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About Us
Staff

Ken Smith, Executive Director
Prior to joining Audubon in 2001, Mr. Smith served as Assistant Secretary for U.S. Fish Wildlife and Parks. Mr. Smith also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton and Secretary Bruce Babbitt in the U.S. Department of the Interior. As Assistant Secretary, Mr. Smith was responsible for developing policy of the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. At the Interior Department, Mr. Smith was instrumental in establishing several new national wildlife refuges, one of which is the Pond Creek Bottoms National Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Arkansas. In 1997, Mr. Smith returned to Arkansas for a year where he served as Director of the Ozark Natural Science Center. From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Smith served Governors Bill Clinton and Jim Guy Tucker as Assistant for Natural and Cultural Resources. Earlier, Mr. Smith established the first office of the Nature Conservancy in Arkansas and served as Program Coordinator for the Natural Heritage Program. Mr. Smith holds a B.S. degree in Biology and Chemistry and an M.S. degree in Biology. He can be reached via email.

Johnnie Chamberlin, Director of Conservation
Mr. Chamberlin joined Audubon Arkansas in September 2005 and works primarily on Audubon's Fourche Creek Watershed Initiative. He returned to Little Rock from Durham, North Carolina. There, he conducted bioremediation research and taught a biotechnology lab while earning his M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University. Mr. Chamberlin enjoyed hiking and kayaking around Little Rock before getting paid to do so. He can be reached via email.

Renetta Cheathem, Finance and Office Manager
Renetta joined Audubon in August 2008. She grew up in Hempstead County and obtained a degree in Marketing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2005.

“Audubon is a dream come true career, says Renetta, “My goal since college has been to work in a challenging and rewarding career where I have the opportunity to make a difference. Audubon’s financial requirements definitely are challenging, but I also participate in the overall mission of Audubon and its programs and feel that I can make a difference.”

When Mrs. Cheathem is not at work ensuring the smooth operations of Audubon Arkansas, she can be found traveling, or enjoying arts and crafts. She can be reached via email.

Ellen Fennell, Director of Development
Ms. Fennell joined Audubon in 2002, bringing 19 years of experience, working for environmental and agricultural non-profit organizations in the fields of fundraising, program development (community development and income-generation) and public relations. Prior to joining Audubon Arkansas, Ms. Fennell headed her own consulting firm in non-profit board development and fund raising. During her career, Ms. Fennell has served in directorial positions in fundraising, grants writing, public relations and program planning for Heifer International, Winrock International and The Nature Conservancy's Arkansas Field Office. Ms. Fennell holds a B.A. in English from Rhodes College. She can be reached via email.

Brent Kelley, Field Programs Coordinator
Mr. Kelley joined Audubon Arkansas in September 2006. A native Arkansan, Mr. Kelley received his undergraduate degree in Botany from the University of Arkansas in 2001 and his Master’s degree in Forest Entomology in 2006. As Field Programs Coordinator for Audubon, Mr. Kelley coordinates and manages all field projects within the Fourche Creek Watershed Initiative Grant, including stream-bank stabilization projects, reforestation efforts, water quality sampling and analysis, and storm water control projects. In addition, he manages the field portion of the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) in which Audubon partners with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to put non-productive farmland back into its natural forested state. In his spare time, besides playing the guitar and mandolin, Mr. Kelley enjoys canoeing, backpacking, and mountain biking with friends and his Border Collie, Chassis. He can be reached via email.

Dan Scheiman, PhD, Director of Bird Conservation
Dr. Scheiman became Audubon Arkansas' Director of Bird Conservation in April of 2005. He was supported by the South Shore Audubon Society when he was a fledgling birder in New York. More recently, he was supported by the Amos W. Butler Audubon Society while completing his Ph.D. in Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. “Now”, says Dr. Scheiman, "It is my turn to give back to the organization that gave me so much." He holds a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University, and a M.S. in Biological Sciences from Eastern Illinois University. Dr. Scheiman has over ten years of experience conducting bird research. He can be reached via email.

Mary Miller Smith, Director of Education
Ms. Smith joined the Audubon Arkansas team in 2000, and works with students across Arkansas to connect schools and local communities with nature. One of her primary projects is The Common Ground Education Initiative, a partnership between Audubon Arkansas and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, which focuses on project-based learning, field science, leadership, technology, and service learning. Prior to working in Arkansas, she worked in Washington, D.C., where she directed environmental education policy for the National Audubon Society and served as Special Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Education. She has worked as an administrator and teacher for over 23 years in Arkansas schools, served as director of Wilderness Writers at the Ozark Natural Science Center and developed Farmstead, an educational restoration of an 1897 home and farm. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in English, and a M.Ed. in Gifted and Talented Education. Ms. Smith can be reached via email.

Angela Wisely, Outreach Coordinator
Angela joined Audubon Arkansas in July 2008. She received her undergraduate degree in International Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2007 and is an alumna of City Year Little Rock/ North Little Rock. As the Outreach Coordinator for Audubon, Ms. Wisely coordinates grassroots efforts regarding policy work for Audubon. With a background in environmental and human rights activism she believes that climate change is a human rights and environmental issue. She can be reached via email.

Michelle Viney
Michelle joined the Audubon Arkansas staff in March 2008 as the Conservation Program Manager for the Northwest Arkansas Field Office in Fayetteville. As a native of Northwest Arkansas, Michelle spent many childhood years on the banks of the Illinois River and Beaver Lake. Her childhood fascination with the outdoors influenced her career, with a BA from Hendrix College in Environmental Ethics, Michelle has been involved in environmental education and conservation for 10 years with experience developing and delivering curriculum related to a wide variety of environmental topics. She is actively involved in the Arkansas Environmental Education Association and also serves as a Project WET, WILD, and Learning Tree facilitator. In her free time she enjoys gardening, reading and a variety of creative pursuits. Michelle considers one of her greatest passions to be a commitment to life-long learning and education. Michelle can be reached via email.