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Leslie Holzmann
Leslie Holzmann has been taking photographs since she was given her first Brownie camera at age five. Her favorite subjects include landscapes, botanicals, and all forms of wildlife—especially birds and her three young granddaughters.
She combines her background in education and biology with her passion for photography, hoping to share with others her joy and delight in creation.
You can check out her photos at blog.Mountain-Plover.com.
Debbie Barnes-Shankster
Debbie Barnes-Shankster has been birding and photographing birds for well over a decade. She teaches raptor identification classes around the Pikes Peak region, including at the Colorado State Raptor Monitors and at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, where she volunteers. She is a popular field trip leader for our local Audubon chapter, the Aiken Audubon Society. In addition, Debbie is the author of a photographic field guide, The Birds of Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, which supplements her popular birding class there.
Chris Alvarez
Chris, this year’s Festival artist, grew up in the small town of Silver City, New Mexico between alpine forests and the southwest desert where his artistic eye thrived. After leaving the US Army, Chris enrolled at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs where he earned a BA in Fine Art. Chris opened the Alvarez Art School in 2010, where he teaches drawing and painting to adults and children.
He has won several awards, such as Plein Air Magazine’s grand prize at the Paint Historic Manitou Springs Paintout and the grand prize at the Victor Celebrates the Arts Paintout. He was also featured in the April 2016 issue of Springs Magazine. Chris will have a table at Birds, Brews & Bites.
To learn more visit www.alvarezartschool.com.
Dr. Aaron Corcoran
Dr. Aaron Corcoran is an assistant professor of Biology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he runs the sensory and aerial ecology research lab. He has over 20 years of experience studying bat behavior, sensory and movement ecology and conservation. He has published 18 articles in scientific journals (Science, Animal Behavior, and Journal of Experimental Biology) and his research has gained world-wide attention, including by National Geographic, Scientific American and BBC World News. More information is available at his website, www.sonarjamming.com.
Mile High Bug Club
The Mile High Bug Club is a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of Colorado insects, arachnids, and other arthropods. They aim to develop awareness and encourage interest in Colorado arthropods, and support the protection of these creatures and their environments.
Tena and Fred Engelman
Tena and Fred Engelman have observed, photographed, and studied hummingbirds for more than 20 years. As volunteer citizen-scientists, they accomplish an inventory and monitoring survey of hummingbird populations for Rocky Mountain National Park. They enjoy describing the results of their studies and presenting information about the hummingbird family. Both Tena and Fred have current federal and state bird banding permits.
Wild Things
The Wild Things Outreach Program is a volunteer group of dedicated students from the Zookeeping Technology program at Pikes Peak Community College. Wild Things allows students to gain extra hands-on experiences with a variety of educational animals while practicing their interpretive, public speaking skills. The students accepted into the Wild Things Program have completed the program’s prerequisite courses and are well prepared to provide any group with a fun, educational and interactive experience!ce
Diana Miller: The Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center
Diana’s fascination and passion for birds of prey started the day she met Buddy, the Great Horned Owl. That was August of 1985 when she arrived at the Greenway & Nature Center of Pueblo (now the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center) to do an internship in environmental education. In 1987 she took the position of Administrative Assistant with the GNCP. She became the Raptor Center Director in July, 1989. For more than 30 years she has dedicated her career to the pursuit of quality rehabilitation care of wildlife, especially birds of prey. Diana also puts equal energy into educating the public about our native raptors and wildlife in general.
Jenyva Fox
Jenyva Fox has loved nature since she was a child growing up in Montana. Her life goals have been about helping the natural world and helping people love it more.
Jenyva spent 17 years as a zookeeper, with a special love for birds. She helped start International Vulture Awareness Day that has been celebrated since 2009. She developed and trained a free flighted bird show that ran for many years at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
She currently teaches in the Zoo Keeping Technology program at Pikes Peak State College and teaches exotic animal care at Apex College of Veterinary Technology. Jenyva also works as a Wildlife Technician for EDM International.
Jenyva is a Master Bird Bander for the USGS with a MAPS station in Colorado Springs and volunteers for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. She has been birding for over 20 years.
Jeremy Agnew
Jeremy Agnew, the author of Colorado above Treeline, has been a volunteer with Colorado Parks and Wildlife for over 32 years. During that time, he has gained a wealth of knowledge about Colorado’s 960 species of wildlife. An instructor for the former Watchable Wildlife program, Jeremy has presented numerous programs on wildlife and other topics at State Parks throughout southeastern Colorado.
Pat Cooper
Twelve years ago, Pat Cooper retired from a career in banking and joined the Colorado Parks and Wildlife volunteer organization at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Her interest in plants began when she participated in a native plant class that was offered at the park. After receiving her Colorado Native Plant Master accreditation, Pat has taken various continuing education classes about native plants. In addition to leading many wildflower hikes at the park, Pat is an active member of the Colorado Native Plant Society Chapter of Southeastern Colorado. Her other interests/endeavors include birding, raptor monitoring, hiking and serving on the Board of The Friends of Cheyenne Mountain State Park.
Pat Grove
Pat is a retired park naturalist for State, County and city parks. After 13 years as a high school science teacher, he transitioned to environmental education, working at various nature and historical sites in Colorado Springs. When Cheyenne Mountain SP opened in 2006, Pat was the park’s first paid naturalist. For nine seasons he worked with staff and volunteers to create numerous programs, events and activities for the public and local schools. Continuing his 25+ years of volunteer service, he now serves on the Pikes Peak Birding & Nature Festival Committee, Woodland Park School District Youth Prevention subcommittee and is a certified archery instructor for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Lynda Grove
Lynda is a retired humane educator from the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. During her 20+ years in that position, she created numerous programs, presentations and resources for local school children and the public. As a volunteer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Lynda spent 12+ years serving on the T.E.N. (Teaching Environmental science Naturally) committee. She also led workshops for classroom teachers highlighting various activities from Project WILD and Project Learning Tree. As a CPW volunteer Lynda, continues to share her passion for conservation, the environment and animals by working with school children and adults in the classroom and at local state parks.
Debra Ackley
Debra Ackley is a retired educator who continues to share her passion for the outdoors with numerous groups and organizations. In 29 years of volunteer service for Colorado Parks and Wildlife Debra has had countless, first-hand experiences with Colorado’s wildlife and natural resources. She served as a field technician for CPW monitoring bighorn sheep and swift fox populations via radio telemetry and GPS tracking. When not volunteering you can find her exploring the great outdoors by bicycle.
Jessica Miller
Jessica is the Interpretive Program Coordinator for Fountain Creek Nature Center. She hosts a variety of environmental education field trips and public programs including Junior Bird Club and the Fountain Creek Adult Birding Club. Her birding obsession took off while working as a naturalist along the South Carolina coast where she led birding tours by pontoon, kayak, bicycle, and on foot. She feels extremely lucky to now work in El Paso County’s #3 birding hotpot, Fountain Creek Regional Park, and loves exploring the Pikes Peak region’s multitude of birding spots on her weekends.
Diana Beatty
Diana Beatty is an educator at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs School District 11 with degrees in physics and education. She currently serves as secretary on the board of the Colorado Field Ornithologists (CFO) and has led field trips for both CFO and Aiken Audubon of Colorado Springs.
John Bruder
John Bruder has been birding with his wife Risë Foster-Bruder since 1982, most recently in the Pikes Peak region for the past 20 years. John has been fortunate to bird throughout Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. He has supported and led trips for the Pikes Peak Birding & Nature Festival since its inception in 2015. John’s passion for birding was sparked by sighting a Eurasian Hoopoe on the border of Iraq in 1990 and it has grown ever since. He continues actively birding with local birding groups and giving presentations on international birding.
Amy Seglund
Amy received her undergraduate degree from Western Washington University and her Master’s degree in Wildlife Biology at Humboldt State University where she studied the Pacific Fisher. She spent two years in the Peace Corp stationed in Guatemala where she inventoried and researched migrant and resident song bird populations and the impacts of agricultural development on species composition. She has held several positions including one studying the reproductive physiology and behavior of coyotes and as a Conservation Biologist with the Utah Division of Wildlife resources. She has been with Colorado Parks and Wildlife for the last 16 years as a Species Conservation Coordinator. She currently works on the American pika, Gunnison’s and white-tailed prairie dogs, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Brown-capped Rosy-Finches, and Pinyon Jays.
Irene Shonle
Irene Shonle is the Horticulturist for CSU Extension in El Paso County. She works extensively with native plants, and speaks regularly in classes and workshops around the state.
Mel Goff
Mel Goff has been birding the Front Range since 2003 when he attended beginning birder classes offered at Fountain Creek Nature Center. Along with his wife, Jeanne, he has birded every county in Colorado, every state in the United States and 30 different countries. Mel was an early adopter of eBird, entering his first checklist in 2005. He has worked with the Pikes Peak Birding & Nature Festival since its inception and is active in local birding groups.
Pikes Peak Birding & Nature Festival 