Hello & Welcome to:

... Dr. Gian Basili, new Florida State Coord. for NAS National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Campaign. He will lead the NAS-NWR Audubon Refuge Keepers (ARK) program in Florida, to unite the state's 26 national wildlife refuges with the 45 Florida chapters. Dr. Basili recently completed his Ph.D. in ornithology at the U. of Wisconsin at Madison. An expert on neotropical migrants, Basili has done extensive fieldwork in Venezuela.

For More Info, Contact: Dr. Gian Basili, NAS-FL, 1331 Palmetto Ave.; Winter Park, FL 32789; ph: 407/539-5700; FAX: 407/539-5701; email: gbasili@audubon.org.

...Terrence (Terry) Canela, new Program Coord./Registrar for NAS Audubon Adventures. Terry provides support services to 16,000 teachers and sponsors in the Audubon Adventures program. He is creating/maintaining a new NAS web site for the program, and is the first-line contact for all associated chapter, council, field office, and member requests. A team member for the Wild Wings Project last fall, he coordinated the "ask-the-experts" site, dispatching hundreds of requests about cranes, geese, wetlands, and migration to NAS experts, and posting responses to the Web site and schools in North America/Europe. Terry joined NAS Education in May, after a year as Ass't. Editor of Audubon Books. A California native, he holds a B.A. in English Literature from New York University.

For More Info, Contact: Terry Canela, NAS-NY HQ; ph: 212 /979-3185; FAX: 212/979-3148; email: tcanela@audubon.org.

... Linda Coleman, new Office Mgr./Exec. Ass't. to NAS NY State Field Office. Multi-skilled Linda was previously with Medical Staff Affairs at Bassett Healthcare. She holds a bachelor's degree from Fairfield U. (Conn.) in American Studies. Linda replaces Debbie Bauer, who was promoted, and is now helping set up admin. functions for NAS field offices nation-wide (and congratulations to Debbie, also -- more, later!).

For More Info, Contact: Dave Miller, NAS-NYS, 200 Trillium Ln.; Albany, NY 12203; ph: 518/869-9731; FAX: 518/869-0737; email: dmiller@audubon.org.

... Lori Edwards, new Florida Coordinator for Population and Habitat Campaign. Lori will work with Florida chapter members and other citizens to build an activist network to address population issues at national, state, and local levels. She is a member of the Florida House of Representatives (District-65), and has experience as a communications consultant, public info specialist, and radio news director.

For More Info, Contact: Lori Edwards, NAS Pop. and Habitat Campaign, 1201 Keystone Ct.; Auburndale, FL 33823; ph: 941/968-0066; FAX: 941/968-9168; email: ledwards@audubon.org.

... Nancy Fiske, new Field/Donor Services Manager in NAS Annual Giving Dept., previously NAS Field Membership Director. Nancy works with Field Office staff on Annual Giving mailings, helping them meet direct mail goals. She first came to Membership in April, '96, to train chapters on member recruitment. Her dedicated efforts resulted in a noteworthy 12% increase in chapter-generated new memberships. Sadly, however, there wasn't enough follow-through from chapters to continue to pay for her efforts; her position was eliminated. Hereafter, for ideas and guidance on member recruitment, chapters may contact Marketing Director Jennifer Doxsee, NAS-NY HQ; ph: 212/979-3120; email: jdoxsee@audubon.org. Nancy also co-wrote and edited the monthly membership newsletter for chapters, Membership Matters.

For More Info, Contact: Nancy Fiske, NAS-HQ; ph: 212/979-3038; FAX: 212/353-0321; email: nfiske@audubon.org.

... Jane Hartough, new Development Director for Audubon-WA. Jane started with NAS in Olympia on May 7. Part of Hartough's work in NAS-WA includes assistance to chapters with such things as reviewing grants, financial planning and management, and fund-raising activities. For the past 7 years, Jane served as VP for Finance and Development at The Georgia Conservancy. During that time, the organization's total annual income grew from $486,000 to $1,200,000! She also wrote a book about banking called "The Entrepreneurial Banker." Jane notes that she's "an environmentalist first, and a fund-raiser second;" her volunteer background includes 17 years on issues work, primarily water resources.

For More Info, Contact: Jane Hartough; P.O. Box 462; Olympia, WA 98507; ph: 360/786-8020; FAX: 360/786-5054; email: jhartough@audubon.org. (Address to change; watch Networker.)

... Betsy Hax, new Special Ass't. to the (NAS) President's Office. Betsy was with NAS Membership for 7 years, first as Correspondent, then Executive Ass't., and this past year as Special Projects Mgr., where she wrote/designed Membership Matters and managed inbound telemarketing and Web-site marketing programs. She also helped redesign the NAS Web site. Prior to NAS, Betsy worked as Business Mgr. and staff writer for a news magazine in Washington, D.C., monitoring labor and env. abuses of multinational corporations. She is a 1986 grad. of Yale University with a B.A. in History. Betsy replaced Midge Smith in August (see Good-Bye & Best Wishes section).

For More Info, Contact: Betsy Hax, NAS-NY HQ; email: bhax@audubon.org.

... Ellen Marshall, new Field Dir. for NAS Pop. and Habitat Campaign. Ellen travels across the country to work with Pop. and Habitat coordinators and chapters in the initial Campaign network. She is available for chapter presentations, workshops, and conferences. Ellen comes to NAS from the Global Stewardship Initiative (GSI) where, as Dep. Director, she worked on a public ed. strategy for GSI, as well as a data base for developing educational info for the public and Congress. Before going to GSI, Ellen served as a senior policy advisor and the Senior Coordinator for Population at the U.S. Dept. of State. She spent six years as an aide to Timothy Wirth in the U.S. Senate, and prior to that in the U.S. House of Representatives.

For More Info, Contact: Ellen Marshall, NAS Pop. and Habitat, 4150 Darley Ave., #7; Boulder, CO 80303; ph: 303/499-5155; FAX: 303/499-0286; email: emarshall@audubon.org.

... Dave Pardoe, new chapter-nominated NAS Board Member. Dave recently joined the Board through an uncontested Mid-Atlantic Region special election held to replace Cindy Adams Dunn, who (see spring '97 Networker) resigned to direct the new PA State Office. Dave was the founding president of his chapter 12 years ago, and a leader in creating the Audubon Council of MD. He has served on the Boards of the North American Bluebird and the Maryland Ornithological Societies. Pardoe's experience with non-profit management includes budget development and analysis, financial control of programs, organizational audits and trouble-shooting, strategic planning, and management of institutional change and restructuring. Dave is also an avid birder, and a leader in his chapter Birdathons and in promoting bird conservation efforts.

For More Info, Contact: Dave Pardoe, 7166 Winter Rose Path; Columbia, MD 21045; ph: 410/381-0449; FAX: 301/588-4629; email: dpardoe@erols.com.

... Jim Shallow, new Director for the brand-new Vermont (VT) Audubon Field Office. Shallow comes to NAS after 8 years with the Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC) as Forest and Outreach Programs Director. At VNRC he focused on forest resource issues. While at VNRC, Jim also worked to establish VT's first law regulating clear-cutting and placing a moratorium on herbicide use in the forest. Warren King, VT Audubon Council Pres., noted that "Jim's familiarity with ... running a not-for-profit organization... [and] wide involvement in the [VT] environmental community... mean a quick and effective start for... [VT Audubon]." Glenn Olson, NAS VP for Field Operations, observed that Shallow's earlier teaching background would aid communication of Audubon concerns to the public. Jim says the first priority of VT Audubon is "... a... voice for birds, wildlife and their habitat." They will work to buy the facilities and land associated with VT Audubon Council's High Pond Youth Camp (Sudbury) to establish a permanent camp there; the camp is in its 3rd summer and attracts young nature students from VT and across the country. The office will also work with the state's 8 chapters to set up Audubon Centers.

For More Info, Contact: Jim Shallow, NAS-VT, Fiddler's Green, Box 9; Waitsfield, VT 05673; ph: 802/496-5727; FAX: same; email: jshallow@audubon.org. NOTE: Vermont Audubon's address and other contact info will change in early fall; check the Networker.

... Kristen Stram, new Env. Ed. Specialist in NAS Education/Communications. Kristen works on diverse field and HQ-based projects including: development of ed. materials in support of NAS campaigns for the network of chapters, teachers, and other educators and creation of an Audubon Adventures site for kids on the World Wide Web; and is both trainer and coordinator for our pilot community env. ed. program, Birds for a Purpose. Kristen holds a degree in Biology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and is working toward a Master's in Env. Science from the Institute of Env. Sciences at Miami Univ. of Ohio.

For More Info, Contact: Kristen Stram, NAS-NY HQ; ph: 212/979-3073; FAX: 212/979-3148; email: kstram@audubon.org.

... Genevieve Thompson, new Director for the brand-new North Dakota State Office (opened 7/17). She worked in North Dakota as an env. consultant in water and air quality since 1991. Before that, she was a faculty member at WA State Univ. (Pullman, WA) in natural resource protection and sustainable agriculture, primarily in cooperation with developing countries. Genevieve also worked with the National Wildlife Federation in forming their WA state affiliate; she worked collaboratively with several grassroots organizations, including NAS chapters in WA. She is very excited about the proactive role the new office will play in the protection and enhancement of migratory waterfowl and their habitat in the state.

For More Info, Contact: Genevieve Thompson, NAS-ND; The Black Building, #502, 118 Broadway; Fargo, ND 58102; ph: 701/298-3373; FAX: 701/2948-9097; email: gthompson@audubon.org.

Goodbye & Best Wishes to:

... Midge Smith, Special Ass't. to the (NAS) President's Office. Midge left at summer's end to pursue a career in teaching. In saying good-bye to chapters, Midge said: "I really like working with chapter folks and admire their efforts. Volunteerism is really the only way to get things done." Midge's tenure with NAS began in 1987. She held diverse positions, including Admin. Ass't. to the Senior VP for Programs and Chapter Relations, Monitor Coord. for the Citizens' Acid Rain Monitoring Network, editor/designer of NAS Education's Egret Express newsletter, Ass't. to the Strategic Planning Project, and lastly, Special Ass't. to the President's Office and "meeting planner" for Board meetings. Best wishes, Midge -- and maybe some chapter out there in the future will be lucky enough to have you as one of its new volunteers!