Staff

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Sofia Argeres

Sofia Argeres

Nature Camp Coordinator

Sofia (she/her) is excited to be working at Seattle Audubon again after having a great time as a Nature Camp 2022 Naturalist. Sofia loves the peace and balance found in nature and has been enjoying reconnecting and learning about the natural world. As a Seattle native, Sofia was happy to return to the great Pacific Northwest in 2020 after spending four years in the Midwest getting a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Loyola University Chicago. Sofia works at the Boys and Girls Club as a Youth Development Professional in addition to her work at Seattle Audubon and is excited to pursue a career in education. She is currently interested in learning about birds, trees, organic farming, and Pacific Northwest history. In her free time, Sofia loves to cook, read, craft, explore new places, wander around in nature, and spend time with her friends and family.

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Hanae Bettencourt

Hanae Bettencourt

Education Manager

Since childhood, Hanae (she/her) has always felt a deep connection to all things the natural environment has to offer. She is one of the rare locals in a city full of transplants, developing her passion for environmental stewardship right here in the Puget Sound region. Hanae has been involved with Seattle Audubon since 2010, first joining the team as a Nature Camp Naturalist, and stepped into her current role in 2015. In earning her Masters of Education from the University of Washington, she has made it her mission to inform the local community about the wonders and importance of the natural world. Outside of work, Hanae enjoys spending quality time exploring nature with her family, working in her garden, baking, birding, and doing yoga.

ASK ME ABOUT: Youth Programming (Nature Camp, Fledglings and Friends, School Outreach), Christmas Bird Count, and Climate Watch.

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Claire Catania

Claire Catania

Executive Director

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.

ASK ME ABOUT: Governance, Finance, Strategic Plan, Position Statements
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ClaireC@seattleaudubon.org

Ella Denman

Ella Denman

Development Assistant

Having grown up in the Midwest, some of Ella’s (she/her) favorite memories from growing up include looking out the windows and watching hummingbirds fly around her garden. Since then, she’s always been passionate about nature, the outdoors, and conservation. These passions then led her to move to Washington for undergrad at the University of Puget Sound, where she studied Business, focusing on nonprofit work. Ella joins the team to assist the Development Team in all things fundraising. When not working, you can find Ella indulging in some of her other passions: reading, taking long walks, listening to music, exploring local restaurants, or cooking vegan meals of her own.

ASK ME ABOUT: My membership status, making changes to my address, email or phone, donation receipts 

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Sarah Hankins

Sarah Hankins

Nature Shop Retail Associate

Sarah (she/her) comes to us as a transplant from the world of food, wine and hospitality, where she has spent the past 8 years bouncing around the Seattle restaurant scene developing her own palate and knowledge. In 2022, she decided to try her hand at the world of ecology and began working as an interpretive tour guide at the Hiram Chittenden Locks. Her love for connecting humans with the natural world around them was evident in her personalized tours, teaching local youth and traveling visitors about our diverse ecosystem, highlighting Dinosaur Birds (Great Blue Herons), Water Puppies (harbor seals), the resident Osprey couple and 3 different salmon species. She spent her early years surrounded by active volcanoes in the Andes mountains of Ecuador, and camping through National Parks of the Western U.S. She is passionate about building up a more equitable world around her, particularly for the intersection of femme identifying people in BIPOC and Queer communities. When she isn’t helping you out in The Nature Shop, you can find her with coffee in hand, reading a good novel, watching space documentaries, getting lost in the woods, swimming in Alpine lakes, sharing a pizza pie with her bffs, or defending her title as the Karaoke Queen.

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Mechio Hardeman

Mechio Hardeman

Nature Shop Retail Manager

Mechio grew up in Seattle where she gained an early appreciation for Washington State’s natural resources and protected environments. She graduated from Seattle University with a B.A. in Journalism and Communication and started working at University Book Store shortly after graduation. While at University Book Store, Mechio wore several hats starting on the sales floor as a book seller and later transitioning behind the scenes in the returns warehouse for the trade books department until becoming the coordinating event assistant. During her time at the bookstore, she met a diverse range of customers, authors, and students that make up the larger community of Seattle. Mechio developed an interest in birding and the intersection between race and environmentalism during the pandemic. She is looking forward to applying her many years of retail experience and passion for inclusion and accessibility at The Nature Shop. 

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Kate Lanier

Kate Lanier

Urban Conservation Educator

Kate (she/her) grew up in North Carolina where she has fond memories exploring her families land in the Appalachian Mountains and her father pointing out bird species on their feeder. In 2022, she received a Psychology degree from Carleton College in Minnesota, while exploring a new (flatter and colder) landscape. After graduation, she moved to Seattle and joined Seattle Audubon as the Urban Conservation Educator. When not working you can find her asking for hike suggestions, learning local bird species, or reading a book on her front porch.

ASK ME ABOUT: Young Birders (teen birders program) and Bird Collision Monitoring

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Joshua Morris

Joshua Morris

Urban Conservation Manager

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.

ASK ME ABOUT: urban forestry and tree protection, preventing bird-window collisions, reducing pesticide use, enhancing/protecting urban habitats, and advocating for cities where people and birds thrive.

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Glenn Nelson

Glenn Nelson

Community Director

Glenn (he/him) comes to Seattle Audubon with significant experience within the Audubon network. In addition to past service on the Audubon Washington Board of Directors and several projects with the National Audubon Society, Glenn has been a volunteer on our Equity & Justice Committee and was a part of the Equity Project Task Force, which recently completed a comprehensive audit of Seattle Audubon’s internal and external practices around diversity, equity, and inclusion. Many also know Glenn as the founder of The Trail Posse (trailposse.com), which explores the intersection of race and the outdoors. A national-award-winning writer, photographer, and web publisher, he is a founding member of the Next 100 Coalition, a national alliance of organizations of color advocating for equal access to public lands, and the Outdoor CEO Diversity Pledge, which holds the outdoor industry and conservation organizations accountable for diversity. He also has served on several non-Audubon boards as well as the Washington Governor’s advisory committee on outdoor recreation, the advisory committee for the Japanese American Remembrance Trail, and the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Task Force.

ASK ME ABOUT: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Communications strategy

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Carol Roll

Carol Roll

Development Director

Carol’s passion for nonprofit work began as a student at Western Washington University where she studied Psychology, Biology, and Spanish. She has worked in fundraising and event management at various Seattle and international organizations focused on conservation, social services, and education and joined Seattle Audubon in 2020. A one-time backyard chicken owner, Carol is looking forward to expanding her bird knowledge beyond the Rhode Island Red. She frequents PNW trails and mountains and can’t wait to learn more about the birds she encounters there, and in her own backyard. In addition to perfecting her hummingbird feeder recipe, she also is cooking her way through the New York Times Cooking app, and is always planning her next international trip.

ASK ME ABOUT: Including Seattle Audubon in your will or estate plans, in-kind donations (vehicles, stock, optics), contributing to a future issue of EarthCare Northwest, sponsorship, general donation questions
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CarolR@seattleaudubon.org

Christine Scheele

Christine Scheele

Program Director / Senior Education Manager

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.

ASK ME ABOUT: becoming a field trips or neighborhood bird walk leader, teaching a class, Puget Sound Seabird Survey, Neighborhood Bird Project, joining the Classes or Field Trips committees, Hoot Camp

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Sonora Troger

Sonora Troger

Operations Manager

Originally from Los Angeles, Sonora (she/her) spent her youth snorkeling with Garibaldi damselfish and seeking out her local neighborhood red-crowned parrots. She is delighted to bring that enthusiasm for nature with her to the Seattle Audubon as Operations Manager. Her background includes an undergraduate degree in wildlife illustration and many years working in the outdoor industry. Sonora spends her free time drawing, drinking absurd amounts of coffee, and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her husband and pup.

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Ellie Yamanaka

Ellie Yamanaka

Community Engagement Manager

Ellie (she/her) grew up in the Seattle area and gained an early appreciation of birds and nature through Seattle Audubon’s Nature Camp. After completing her Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin, Ellie returned to Seattle and worked first as a Nature Camp Naturalist for Seattle Audubon before moving into the role of Community Engagement Manager. In her free time she freelances around the Puget Sound region as an acoustic and electric harpist, with a desire to create experiences that bring together music and environmentalism.

EllieY@seattleaudubon.org