Staff

A Midwest transplant to the Pacific Northwest, Claire owes her love of nature and birding to a fairly idyllic childhood spent wandering the southeastern shores of Lake Michigan. Though she holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics, Claire also studied conservation biology, has conducted fieldwork abroad, and is a self-professed “bird nerd.” After she completed a master’s degree in nonprofit management, landing at Seattle Audubon in 2014 was a dream come true. When she’s not birding, Claire spends her spare time singing, knitting, and wishing she was birding. She is also a graduate of the 2017 Master Birder class. Claire is always eager to hear about your hottest bird sightings and learn more about why supporting Seattle Audubon is important to you.

ryan (he/him) was born and raised in central Washington, on the lands of the people now known as the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Before coming to Seattle Audubon, he was a research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center where he monitored the far-right anti-government and anti-public lands extremist movements. ryan is enrolled to begin a Masters of Science in Social Work at the University of Washington in autumn, and is interested in exploring the intersections of nature and mental health. Come by The Nature Shop and ask ryan what his favorite birds are! 

Anna’s background includes an undergraduate degree in biology and an ornithology course in Sapsucker Woods.  She took a brief, 20-year detour to work in finance and returned in 2018 to her roots in the natural world.  She’s grateful to have found her role at Seattle Audubon where she gets to interact with members and volunteers.  Outside of work, Anna and her family enjoy escaping to Lopez Island where cellular service is pleasantly unreliable, ferry lines create opportunities to connect, and nature feels more accessible.

Michelle is excited to be with Seattle Audubon, using her skills in the service of birds. She has a long history in retail and customer service management, and has spent many years in the grocery industry. She has also been a floral designer, theater teaching artist, marketing director, and a small business owner. Michelle has a passion for wildlife conservation and is studying Applied Animal Behavior at the University of Washington. Always ready to participate in citizen science research, Michelle has counted bats in Yellowstone and Pacific Golden Plovers in Hawaii, and was even lucky enough to report a surprise encounter with a badger. In her free time, Michelle is a singer/songwriter, actress and voice over artist. As a storyteller she is always eager to collect animal stories and folklore. When not working you may find Michelle doing improv, gardening, kayaking, or out watching wood ducks and talking with song sparrows.

Josh loves life. From deep-sea isopods to turkey vultures and every living thing in between. Josh started birding in 2017 and admits he still has a hard time with gulls, swallows, warblers, finches, woodpeckers, sparrows, shorebirds, and seabirds. He feels pretty good about ducks. Josh is delighted to be part of the Seattle Audubon community, where he coordinates Seattle’s Urban Bird Treaty City Coalition, is a member of the Capitol Hill EcoDistrict Steering Committee, and serves on Seattle’s Urban Forestry Commission. His professional background is varied. He’s been a project scientist, a high-school chemistry teacher, a legal assistant, and, for one curious month, a chocolate vendor on Monterey’s Cannery Row. He holds a master’s degree in International Environmental Policy and is a certified naturalist.

In second grade Christine declared that she would be a forest ranger when she grew up, mostly because she thought it involved running around in the woods all day. To this day, running around in the woods is a large part of her life (via trail running, backpacking, and camping), but her professional aspirations have evolved. She found that a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in education is a combo that lends itself to professional flexibility, and prior to working at Seattle Audubon Christine worked in stormwater management and permitting, assisted biologists with fieldwork, led several restoration teams, and taught at various environmental education centers and schools. It turns out that helping people learn about nature is her favorite job, which is why she is delighted with her role at Seattle Audubon.

A resident of the Pacific Northwest for 40 years, Russ was the Seattle Audubon Nature Shop Manager from 1998-2016 until ascending to his current role. A long-time environmental advocate as evidenced by his previous volunteer involvement as a board member of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington and board chair of Earthshare of Washington, Russ has also been on boards of school PTAs. When not working, Russ can be found cycling, hiking, or taking long, urban walks with his wife of 40 years. His other distractions are his two granddaughters who live out-of-state. Though only able to identify three birds when he started at Seattle Audubon, while professing to know nothing about birds, he continually surprises himself and others with his assimilated knowledge and a now healthy lifelist.

Wendy’s love of birds started with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and helping her dad find and plow around Killdeer nests in their Ohio farm fields. After moving to Seattle for a career as a stage manager for theatre and opera, it was a pleasure to find familiar birds like the Killdeer and to learn new ones. Two decades in theatre led to communications and project management roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the chance to teach colleagues about the White-crowned Sparrows that sing in the foundation’s courtyard every spring. Birds provided a consistent thread through career and life changes, so it seems natural that Wendy found out about the Community Engagement role while volunteering for the Christmas Bird Count and promptly applied. Her work includes managing the volunteer program and fostering organizational partnerships to engage our local community in protecting birds and their natural habitats.