ALYSSIA CHURCH, Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist
Alyssia holds a BS degree in Physical Geography with a minor in GIS and is currently finishing her MS degree in Geography with a focus on wildlife conservation. Both degrees are from The Pennsylvania State University. Last summer she spent 2 months in the Schoodic region of Maine conducting wildlife surveys for her master’s thesis topic, which concerns wildlife corridor placement. Alyssia has been birding ever since she could pick up a bird book and is very passionate about educating others about the natural world around them and the importance of conservation. When she is not enjoying the great outdoors, you can find Alyssia competing at amateur ballroom dance competitions.
DOUG GOCHFELD, Swing Counter
Doug’s interest in birds was sparked at a young age (he participated in his first CBC at the age of 7), in part by his father. This interest soon spiraled into a full-blown obsession for Doug before he abruptly shelved it, in favor of baseball, for several adolescent years. He picked birding up again a few years ago and has been a hard-core birder ever since, although when he's not roaming the habitats of his native Brooklyn in search of avian quarry he still finds occasion to get in some baseball-related activities. Doug graduated from Binghamton University, NY in 2008 with a B.S. in economics with a focus in finance. Doug remarked, tongue-in-cheek, “My intensive study of international trade, monetary economics, and econometrics was ideal preparation for the dynamic job of Swing Counter in Cape May.” Prior to assuming this post he had participated in a comprehensive survey of migrant shorebirds for New York City Audubon during the spring and summer of 2009. He hopes to be able to pursue a career in birding, governmental financial regulation, or maybe something somewhere in between.
ASHLEY GREEN, Morning Flight and Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist
Ashley hails from western Massachusetts and graduated from St. Michael’s College with a degree in biology. She has held a variety of wildlife biology field jobs, including trapping and banding raptors in New Mexico and several seasons with a Northern Spotted Owl project on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. If she seems familiar, she should – she was a Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist with CMBO two seasons ago. Ashley enjoys backpacking, traveling and stargazing.
JENNY HOWARD, Monarch Migration Project Naturalist
Jenny Howard graduated from Kenyon College in the cornfields of Ohio in 2009 with a degree in Biology, focusing on ecology and environmental studies. She is interested mainly in biology from an applied, conservation angle. She studied abroad in Ecuador and spent a month in the Amazonian rainforest chasing spider monkeys, and since graduating, has worked in Ohio studying wetlands, Northern California studying pollination rates, the Mariana Islands studying the consequences of bird loss, and Colorado assessing wetlands in the North Platte watershed. She is very excited to be the Monarch Migration Project Intern this season! Ever since elementary school she has tagged monarch butterflies with Monarch Watch, a University of Kansas program studying the fall migration of monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains.
TOM JOHNSON, Primary Morning Flight Counter
Tom has been watching and learning about birds since childhood. More recently, he has also enjoyed photographing birds, writing about birds, counting birds, and traveling to see birds, but he won't rule
out dinners by candlelight or long walks on the beach. Road trips across North America and southern South America were important in fueling his interest, and field research on owls, swallows, shorebirds, and gulls has helped focus his passion with a hint of science. In the future, Tom would like to work in a capacity to promote conservation both in North America and further afield.
TIFFANY KERSTEN, Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist Tiffany comes from Ashland, Wisconsin. She is a recent graduate of Northland College, with a B.S in natural resources. She first got hooked on birds at age 12, after being led to a field of 2,000 sandhill cranes doing their ritualistic mating dance. She took several ornithology classes in college, and has worked for the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute's LoonWatch program, and completed a capstone project on northern shrike winter vocalizations. Additionally, she has led birding field trips, conducted Kirtland's warbler surveys, goshawk and red-shoulder hawk surveys for the US Forest Service. She has also spent several years doing waterfowl surveys for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
KAITLYN MARCZI, George Myers Field Naturalist
Since finding a Bluebird nest in her northern NJ backyard, at 12 years old, Kaitlyn has become addicted to all things dealing with birds and has enjoyed many of the benefits of being a member of the NJAS. She participated in the World Series of Birding with a youth team from 2001-2003 during which she was introduced to the wonders of Cape May birding. She attended Delaware Valley College and graduated with a degree in Conservation and Wildlife Management in 2009. During the summer of 2007 Kaitlyn was an intern at the CMBO Research and Education Center. There she discovered a very strong interest in education. Although she has more recently been involved in ecosystem field research at the Hubbard Brook Experimental forest in the White Mountains of NH, she is passionately pursuing a career in environmental and ecological education.
ANDY NORTHRUP, Sea Watch, Morning Flight and Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist
Andy is an Interpretive Naturalist for the Avalon Sea Watch, Morning Flight, and Hawk Watch. He grew up in Boxborough, Massachusetts, and graduated from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2008 with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. Andy’s first job after finishing school was counting waterbirds for Whitefish Point Bird Observatory and he has been thoroughly hooked on birding ever since. His other experiences include hawk-watching on Mount Wachusett in MA, surveying Wood Ducks for Mass Audubon, and most recently trapping, banding, and counting ducks in North Dakota. Andy also enjoys hiking, kayaking, pool, and ping-pong.
MELISSA ROACH, Primary Hawk Counter
Returning for a third season after spending the past two falls as Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist for CMBO, Melissa feels like a fixture here. Earning her B.S. in biology from Lynchburg College, Virginia in 2008, Melissa has always had a strong passion for the environment and its study. Although her undergraduate research focused on the fishing spider Dolomedes scriptus, Melissa has an ever-increasing appetite to explore the field of ornithology. In spring and summer 2010, Melissa helped conduct Golden-winged Warbler field research in West Virginia through nest searching and monitoring.
Alyssia holds a BS degree in Physical Geography with a minor in GIS and is currently finishing her MS degree in Geography with a focus on wildlife conservation. Both degrees are from The Pennsylvania State University. Last summer she spent 2 months in the Schoodic region of Maine conducting wildlife surveys for her master’s thesis topic, which concerns wildlife corridor placement. Alyssia has been birding ever since she could pick up a bird book and is very passionate about educating others about the natural world around them and the importance of conservation. When she is not enjoying the great outdoors, you can find Alyssia competing at amateur ballroom dance competitions.
DOUG GOCHFELD, Swing CounterDoug’s interest in birds was sparked at a young age (he participated in his first CBC at the age of 7), in part by his father. This interest soon spiraled into a full-blown obsession for Doug before he abruptly shelved it, in favor of baseball, for several adolescent years. He picked birding up again a few years ago and has been a hard-core birder ever since, although when he's not roaming the habitats of his native Brooklyn in search of avian quarry he still finds occasion to get in some baseball-related activities. Doug graduated from Binghamton University, NY in 2008 with a B.S. in economics with a focus in finance. Doug remarked, tongue-in-cheek, “My intensive study of international trade, monetary economics, and econometrics was ideal preparation for the dynamic job of Swing Counter in Cape May.” Prior to assuming this post he had participated in a comprehensive survey of migrant shorebirds for New York City Audubon during the spring and summer of 2009. He hopes to be able to pursue a career in birding, governmental financial regulation, or maybe something somewhere in between.
ASHLEY GREEN, Morning Flight and Hawk Watch Interpretive NaturalistAshley hails from western Massachusetts and graduated from St. Michael’s College with a degree in biology. She has held a variety of wildlife biology field jobs, including trapping and banding raptors in New Mexico and several seasons with a Northern Spotted Owl project on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. If she seems familiar, she should – she was a Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist with CMBO two seasons ago. Ashley enjoys backpacking, traveling and stargazing.
JENNY HOWARD, Monarch Migration Project NaturalistJenny Howard graduated from Kenyon College in the cornfields of Ohio in 2009 with a degree in Biology, focusing on ecology and environmental studies. She is interested mainly in biology from an applied, conservation angle. She studied abroad in Ecuador and spent a month in the Amazonian rainforest chasing spider monkeys, and since graduating, has worked in Ohio studying wetlands, Northern California studying pollination rates, the Mariana Islands studying the consequences of bird loss, and Colorado assessing wetlands in the North Platte watershed. She is very excited to be the Monarch Migration Project Intern this season! Ever since elementary school she has tagged monarch butterflies with Monarch Watch, a University of Kansas program studying the fall migration of monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains.
TOM JOHNSON, Primary Morning Flight CounterTom has been watching and learning about birds since childhood. More recently, he has also enjoyed photographing birds, writing about birds, counting birds, and traveling to see birds, but he won't rule
out dinners by candlelight or long walks on the beach. Road trips across North America and southern South America were important in fueling his interest, and field research on owls, swallows, shorebirds, and gulls has helped focus his passion with a hint of science. In the future, Tom would like to work in a capacity to promote conservation both in North America and further afield.
TIFFANY KERSTEN, Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist Tiffany comes from Ashland, Wisconsin. She is a recent graduate of Northland College, with a B.S in natural resources. She first got hooked on birds at age 12, after being led to a field of 2,000 sandhill cranes doing their ritualistic mating dance. She took several ornithology classes in college, and has worked for the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute's LoonWatch program, and completed a capstone project on northern shrike winter vocalizations. Additionally, she has led birding field trips, conducted Kirtland's warbler surveys, goshawk and red-shoulder hawk surveys for the US Forest Service. She has also spent several years doing waterfowl surveys for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
STEVE KOLBE, Primary Sea Watch Counter
Steve returns to CMBO after being the Sea Watch Interpretive Naturalist in fall 2009. He grew up in Ohio, where for the last twelve years he has been an avid birder. In May 2009, Steve graduated with a degree in zoology from Miami University. During the summer breaks between semesters, Steve has helped with bird research on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, throughout Ohio, northern California, and Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. He also enjoys playing baseball, whiffleball, and tennis, as well as watching Cleveland sports teams.
Steve returns to CMBO after being the Sea Watch Interpretive Naturalist in fall 2009. He grew up in Ohio, where for the last twelve years he has been an avid birder. In May 2009, Steve graduated with a degree in zoology from Miami University. During the summer breaks between semesters, Steve has helped with bird research on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, throughout Ohio, northern California, and Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. He also enjoys playing baseball, whiffleball, and tennis, as well as watching Cleveland sports teams.
KAITLYN MARCZI, George Myers Field NaturalistSince finding a Bluebird nest in her northern NJ backyard, at 12 years old, Kaitlyn has become addicted to all things dealing with birds and has enjoyed many of the benefits of being a member of the NJAS. She participated in the World Series of Birding with a youth team from 2001-2003 during which she was introduced to the wonders of Cape May birding. She attended Delaware Valley College and graduated with a degree in Conservation and Wildlife Management in 2009. During the summer of 2007 Kaitlyn was an intern at the CMBO Research and Education Center. There she discovered a very strong interest in education. Although she has more recently been involved in ecosystem field research at the Hubbard Brook Experimental forest in the White Mountains of NH, she is passionately pursuing a career in environmental and ecological education.
ANDY NORTHRUP, Sea Watch, Morning Flight and Hawk Watch Interpretive NaturalistAndy is an Interpretive Naturalist for the Avalon Sea Watch, Morning Flight, and Hawk Watch. He grew up in Boxborough, Massachusetts, and graduated from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2008 with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation. Andy’s first job after finishing school was counting waterbirds for Whitefish Point Bird Observatory and he has been thoroughly hooked on birding ever since. His other experiences include hawk-watching on Mount Wachusett in MA, surveying Wood Ducks for Mass Audubon, and most recently trapping, banding, and counting ducks in North Dakota. Andy also enjoys hiking, kayaking, pool, and ping-pong.
MELISSA ROACH, Primary Hawk CounterReturning for a third season after spending the past two falls as Hawk Watch Interpretive Naturalist for CMBO, Melissa feels like a fixture here. Earning her B.S. in biology from Lynchburg College, Virginia in 2008, Melissa has always had a strong passion for the environment and its study. Although her undergraduate research focused on the fishing spider Dolomedes scriptus, Melissa has an ever-increasing appetite to explore the field of ornithology. In spring and summer 2010, Melissa helped conduct Golden-winged Warbler field research in West Virginia through nest searching and monitoring.
