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.
Nancy has been working at the Conservation Biology Institute since August 1998. She received her M.S. in Conservation Biology at the University of Minnesota in 1997 for research focusing on the threatened West Indian Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna arborea) in the Bahamas.
Her current research interests include the use of geographic information systems as a tool for conservation planning, incorporating GIS into science education, and avian conservation issues. In 2012, she completed her Ph.D. in Science Education at Oregon State University.
Gwynne lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California and has for the past 25 years. Her life-long interest in ecology and biology brought her to the University of California at Santa Cruz for both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. As an undergraduate, Gwynne worked on projects including studies related to the sensory systems and physiology of marine mammals (Northern elephant seals, harbor seals, and California sea lions). Later in her undergraduate career, she worked with Dr. Barry Sinervo, using microsatellite DNA paternity analysis to study the behavioral ecology of side-blotched lizards. Gwynne went on to do her Master’s thesis, which assessed population genetic structure and phylogenetic relationships of populations of the endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard – endemic to California’s San Joaquin Valley. Gwynne’s goal was to use population genetic analyses to contribute knowledge towards more effective management plans for endangered species.
Gwynne joined the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI) in July of 2010 and works remotely in California. She has worked on quite a variety of projects involving outreach, communication (using social media), research, and editing. Some of the projects Gwynne has contributed to include Data Basin, the Southern Sierra Partnership, and the Bureau of Land Management’s Rapid Ecological Assessment (Colorado Plateau and the Sonoran Desert Regions). She also manages much of the social media piece of communications for CBI. When not working, Gwynne loves hanging out with her two kids and enjoys running and taking classes in pilates, yoga, and dance.
Tara joined Conservation Biology Institute in March of 2010 as a Software Engineer. She brings over 15 years of experience in the software industry with a focus on web applications. Tara has a passion for building intuitive, helpful web applications that run smoothly. She’s currently working on the Data Basin system…doing what she can to make conservation data more available, more understandable, and more manageable for more people.
Mike got his Bachelor of Arts in English from Oregon State University. After becoming a technical writer, he discovered that he enjoyed writing code more than he enjoyed writing documentation. He has spent the last 10 years working with programming languages and databases while designing and maintaining software used internally by credit unions.
Mike is an avid reader, and enjoys hiking and spending time with his family. Mike lives in Corvallis with his wife, Tina, and daughter, Amanda.
Wendy joined the CBI staff as a Soil Scientist/GIS Analyst in July, 2010. She studied Environmental Sciences at Oregon State University, where she worked as a GIS technician in the Crop and Soil Science Dept. In June, 2010, she defended her MS in Soil Science thesis on “Predictive Mapping of Landtype Associations in Three Oregon National Forests,” and in June, 2014, she defended her PhD dissertation on “Using Soil Data to Enhance Modeling of forest responses to climate change. She also has a BA in Dance, which she puts into use in volunteer work with mixed abilities communities.
Kathy joined CBI in August, 2008 as an accounting assistant. Kathy has A.S. Degrees in Accounting Technology and Business Management, over 25 years of accounting experience, and a strong personal commitment to protecting and preserving the environment. Kathy grew up on a small 10 acre farm outside of Sodaville, Oregon and still enjoys a rural farming lifestyle with her husband. Kathy and her husband completed their six month Oregon State University Master Woodland Manager Program and a two-year LBCC A.S. Agriculture Degree in June 2007. They focused on living sustainably and making a positive influence on the environment. For example, they installed a smaller irrigation pump, heat pump, solar panel, and focus on reusing or recycling.
When she is not clearing blackberries or preparing garden plots, Kathy enjoys digital photography and traveling both locally and abroad, including trips to Bali, Israel, and Egypt. She also spends time learning more about plant types, pest control, propagation, and composting. With her strong background and experience in business, and her personal commitment to conservation, Kathy is an excellent fit at CBI and is delighted to contribut towards CBI’s mission of protecting and preserving the environment.