About Us >

LESLIE COOK is Audubon Minnesota’s Development Director. She is responsible for raising contributed income for our operational and project needs from individuals, corporations and foundations. Leslie has worked in the Twin Cities for over 20 years as Development Director at the Science Museum of Minnesota, Minnesota Children’s Museum, and in Corporate Relations for Walker Art Center. She grew up in South Dakota with a strong family ethic of conservation and habitat restoration. It was in the early 90s at a remote cabin in Wisconsin that she fell, irretrievably, under the spell of birds. In her spare time she enjoys camping, canoeing, scuba and world travel.

JOHN CURRY is our Policy Director. After working as a House of Representatives staff person for a decade, John began lobbying, first for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and later for the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. In 2005, he became Director of the Minnesota Campaign for Conservation where he produced “Minnesota Calling” (a report on Conservation Facts, Trends and Challenges) and “A Fifty Year Vision” (long term conservation needs by ecological region) and helped to put the Constitutional Amendment to fund natural resources on the ballot. John has served on a number of committees and boards to foster stewardship of Minnesota wildlife including the DNR’s Budget Oversight Committee and Conservation Minnesota. He enjoys time with his family at their cabin on the Gunflint Trail and loves camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, canoeing, birding and watching the sun rise with a fresh cup of coffee.

JOANNA ECKLES is our Bird Safe · Lights Out Coordinator. She has been a bird lover all her life. Joanna became fascinated with birds and birding as a child and this passion remained a constant in her life through high school, college and beyond. At Cornell University, she studied Natural Resources/Wildlife Science and worked on a number of projects studying wild birds. After Cornell, she moved to Minnesota to work as a trainer with the World of Birds Show at the Minnesota Zoo. There she trained a variety of birds including hawks, owls, eagles, parrots and even a condor and presented free-flight educational programs for 11 years. Upon leaving the zoo in 1999, she joined the World Parrot Trust as the administrator of their US branch. She continues to serve as editor of their quarterly magazine PsittaScene. In 2006, she began working with Audubon Minnesota to organize a working group focusing on the issue of bird collisions with buildings and other structures in Minnesota. Joanna lives in Stillwater with her husband, son, and daughter where they have unruly native gardens and enjoy many birds.

MARK MARTELL is our Director of Bird Conservation. He has been involved in bird conservation and raptor studies for more than 25 years; serving as co-coordinator of the Midwest Peregrine Falcon Restoration Program and the Minnesota Osprey Reintroduction, and as a member of the National Bald Eagle Recovery Team. He formerly was Coordinator of Conservation/Research Fellow at The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota. He has a M.S. in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Minnesota and has published more than 40 articles in scientific journals. Mark has served as an advisor to reintroduction programs in Germany and England, and has studied a number of birds including Burrowing Owls, Bald Eagles, Goshawks and Ospreys. For the past ten years, he has focused on national and international migration research with Ospreys, Swainson’s Hawks, and Broad-winged Hawks across the U.S. and in Costa Rica and Cuba.

MARK PETERSON was appointed Executive Director of Minnesota Audubon in April 2005. His career in conservation spans more than 25 years. Mark holds degrees in environmental education (B.S.) and environmental journalism (M.S.) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned a Ph.D. at Colorado State University in wildland management, studying land stewardship and the human dimensions of natural resource management. Mark’s dissertation focused on protecting habitat for whooping cranes and other migratory species along the Platte River. Mark combines this academic foundation with extensive experience in the non-profit sector, most recently as a Director with the National Parks Conservation Association. Before that, Mark served as Executive Director of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College working to advance the legacy of Minnesota’s foremost conservationist. There he led advocacy efforts in the Lake Superior bioregion and founded the Apostle Island School, Minnesota LoonWatch and the Timber Wolf Alliance, programs that continue today. Mark lives with his family near White Bear Lake enjoying sailing, kayaking, skiing and camping.

BONNIE SAMPLE is the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas Coordinator, directing day-to-day operations of a multi-year project that will map the distribution of breeding bird species throughout the state based on surveys conducted by hundreds of volunteers. The atlas is a critical bird monitoring project supported through the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund and a consortium of bird conservation organizations and agencies. Bonnie is a recent graduate of the Conservation Biology Masters program from the University of Minnesota; her research explored the use of restored urban prairies by grassland birds. She is a strong believer in the value of citizen science, participating in avian research projects both nationally and internationally. She is on the board and Past President of the St. Paul Audubon Society, active with the Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery Project, runs a Breeding Bird Survey route, is a state Field Rep for EarthWatch, and has been a regular bird bander at Carpenter Nature Center. In a former professional life, Bonnie developed corporate I.T. help desk, training, and technical documentation functions and managed operations for pioneering geographic information software (GIS) development companies. For fun, besides birding, she likes to snowshoe, kayak, and sing in a community chorus.

JENNY VITALE is our Office/Finance Manager. In addition to her office and finance responsibilities, Jenny coordinates our annual birdseed sale, the Audubon booth at the State Fair, and other events, working with chapters and volunteers. She has a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Minnesota - Duluth. Prior to working for Audubon, she worked in the natural foods co-op community in the Twin Cities and ran her own accounting business. She maintains her connection to the co-op community as a member and supports organic farmers in Minnesota as a member of Community Supported Agriculture. Jenny grew up in Stillwater enjoying the beauty of the St. Croix River. She lives in Woodbury with her husband and two daughters. As a family, they enjoy exploring the outdoors, traveling, and cooking.

RON WINDINGSTAD is the Audubon at Home Coordinator for Audubon Minnesota. Ron’s primary task is to promote bird conservation efforts on private lands in and adjacent to Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Minnesota through outreach/education with the public and development of partnerships required for the success of those efforts. As part of the Audubon at Home Program Ron coordinates the Audubon Minnesota Chimney Swift Conservation Project and the Purple Martin Conservation Project. Ron retired as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service working on diseases of migratory birds. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology at Augsburg College and after serving as an Air Force pilot Ron received his Master’s degree in wildlife management at UW-Steven’s Point.