Taylor is an Eastern Oregon native and has been interested in mathematics and computers since a young age. While at college, he studied computational geometry, topology, probability and computer graphics, as well as mathematical fundamentals of cryptography. He has since blended those interests by integrating computer graphics and the web with data visualization and environmental science, developing desktop- and web-based software to assist scientists in leveraging their data.
Annie joined the CBI team in July of 2016. She has a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Environmental Law and Policy from Oregon State University and a graduate certificate in GIS from Penn State University. While working as an intern under environmental lawyers with the intention of becoming one herself, Annie recognized the power of data and spatial analysis in the conservation planning field and changed course to a career in geospatial sciences. She is particularly interested in the management of water resources and sustainable city planning. Prior to joining CBI, Annie worked as an assistant data manager for the National Park Service’s Sonoran Desert Network, developing databases and performing data analysis for the network’s birds, groundwater, springs, and streams protocols.
Annie is a native of Santa Barbara, CA and currently resides in Corvallis, Oregon. She spends her free time rock climbing, hiking, baking, and traveling.
Stephanie joined the CBI team in August, 2017. She has an M.S. in Marine Resource Management from Oregon State University. Prior to joining CBI, Stephanie supported research projects at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon by working as a researcher and project manager for the EPA’s on-site contractor. In this capacity, she managed and participated in studies comparing created and naturally occurring wetlands to provide regulators with information to improve management strategies and wetland mitigation project design. She also managed research to determine the health and status of streams and rivers across the twelve contiguous western states, research in Oregon Coast Range watersheds to evaluate and quantify the influence of human activities on native fish habitat, and managed Rapid Ecoregional Assessments (REA) for the BLM in the Colorado Plateau and Sonoran Desert ecoregions. For these and other projects, she trained and managed field crews, performed field work, managed project budgets, tracked and evaluated project deliverables, and managed and facilitated the activities of technical support staff and sub-contractors. A native Oregonian and avid equestrian, Stephanie lives in Corvallis with her two- and four-legged family members.
Kathleen Pollett is a Biologist with more than 20 years of experience specializing in endangered species, landscape ecology, and restoration. She has designed, permitted and carried out scientifically credible wildlife improvement projects throughout Central and Southern California. She has worked implementing large scale Habitat Conservation Programs in Southern California and designed research projects for stream breeding amphibians in Oregon. She has prepared trainings for Federally and State listed species to assist in project design and assessment. She has conducting extensive fieldwork throughout her career.
Phoebe is a biodiversity and climate change strategic planner, researcher (conservation biology and global change ecology), policy analyst and teacher. She was thrilled to join CBI in October 2018 as Chief Science and Policy Officer. Phoebe hopes to use her combined background in science research, policy, implementation, communication and collaboration to help CBI increase its impact and rigor even further. She is also an affiliate full professor at the University of Washington, Bothell and honorary research associate at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) African Climate and Development Initiative since 2011 and Center of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology since 2005.
Phoebe has previously been a senior science-policy consultant for the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, where she worked on global connectivity policy in both the terrestrial and marine environments through support to the IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group. Before that, she was executive director of the Pacific Biodiversity Institute (2017-2018), principle and lead scientist for climate change bioadaptation and head of biodiversity futures at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (2005-2016), founding national coordinator of Namibia’s national biodiversity (1994-2003) and climate change programs (1999), board and executive committee member of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2002-05) and scientific and technological coordinator of the Global Invasive Species Program (2003-05).
A behavioral and evolutionary ecologist by background, she now works to build coalitions between academia, government, nonprofits and with citizen science groups at different scales on ecological connectivity, climate adaptation, economics for the future, and sustainability tipping points. Phoebe and her filmmaker husband John Bowey also work through film, immersive media, and prose to tell compelling and powerful stories about ecosystem health and biodiversity, among other big issues.
https://www.phoebebarnard.com/
Dustin Pearce joined the Conservation Biology Institute in December of 2015. His background in geospatial sciences has focused on the interplay of working agricultural lands, natural lands, and renewable energy development in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Growing up in the San Joaquin Valley, his connection with agricultural and working lands initiated his interest in biology. Watching the seasonal shifts in crops and the wildlife that surrounded the valley all developed his curiosity for the natural world that still drives him today. Finding just as much comfort in plowed fields as the backcountry of the Sierra Nevada, his upbringing has helped him understand the truly complex nature of humans’ interaction with different landscapes.
Dustin holds a M.E.S.M. in Economics and Politics of the Environment from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and a B.S. in Conservation Biology from Arizona State University. His work with the Conservation Biology Institute is focused on stakeholder engagement and smart planning for renewable energy development throughout California.
Dustin lives and works remotely in Santa Barbara, California. He enjoys getting outside as much as possible, woodworking, metalworking, and exploring paved roads on his motorcycle.
Melanie Brown joined the Conservation Biology Institute in July of 2015. She has a B.S. in Natural Resource Management with a focus on science and research from Oregon State University (OSU), and an A.A.S. in Water Conservation from Lane Community College (LCC). Melanie is originally from Rhode Island and moved to Oregon in 2008. She has a broad interest in conservation issues including how climate change and invasive species effect land management, and how sustainability and urban ecology affect natural resources. Her background includes a diverse mix of conservation, horticulture, and marketing. As an undergraduate she conducted research alongside her mentor Dr. Dominqiue Bachelet about how Oregon and Idaho Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managers perceive the usefulness of web-based climate tools for sagebrush management. Prior to attending OSU Melanie worked for ten years in various horticulture and vegetation management positions that include assisting in silviculture field studies; a horticulture internship focused on integrated pest management (IPM); manager of marketing and merchandising for an Oregon plant nursery where she integrated native plant species into nursery stock and gave numerous workshops on incorporating wildlife, IPM and xeriscaping into home gardens; and as an entrepreneur who started and managed a landscape design company focused on the incorporation of native and non-invasive species to New England home landscapes. Other experience includes an internship in conservation marketing and development for an Oregon non-profit where she created a neighborhood conservation marketing plan and conducted grant research; an internship in zoology where she cared for a diversity of animal species including threatened and endangered species and worked on animal enrichment and habitat displays; and work with the American Burying Beetle Species Survival Plan where she cared for and tracked American Burying Beetle populations and assisted in their catch and release on Martha’s Vineyard. In her free time Melanie enjoys hiking and exploring the Northwest, photography and spending time with her two young children.
Bill Pfeil is passionately committed to the defense of our natural environments and the preservation of all species. He has a strong interest in data visualization tools and techniques for solving scientific problems and communicating results. Bill has more than 20 years experience developing desktop, mobile, and enterprise applications. He has created solutions for many types of industries including environmental, scientific and optical, radio, law enforcement, banking, and logistics and transportation. Bill has worked with many different languages and technologies including c, c++, .net, objective-c, java, javascript, ruby, rails, unity, android studio and more.
Mindy Boyd joined CBI as an Administrative Assistant in 2012. She is new to the conservation community, but has spent the last 12 years providing technical support and managing releases for software used internally by Credit Unions. During her free time she enjoys running, being outdoors and spending time with her family.