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.

Spring is a conservation ecologist and data analyst with over 15 years of experience in research, data analysis, habitat restoration, ecological monitoring and management of conserved lands in southern California. She has participated in conservation practice as a scientist, land–manager, and consultant, interfacing with NGOs, jurisdictions and government agencies regularly in these capacities. She has been involved in a number of research programs aimed at advancing the use of science in adaptive management and monitoring plans for several Natural Community Conservation Planning or associated programs. In this capacity she trained and managed field crews, performed field work, helped develop and implement novel data analysis strategies and provided practical interpretations of statistical results for end users. Spring developed a conceptual model for the federally threatened and state endangered plant, Deinandra conjugens and facilitated the development of a conceptual model for the coastal sage scrub vegetation community with representatives from NGOs, academic institutions, local jurisdictions and state and federal agencies. She was also involved in advancing the knowledge base about the rare Hermes copper butterfly (Lycena hermes) which is now a candidate for federal listing. 

Gladwin Joseph was born in a town called Nazareth in Tamil Nadu, India, but has lived in Ghana, India and the USA. He was, until recently, the Director and Professor at the School of Development, Azim Premji University (APU), Bangalore, India. Prior to that, he was a senior leader of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), an Environmental think-tank and academic institution. He was its director for 10 years and with its founding president helped build and establish ATREE as a premier conservation and sustainability organization in India. His publications span a diverse range of topics from plant ecophysiology to conservation and livelihoods. After finishing a degree in Agriculture in India from the University of Agricultural Sciences, he completed his MS and Ph.D. at Oregon State University. He helped initiate the development of an online course on sustainability for the global south for undergraduate students at APU. He continues to advise and provide inputs on course design as a visiting faculty. In his spare time he is actively involved with the open source Indian Biodiversity portal, particularly the treesindia group which is working on a citizen science project documenting all of India’s tree species. He is also working on an easy-to-use bilingual (English-Spanish) pictorial guide to trees of Oregon. He continues to serve on Ph.D. student advisory committees as an adjunct senior fellow at ATREE. His hobbies include gardening and cooking with his kids, keeping track of global news, reading books on history, culture and religion, hiking, and fly fishing.

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.

Mike Gough is a GIS analyst with 12+ years professional experience in the geospatial sciences. Prior to joining CBI in 2012, Mike served as a GIS lecturer in the Environmental Science & Management Department at Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA.  During his tenure with HSU’s Institute for Spatial Analysis, he served as the lead GIS Analyst and Systems Administrator on several multidisciplinary projects spanning oceanographic research and education, water quality monitoring, infrastructure development, natural hazards, renewable energy, and land use planning. Between 2004 and 2012, he made significant contributions to the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System (HSU CeNCOOS).  Among these, was the development of several automated real-time data acquisition & monitoring systems.

Mike draws upon his background in the geospatial sciences, natural resource planning, and computer information systems to guide the development of tools which help promote healthy and sustainable interactions among human and natural systems. His direct research interests comprise dynamic spatiotemporal modeling, web-mapping and database application development, scripting & automation, 3D geographic visualization, and the development of decision-support tools.

Mike earned his B.S. in Natural Resources Planning & Interpretation with an option in Geographic Information Systems & Remote Sensing and a minor in Computer Information Systems from Humboldt State University in 2005. He lives with his wife Rebecca and their entourage of furry companions.

Rebecca is a Senior Geospatial Scientist with 15+ years professional experience in the geospatial sciences and conservation planning. She leads a team performing advanced spatial analysis & modeling, remote sensing, and data visualization to further conservation of species, habitats, and biodiversity around the globe. Current projects focus on using geospatial technology to support agencies and organizations in data-driven approaches for environmentally-sustainable planning & decision-making.

Prior to joining CBI, Rebecca taught at the College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University, where she worked on numerous projects spanning natural resources, socio-economic, and community mapping and analysis. Rebecca earned a B.S. in Ecology & Visual Arts from Juniata College (PA) in 2003 and worked as a field biologist for several years. She completed a M.S. in GIS & Remote Sensing at Humboldt State University (CA) in 2007, mapping tropical forests in South America using remote sensing techniques.

Rebecca is involved in numerous professional organizations, including the Conservation Remote Sensing Network, Women in Geospatial, and the Society for Conservation GIS, where she’s currently on the Board and Chair of the Communications Committee.

Dr. John Gallo is a geographer and landscape ecologist who works together with conservation practitioners on applied conservation projects. Dr. Gallo also explores scientific frontiers with the purpose of advancing innovative strategies and best practices to attain multiple benefits. He employs a variety of areas of expertise in an interdisciplinary approach, including:

For more information please see Dr. Gallo’s curriculum vitae linked to the right.

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.