-Sutter community in the Sacramento Valley and is now happily back on the North Coast. She has a deep passion for working in her community to help land owners and managers improve ecological health on private lands. |
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President-elect: Frank Fogarty
Avian ecologist and lecturer Humboldt State University Frank Fogarty is an avian ecologist and lecturer in the Wildlife Department at Humboldt State University. His is interested in songbird communities and their responses to potential disturbances including fire, climate change, cattle grazing, and habitat loss. He has primarily worked with bird communities in the mountains of the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada. He received his B.S. from University of Florida, and his M.S. and M.P.P. from University of Maryland, College Park. His doctoral thesis at University of California, Davis focused on the use of point count data to understand bird communities in the Great Basin, including their relation with fragmentation and loss of riparian habitat. Frank is committed to fostering an inclusive community for local wildlife professionals. He looks forward to using his position to help grow this community by providing opportunities for recent graduates and BIPOC biologists. |
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Secretary: Katie Siedel
Fish and Wildlife Biologist USFWS Katie Siedel is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Arcata). Her work primarily focuses on federal Endangered Species Act consultations. She graduated from Humboldt State University in 2013 with a B.S. in Environmental Science. Katie also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia from 2014-2016. She previously worked as a seasonal employee with the U.S. Forest Service conducting rare plant surveys and timber sale preparation. Katie is happy to help out with questions about federal government employment and the Peace Corps program. |
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Treasurer: Janelle Chojnacki
Graduate Student HSU Janelle is a wildlife graduate student at HSU (Clucas lab), researching raven movement around snowy plover breeding areas. Janelle has also worked on CA State Parks’ wildlife team, and has 8+ years experience in field work in Costa Rica, Saipan, Mexico, Alabama, the Channel Islands, and Point Reyes, banding, tracking, and observing songbirds, with some small mammal and environmental work as well (reach out for advice on getting these jobs!) Janelle has a B.S. in Conservation and Resource Studies (Environmental Justice) from UC Berkeley. In her spare time, she loves birding, hiking, whitewater kayaking, am getting into wildlife tracking, and playing soccer. |
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Section Representative: Elizabeth Meisman
Wildlife Biologist GHD, Inc. Lizzi is a Wildlife Biologist working for GHD Inc. on a wide variety of environmental consulting projects. Areas of focus include birds, amphibians, and terrestrial mammals. Lizzi's wildlife biology experience draws on her time working with wildlife species at research institutions, bird observatories, and on private timberlands. She completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation Biology, with a minor in German Studies, from Humboldt State University in 2016. She has done research on habitat use of mesocarnivores, impacts of anthropogenic landscape change on osprey nesting success and nest site selection, and blood parasites in osprey nestlings. She is extremely active in her local community, and contributes to long-term monitoring in the area through volunteering at the Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory. In what little free time she has, she can be found in the woods hunting for birds with her partner and two dogs. Being a big sister is deeply ingrained in her and she strives to help students and early-career professionals whenever possible. She serves on the Western Section Professional Development, Student Affairs (as Co-Chair), Diversity, Conservation Affairs, and the Annual Meeting Planning Committees, as well as the Quiz Bowl at the intergalactic TWS level. She is also in the current TWS Leadership Institute. She is always eager to share resources and information, so feel free to reach out at any point if you would like to learn more about these committees or other opportunities within the Chapter and Western Section! |
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Student Representative: Toni Maggi Brown
Undergraduate Student HSU Email: acm117@humboldt.edu Toni is a wildlife student from Corona, CA who traveled North and aspires to research human-wildlife coexistence and ethology in carnivores. He was honored to work for the nonprofit organization Save the Redwoods League on the wildlife crew of Redwoods Rising 2020. During this Summer apprenticeship, he monitored Humboldt martens and surveyed land birds to facilitate the restoration of old-growth groves in Redwood National and State Parks. He also got to set up large wooden rest boxes in the Mill Creek watershed for Humboldt martens to use. His experience connecting with students comes from his campus jobs and role as the Education and Media Coordinator for HSU student club Conservation Unlimited. He looks forward to talking with students and the CNCC board to bring ideas to the light! In his spare time, he loves to draw, run on trails, and mountain bike. |
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WiGSS Representative: Brian Fagundes
Graduate Student HSU Email: bgf2@humboldt.edu Brian is from Hanford, California, a community surrounded by industrial agriculture where canals are called creeks and reservoirs named lakes. The Sierra Nevada looms large to the East, if one can see it through the haze, and it served as Brian’s childhood playground and inspiration to become a biologist. His educational path as a biologist all started at Humboldt State where he completed a BS in Wildlife Conservation and Management, and a BA in Geography in 2012. Over the years he worked from non-profits to private companies to state and federal agencies studying frogs, salamanders, salmonids, small mammals, mesocarnivores, ungulates, passerines, raptors, and waterfowl. He spent many summers exploring the Sierra as a biology technician, trail crew leader, educator, backpacker, climber, and mountain biker. Yet it is his roots in agriculture, working on a diversity of farms all over the world, that led him back to Humboldt to pursue a masters. He works within the nexus connecting agriculture, human communities, and nature to help create a more wild and resilient future. |
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Social Media Chair: Genevieve Rozhon
Wildlife Biologist GHD 718 Third Street Eureka, CA 95501 (707) 267-2298 https://genevieverozhon.weebly.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-rozhon/ Genevieve Rozhon is a past President of the CNCC. She works as a Wildlife Biologist for the international consulting company, GHD Inc. in Eureka, California. Her focus at GHD is endangered species, ornithology, habitat restoration, and environmental compliance. She has had the great opportunity to work all over the U.S. at wildlife sanctuaries, bird observatories, and federal and state wildlife organizations in Florida, Michigan, South Dakota, New York, Idaho, and California. Her particular area of expertise is raptor breeding, wintering, and migratory behavior. She received her B.S. in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology from U.C. Davis and completed her M.Sc. on the wintering behavior and habitat selection of Rough-legged Hawks in the western U.S. at Humboldt State University. In her free time, she enjoys camping, listening to mystery podcasts, traveling, and baking. |
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Membership Chair: Jennifer Olson
Senior Environmental Scientist CDFW Jen Olson is a Senior Environmental Scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Coastal Habitat Conservation Planning group in the Eureka field office. She has worked for the Department since 2013 in a variety of roles, primarily focused on environmental review and permitting. She currently serves as the Caltrans Liaison for Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino Counties. Prior to working for the Department, she worked as a Research Associate for the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit where she supervised field crews and data management for projects focused on life history variation in songbirds in the U.S, Venezuela, and Malaysian Borneo. Jen is originally from Minnesota and has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. In her free time she enjoys birding, running, finding new places to go hiking and backpacking with her husband and her dog, and expanding her natural history knowledge about her Northern California home. She has previously served as CNCC Secretary and also helps organize and publicize local professional development events for the Chapter. |
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Professional Development Chair: Erin Phillips
Watershed Stewards Program BLM Erin is currently working with AmeriCorps and the Bureau of Land Management as a Watershed Stewards Corpsmember dedicated to conserving, restoring and enhancing anadromous watersheds in Humboldt County. In the past, she has worked with state agencies, federal agencies, private companies and consulting firms supporting research studies on birds, fish, ungulates, mammals, plants and hydrology. She is passionate about wildlife tracking, bird banding and has years of experience in the veterinary field. Erin has a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation from Humboldt State University, and is a past treasurer for Conservation Unlimited, a student chapter of The Wildlife Society. Through her position as Professional Development Chair, she strives to promote the collaboration of fellow scientists to support a diverse approach to conservation. One of her life long goals is to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the general public through citizen science and land stewardship. |
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Women of Wildlife & Diversity Chair: Jessica Hernandez (She/Her)
Undergraduate Student HSU Jessica is currently a junior at Humboldt State and is the new chair for Women of Wildlife & Diversity with CNCC. She is originally from Los Angeles, CA and is a First Generation college student. Jessica has been passionate about animals since she was a child and has worked with & around them since she was 16 years old. She has gained valuable experience through various internship opportunities such as Wildlife Conservation & Education, Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release, and Marine mammal rehabilitation. She has worked with the LA Zoo, animal rescues, city animal shelters, veterinary clinics, animal rehabilitation clinics, and is currently working with a 501-c3 Nonprofit that helps serve & advocate for underprivileged communities and their pets. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, bird watching, painting, murder mysteries, and creating mini gnome gardens. Jessica is overjoyed to have the opportunity to be a part of The Wildlife Society. In a field that has long been dominated by men, she plans to create a safe, diverse, and inclusive space for other women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and any other marginalized groups of people to come together and listen to, learn from, and grow with one another whether it be personally, or professionally. |
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Public Outreach Chair: Abigail Thiemkey
Wildlife Specialist USDA APHIS Abby is a USDA APHIS Wildlife Specialist for Mendocino County where she works to help different stakeholder groups deal with wildlife related problems. She received B.S. degrees in Zoology and Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University where she gained the passion for not only wildlife, but those that have to coexist with them. She has a deep love for carnivores all around the world, but that territory comes with also the conflict they may bring and that is what she wants to focus her life work on. |
Recent Board Members and Chairs
Sandra Hunt von Arb - President
Dan Barton - President
Ken Mierzwa - President
Chris Collier - Student Representative
Greta Wengert - Treasurer
Scott Frazer - Conservation Affairs Committee Chair
Marlen Richmond - Social Media Chair
Kathleen Fountain - Student Representative
Clint Pogue - Secretary
Marcie Mathieu - Social Media Chair
Lindsey Gordon - WiGSS Rep
Sandra Hunt von Arb - President
Dan Barton - President
Ken Mierzwa - President
Chris Collier - Student Representative
Greta Wengert - Treasurer
Scott Frazer - Conservation Affairs Committee Chair
Marlen Richmond - Social Media Chair
Kathleen Fountain - Student Representative
Clint Pogue - Secretary
Marcie Mathieu - Social Media Chair
Lindsey Gordon - WiGSS Rep