Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Board of Directors
A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies is governed by a Board of Directors who donate their time, treasure and enthusiasm for birds and conservation to help achieve our mission. Directors serve three-year terms, elect their own leadership annually, serve on various committees and help with events and projects. The Board of Directors guides and supports the Bird Conservancy through strategic planning, financial oversight and fundraising.
Contact us if you have questions for our Board of Directors or click here to check for openings on our Board.
Board of Directors
Board Chair
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Eileen is the owner of Dey Consulting, LLC representing oil and gas clients in environmental, regulatory, sustainability, and stakeholder issues and planning. Previously, Eileen worked for ConocoPhillips as the Lower 48 Manager of Sustainable Development and held various manager positions in Environmental, Regulatory and Stakeholder Engagement in the Rockies and Mid-Continent Business Units. While at COP, Eileen served on several boards (Playa Lakes Joint Venture, Northern Great Plains Joint Venture, and Colorado Oil & Gas Association). She worked with industry and agencies on the development and implementation of conservation agreements for several candidate species and developed the ESA Protocol Tool for COP to ensure that the Business Units assess and mitigate species and habitat during all phases of development. She received her BA from University of Colorado, Boulder. Eileen believes that industry can be a vital partner with agencies, NGOs, landowners and various stakeholders to utilize science and best management practices that improve habitat and foster exceptional community relationships.
Board Vice Chair
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As the Curator of Ornithology at Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Garth’s research focuses on how recent and ancient environmental changes have affected bird species. Bird species are products of their environment and therefore are constantly evolving in response to environmental change. The response of a species to environmental change leaves lasting footprints in its DNA. Garth uses genetic tools to examine “bird DNA footprints” and determine just how a species or multiple species that make up a modern community have responded to past environmental change.
Secretary, Finance Committee
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Tonie’s passion is to build forward-thinking, resilient, and purpose-led technology companies. At NVIDIA, she oversees corporate responsibility, a function she helped to build since starting in 2006. As a strategist and communicator, she drives initiatives that strengthen NVIDIA’s ESG and brand reputation. Tonie publishes the company’s ESG report and engages with shareholders, NGOs, and customers to understand their expectations and present NVIDIA’s positioning around ESG issues. She also helps NVIDIA keep its position as an ESG leader by delivering to execs insights on societal issues and their impact on the company. Prior to joining NVIDIA, Tonie spent 15 years in a variety of marketing roles. She earned her MBA in 2000 from Babson College, has been recognized by CRO Magazine as a CR Superstar and by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as a Women of Influence. She previously served on the board and as board president of the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley, and currently serves as an advisor to the CU Boulder Leeds Business School’s Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility.
Finance Committee & Treasurer
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Jeanine is an international development professional with experience in areas that include public and corporate finance, infrastructure finance, small business development and a wide range of non-profit work. Over the past twenty years, she has been a resident or intermittent advisor for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance providing technical assistance to government ministries of finance and other authorities in the area of debt issuance and management and infrastructure finance. To feed her passion for nature and discovery, Jeanine co-founded with her husband, Mondo Verde Expeditions, LLC a travel company that offers transformative cultural and nature-based experiences in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. She received a B.S. in finance and international business from the University of Colorado and a M.A. in international relations and economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
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Alejandro Carrillo is a fourth-generation rancher in the Chihuahuan desert where he focuses on regenerative practices at his ranch, Las Damas. Alejandro established a solid relationship with bird conservation organizations 10 years ago, working closely with both Mexican and US organizations to protect migratory birds. Alejandro assists ranchers and institutions on regenerative practices mainly across the Western USA, but also in South America. He also participates as delegate to the United Nations to Combat Desertification and Land Degradation in multiple countries. Before getting his boots on the ground full time, Alejandro worked as software engineer and IT consultant in various countries. He has a BS in Computer Science from Monterrey Tech, and a MS in Technical Management from The Johns Hopkins University
Governance Committee
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Kathryn grew up in a mostly rural area of southern Illinois. She has been practicing corporate and transaction law in the Denver area for over 25 years. She was inspired by the movie Pelican Dreams to gain an appreciation for birds, especially pelicans, which moved her to support International Bird Rescue and then the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She volunteered for 10 years in Veterinary Services at the Dumb Friends League and has been volunteering with Colorado Voters for Animals since 2017. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from Stanford University.
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David’s vocation for 25 years was in the ownership and operation of multifamily communities. Starting as a financial analyst for a large developer of apartments, then founding his own firm in 2012, he finished his career in 2022 when he sold the majority of his properties. David is still involved in opportunistic real estate investing through passive investments with other sponsors.
In 2013, David and three friends purchased a recreational ranch property in eastern Colorado. It instantly became clear to him that the ownership of a property in someone else’s community came with an obligation to become part of that community. Stewardship went from being an important, but abstract, concept to a daily obligation. Since the acquisition of the property, David has worked closely with multiple conservation organizations, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the National Resource Conservation Service, the local irrigation district, and neighboring farmers to enhance the property and ensure that the property and its owners are productive members of its rural agricultural community.
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Shea is a seasoned sustainability leader who believes companies can do well by doing good. Throughout her career she has led companies from random acts of sustainability to sustainability leadership. She is currently the Senior Director, Sustainability for Marsh McLennan, the worlds leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. In her role, she leads ESG and sustainability strategy for the firm globally and is responsible for the development and execution of ESG and Climate initiatives. She partners closely with diverse stakeholders across the business to identify and implement key strategic initiatives that will drive progress towards corporate goals.
Shea also serves on her local community’s Advisory Committee for Environmental Sustainability and is passionate about the role of all sectors in addressing climate change. She is a former member of U.S. Green Building Council’s Location and Planning Technical Advisory Group and the Institute of Real Estate Management’s Sustainability Advisory Council. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Suffolk University, a M.S. in Environmental Science and Management from Sacred Heart University and is a LEED Accredited Professional.
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Nathan has been fascinated by birds since his childhood in South Dakota, and has intensively studied bird sounds since 2003. He is the former editor of the journal Colorado Birds and an author of the Colorado Birding Trail. In 2016, he authored The Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America. Nathan currently teaches writing and rhetoric at University of Colorado.
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John Sanderson is the Director of Colorado State University’s Center for Collaborative Conservation. At the Center, John and his staff work to build the capacity of organizations, communities, and future leaders to achieve conservation impact, while applying CSU’s world-class research and education. He has been doing conservation work in the West for over 25 years, including at the Colorado Natural Heritage Program and at The Nature Conservancy, where he led a staff striving to protect land, manage rivers, restore forests, and mitigate and adapt to our changing climate. John earned a B.S. in engineering from Purdue University, an M.S. in botany from the University of Vermont, and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at CSU.
Development Committee
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Jean is an ecologist with more than 33 years of applied experience in the consulting world. Her academic work focused on birds including “Morphometric age and sex variation in the Whistling Swan” and “Habitat usage by the Chipping Sparrow in northern Lower Michigan.” Her consulting career has focused on diverse studies responsive to the NEPA and CERCLA/SARA/RCRA for land management, military, transportation and other agencies. Her passions are preserving habitat, ecological health and species diversity for avian and other wildlife populations, and promoting appreciation of the natural world for its intrinsic worth and its value to the human mind, body and spirit.
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Rosa Maria Vidal started her journey as a biologist studying the migratory birds and flyways in the Americas. She was the founder and executive director of Pronatura Sur an NGO in Mexico, where she was able to develop integrated approaches to conservation, considering local communities’ livelihoods and biodiversity. Rosa Maria has served in international councils and commissions, including the North American Bird Initiative, Partners in Flight, and the WHSRN council among others. She was the director of the Governors Climate and Forest Fund, working with subnational governments from the tropical countries of the world for the implementation of Climate Change Mitigation policies and programs. She is currently Senior Advisor at the Center for the Management of Protected Areas (CPAM) at Colorado State University, is member of the board of trustees of Manomet and provide advisory to impact investors working on climate change and natural resources management.
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Shanelle is passionate about involving historically underrepresented groups in the natural resources field. She specializes in interdisciplinary work, especially on ways we can bridge the gap between hard science and community involvement. Shanelle has gained valuable experience through various educational, interpretative, and mentoring roles at Denver Zoo and Environment for the Americas (in partnership with the National Park Service). Currently, Shanelle is a Ph.D. student at the University of Connecticut. Her dissertation research focuses on understanding the educational and workforce barriers faced by members of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community.
Development Committee
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Ed is a noted philanthropist and conservationist. He had a career as an exploration geologist that culminated in his discovery in 1993 of the Jonah Field and the first commercial exploitation of the Pinedale Field in Sublette County, Wyoming. Ed left the natural gas business at the end of 2000 to pursue his philanthropic interests in the U.S. and Africa. Ed received his Bachelor of Science in 1968 from Colorado State University and his Master of Science in 1971 from UCLA, both in geology. He is a trustee or director of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Sand County Foundation, Explorers Foundation and Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, as well as an advisor to the Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust.
