Esti Shay joined CBI in 2018. She is active in her local tech community, hosting educational meetups and running regional conferences. As a former librarian, she is perennially curious and always learning something new. She is a full-stack developer and manages the team’s accessibility guides.

Esti loves the Pacific Northwest, from the cloudy skies to the mossy trees, rhododendrons to rocky beaches. She prefers getting around on foot or by bicycle.

Heidi joined Conservation Biology Institute in December of 2017. Heidi has a Masters of Environmental Management with a certificate in GIS from Duke University and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Brown University. She worked for 7 years at the InterAmerican Development Bank in the Environmental and Social Safeguard Unit as their GIS analyst screening bank projects for environmental and social issues. She is also experienced in remote sensing and spent two years working as a quality control analyst on a global land cover change project. Her interest in international development and the environment started at  a very early age. She grew up the child of two USAID officers and spent much of her youth in Niger and Morocco. Travel has always been a passion and she even spent two seasons working as science support in Antarctica.
Heidi recently moved to Corvallis with her husband, Bob, and their family. In her free time she likes to explore the outdoors, garden, bake and knit.

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.

Ann joined the CBI team in September of 2013. She has her M.S. in Community Development and Natural Resource Management and a B.A. in Business and Communications with a minor in Spanish. Her background is in marketing, publications and education and she has extensive research, writing, editing and production experience. Prior to joining CBI she worked as a Research Associate at the Alliance for Water Efficiency in Chicago. At CBI, Ann is a member of the communications team pursuing collaborative relationships for CBI and assisting with science support and education initiatives. A native Southern Californian, she has lived in the urban jungles of Chicago, Oakland and Los Angeles and amongst the monkeys in the foothills of the Himalayas in Northern India.  She now lives in Corvallis with her husband Kevin and their monkey like children Jane and Charlie. 

Daniel Harvey joined CBI in November 2013. He specializes in application and database design and development, with experience spanning Microsoft and Unix-based platforms and a broad range of client- and server-side technologies. Since earning a Master’s Degree in Computer Science in 2006 with an emphasis in GIS, he has worked in many capacities including: software architecture, design, development, QA, and support. But as part of the CBI team he found what he sought since graduation: a career in employing technology to bring humanity into harmony with the ecosystems that together are the pulse of this planet.

Daniel grew up on the East Coast near a wildlife preserve. He spent much of his childhood exploring and communing with nature. Although he has worked in many fields including language, hydraulics and piano tuning, Daniel retains a passion for using science to understand complex and beautiful systems as they occur naturally without losing view of the ways in which they challenge our systems of thought. He has studied Music Theory, Change as described by the I-Ching, and pursues an ever deepening knowledge of Geology and Climatology.

Daniel currently lives in Corvallis, Oregon with his wife Saralyn and three children.  He avidly studies ancient cultural literature including Celtic, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Eastern and American Indian. He also enjoys music theory, piano tuning, running, and has recently taken on the task of learning Irish.

Sesha received his Master of Technology in Computer Science from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University and Master of Science in Physics from Osmania University and is currently pursuing his MBA from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon.  He is an active member of Project Management Institute (PMI) Willamette Valley Chapter, Oregon. He brings over 10 years of experience in the software industry with a focus on IT web applications, quality assurance and management. His highly positive attitude and passion for learning and mastering new technologies makes him an asset for the team.

Sesha’s interests include volunteering and reading fictional and non-fictional books. His two sons study at Oregon State University and he lives with his family in Corvallis.

Lisa Alley joined CBI as an Administrative Assistant in May 2014. She is new to the conservation community, but has spent the last 15 years providing back office support for an organization that provided software used internally within credit unions. She is an incredible asset to CBI, providing support and assisting with deadlines. During her free time she enjoys scrapbooking, camping throughout Oregon and spending time with her wonderful husband, beautiful daughter and equally beautiful son-in-law.

Barry received a Ph.D. from Colorado State University in 1991 where his research focused on the effects of climate change on grassland/livestock ecosystems.  Since then, he has worked in Argentina, China, Mongolia, and the US for the United Nations’ Development and Environmental Programmes, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Country Studies Program, and more recently The Nature Conservancy. His research interests include bioclimatology, biogeography, and the influence of climatic variability on the distribution and conservation of plants and animals in grassland and alpine ecosystems.

Justin Brice is a Geospatial Analyst with professional experience applying spatial analysis to help conserve natural landscapes and working lands. He has lived agriculture experience growing up in California’s Central Valley on the family walnut farm and holds a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and minor in Geospatial Sciences from Humboldt State University. With his background in agriculture, wildlife field sampling/surveying work, species distribution, and connectivity modeling, Justin is focused on conserving habitat cores and agricultural lands that act as corridors to allow for wildlife movements. To that end, his recent focus is at the intersection of renewable energy development, protection of valuable farmland, and wildlife conservation as the world races to address our global climate crisis. Collaborative decision support systems will be needed now more than ever so that our decision-makers can have access to a transparent process that allows for scenario planning to make informed decisions using the best available science. Justin is the project manager on several projects involved with the co-production of spatial decision support systems (SDSS) with clients to inform and support decision makers.

Areas of general expertise (other than Geographic Information Systems) include:

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.