Audubon New Mexico Board of Directors

Tom Jervis, President
Tom Jervis is a retired educator and research scientist having worked at the Los Alamos National Lab for over twenty years. He has taught physical science and environmental studies at the university level and spent many years doing research in materials science at Los Alamos. He holds a bachelor's degree in physics from Colorado College and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Cornell University. As an avid birder, he has long been associated with the Audubon Society, serving in many positions at the local, state, and national levels. He is currently the Board President of Audubon New Mexico. Mr. Jervis works with the Audubon Society on statewide conservation issues and is an active member and former President of the New Mexico Audubon Council. Additionally, he serves on the U.S. Forest Service’s advisory group for the Collaborative Forestry Restoration Program and serves on the New Mexico Game and Fish Department’s advisory committee called Share with Wildlife. He is working on documenting the life of William Gambel, a naturalist who passed through Santa Fe in the mid-1800s.

Susan McGreevy, Vice President
Anthropologist Susan McGreevy has served as the Curator of North American Ethnology at the Kansas City Museum of History, and later as the Science Director of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe. She is currently a research associate at the Wheelwright Museum, the School of Advanced Research, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, and the Museum of International Folk Art. Southwest Indian arts and culture have been the focus of Ms. McGreevy’s professional life since 1970 when her fieldwork in anthropology took her to the Navajo Nation. She is a “distinguished trustee” with The Nature Conservancy and serves as Vice-President on the board of Audubon New Mexico.

Al Sanborn, Secretary/Treasurer
Al Sanborn is a former Vice Chairman of Commercial lending at Bank of America and a former Vice Chairman at Shawmut National Corporation. He served as President and CEO of The Risk Management Association. Since his retirement, Mr. Sanborn has used his experience in finance and business to assist small business owners through the Service Corps of Retired Executives (“SCORE”). He has shared his love of learning and education with his community as the immediate past president of Renesan – an institution, based in Santa Fe, devoted to life long learning. Mr. Sanborn serves as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Audubon New Mexico and is a strong supporter of our educational and conservation programs for all ages.

Dr. Ruth Burstrom, Executive Committee
Ruth Burstrom is an anesthesiologist at the University of New Mexico specializing in Geriatric Anesthesiology. She is active at both the state and national levels in the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Dr. Burstrom serves on many committees within the department of anesthesiology at the hospital including the Education Committee, the Clinical Competency Committee and the UNM Speakers Bureau. She also serves her professional community by participating in resident teaching and mentoring. Dr. Burstrom has been an avid birder since her late teen years and has been involved with the National Audubon Society for over 30 years. She was active in her local chapter in Illinois and was on the Illinois Audubon Council in the early 1980's. Her active involvement had a pause of 10 years while she attended medical school and completed her residency and fellowship. She again became active with the Central New Mexico Audubon Society in 1996. Dr. Burstrom has been on the New Mexico Audubon Council since 1997 and the president since 2006. Currently she serves on the Executive Committee of the Audubon New Mexico Board of Directors.

Peter Vennema, Executive Committee
Peter Vennema was born in New Orleans, but lived most of his life in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Cornell University in 1963 with a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering and then earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1965. Following school, Mr. Vennema worked in the oil field, tools market segment and then spent several years in Europe with TRW, traveling between Bordeaux, Paris, London, and Belfast. He now owns the L.E. Jones Company in Michigan, manufacturing components for clean, green, diesel engines for companies such as Cat, Cummins and Volvo. Mr. Vennema moved to Santa Fe in 2003. His wife is Diane Stanley, who writes and illustrates children's books and young adult novels. Mr. Vennema serves on the Executive Committee of the Audubon New Mexico Board of Directors. He has been an active birder for twenty-eight years and loves to spend his free time traveling to great spots to look for birds.

Peg Madden
Currently an independent consultant in education, development, management and science, Madden was formerly Head of Phoenix Country Day School in Arizona. Active in community affairs throughout her professional life, Madden has served in various capacities on boards and planning committees of local and national science and educational organizations, which included serving as Trustee of the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden; Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Arizona Nature Conservancy; Director of the Phoenix Zoo Board; Chair of the Board of Directors of the Educational Records Bureau; and Trustee of Bloomfield College. Mrs. Madden received a BA degree from Vassar College, and an MS degree from New York University in field biology. During her short tenure with Audubon, Madden has begun work on the strategic plan and is looking ahead at the “big picture” for the future course of Audubon New Mexico. Madden explained that she is motivated and excited by “what it [Audubon] stands for and the conservation of land and how it related to birds and us as human beings.”

Ray Powell
Ray Powell is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico and is currently working for the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots and Shoots Program as the Regional Director of the Four Corners States. He received his Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and Biology and a Master's degree in Botany and Plant Ecology from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Tufts University, with an emphasis in wildlife rehabilitation, in 1985. In his years of public service Ray Powell was one of the most accomplished Commissioner of Public Lands ever elected in New Mexico. Mr. Powell held the position for nine years and received many awards from community groups such as The Wildlife Society New Mexico Chapter, The New Mexico Watershed Coalition, The New Mexico Chapter of the American Planning Association, and The Earth Day Coalition of New Mexico among many others. As the Commissioner of Public Lands, Mr. Powell served on the State Investment Council, Mining Commission, Oil Conservation Commission, the Youth Conservation Corps Commission, and the Capitol Building's Planning Commission. Mr. Powell was president of the Western States Land Commissioners' Association from 1997-1998. He served two terms as a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Advisory Committee on Foreign Animal and Poultry Diseases. He served as Chairman of the New Mexico Board of Veterinary Regulation and Licensing from 2002-2005 and served as the Executive Director of the Valles Caldera National Preserve in 2004-2005. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner of Public Lands, he served as a Special Assistant to Governor Bruce King, with responsibility for environment, natural resources, health, and recreation. He serves on the Board of Directors of Audubon New Mexico.

Charlie Sanchez, Jr.
Charlie Sanchez holds a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Science and a Master's degree in Fishery Biology. In addition to his work with the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, Mr. Sanchez has worked for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in a variety of programs over the past 30 years, most recently as Associate Regional Director for International Affairs, Research and Ecosystems. He has been a board member and chairman of the Valencia County Soil and Water Conservation District and in conjunction with them Mr. Sanchez is currently helping to pioneer wetlands and wildlife habitat restoration projects that are gaining recognition around the country, most notably the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area along the Rio Grande. He also serves on the Soil Conservation Commission for the state of New Mexico, a position appointed by Governor Richardson of New Mexico. Mr. Sanchez is a farmer, folk artist, avid sportsman, and is active in promoting a variety of conservation initiatives in New Mexico. This is Mr. Sanchez’ first term on the Board of Directors of Audubon New Mexico.

Stephen E. Thompson
An attorney and an experienced director of conservation land transactions; Mr. Thompson has a JD from the University of Denver School Of Law and a BA in Economics from Washington & Lee University. He has pursued a life-long interest in environmental protection through land and energy conservation in Colorado and New Mexico. As Senior Vice President of The Trust for Public Land (TPL), Mr. Thompson oversaw and directed complex land protection transactions in the southwest and nationally. He negotiated diverse acquisitions from working rail yards to riverfront brownfields and pristine coastal forests. Before his 25-year career at TPL, Mr. Thompson managed a law practice in Denver, forming alternative energy associations and developing financial instruments to support energy efficient investments for which he received recognition and awards from the American Banking Association and the U.S. Department of Energy. To promote the conservation activities of TPL, he developed tax-exempt financing mechanisms, conducted numerous training programs, including sponsorship from the Western Governors Association, and created a nationwide program with the Resolution Trust Corporation to leverage land conservation opportunities from struggling Savings and Loan institutions. Currently, Mr. Thompson consults with a variety of environmental and land conservation organizations.  He is past member of the Board of United Way of Santa Fe County and serves on the Board of Commonweal Conservancy.