Overview

Kelsey Baird-Campos grew up in NE Scotland, where her love of wildlife, birds in particular, really started. After earning her B.S. in Environmental Science and Biology from University of Stirling, Kelsey moved to Maryland to complete her M.S. in Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology at Frostburg State. She moved down to Houston 9 years ago, and during this time has thoroughly enjoyed working as a wildlife biologist in the renewable energy industry. Kelsey most recently joined the environmental affairs group of ConnectGEN where she works on environmental permitting for utility-scale wind, solar, and battery storage projects across the US. When she is not working running down to the coast to bird, Kelsey spends much of her time running and biking along the White Oak Bayou, working on one of several ongoing house renovation projects, and buying plants.

Abby graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in chemical engineering and has worked in the energy industry for 5 years. She is currently a facilities engineer supporting Chevron’s midstream operations in Baytown. Abby is a native Houstonian and attended Nature Camp at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary every summer as a child. She’s excited to be back in her hometown and support conservation efforts through an organization that meant so much to her growing up. When not at work, you can find Abby planning her next outdoor adventure, playing board games, or practicing yoga. 

Royce Daniels is a semi-native Houstonian. He graduated with a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from The Ohio State University. Upon graduation his career took him to New York, Oregon, and Hawai’I before coming back to work as an Environmental Field Technician for the Harris County Engineering Department. In his free time he enjoys cooking, birding, biking, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Sean Downs is an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center specializing in guidance and navigation systems. After graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2021, he moved to Houston and was almost immediately drawn to all the fascinating birds in the area. Since then, his interest in birds has only grown and he now annoys/enlightens all his friends and family with excessive bird facts and bird memes.  

Sean spends his free time rock climbing, running, hiking, backpacking, roasting coffee, and birding. His favorite bird is the Little Blue Heron.

As a graduate of the University of Texas, Elaine is now a proud Houston resident and loves the biodiversity of the region. She grew up in East Texas but spent summers visiting national parks with her family and has always had a heart for wildlife and conservation. Elaine works in finance and spends her free time traveling and exploring the outdoors with her boyfriend and family, reading and relaxing with her two indoor tabby cats, and discovering new ways to be a good environmental steward.

Raised by a naturalist in the Midwest, Mikki has always loved being outside, but she fell in love with birding in college through a class at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. When not stalking spoonbills, Mikki is a Project Architect at Powers Brown Architecture, passionate about community impact projects and sustainability in the built environment. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and is a licensed architect in the state of Texas as well as a LEED Accredited Professional. Among her achievements, she considers spotting a Kiwi in Stewart Island, New Zealand as one of the greatest.

Katie received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in Ecology. After graduating, still unsure of what to study in graduate school, she galivanted around the US working as a research technician in Puerto Rico, environmental educator in New York, and a deckhand on a whale watching vessel in Alaska. It wasn’t until her time in New York that she realized her passion for birds and sharing that with others. This led her to study Loggerhead Shrikes for her master’s degree at Coastal Carolina University. Katie moved to Texas in June of 2023 to work for U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service in Brazoria County where she helps provide technical assistance to landowners interested in conservation.

Joan Sanborn currently works for bp as an account manager for their jet fuel business. She has a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines and has held various positions in the hydrocarbon trading space. Joan always enjoys trying new hobbies, but regularly finds time to read, hike, and cook for friends. She also volunteers her time with the Houston and Chicago operas. She and her husband have a young son with whom they look forward to sharing their love of the outdoors.

Jordan moved to Houston from Mississippi in 2018 with her husband and three cats. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi with a Master of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Economics. She has earned her CPA license and is currently a financial accountant at Plains All American Pipeline focusing on equity-method investments, asset retirement obligations, and special projects such as acquisitions and divestitures.

In her personal time, Jordan enjoys reading, visiting coffee shops, and generally just being outdoors—which is what led her to discover a love for birding! She also enjoys volunteering at the Houston Botanic Garden and attending South Main Baptist Church. Jordan is passionate about community involvement and is excited to share knowledge of and enthusiasm for birds with the Houston community.

Kate is a Highway Engineer with HDR Engineering, Inc., and is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. She is also a Summa Cum Laude graduate of The University of Texas at Tyler and will complete the MSCE at LSU in summer 2024. At work, Kate heads up the award-winning Houston branch of the HDR Green Team Program. Kate has enjoyed a life-long love of birds together with all things living (or formerly living) and has a desire to play a still more active role in the protection of their habitat. Her favorite local bird is the Carolina Chickadee and she loves exchanging pebbles with an unseen neighborhood Corvid.

Bayard Nicklow is a Naturalist 2 with Harris County Precinct 4 at Kleb Woods and John Paul Landing. He holds a B.S. in Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Management from Colorado State University though originally from the Houston area. He has a particular fondness for coastal salt marshes and prairies and enjoys exploring them through fishing, birding and photography.

A Louisiana native, Isaac has spent the last decade building a life in Houston and settling with his partner and cat in the East End. As a Director of Development for Grid United, Isaac serves as the project lead for the Southline Transmission Project, a new 280-mile powerline connecting renewable power sources in New Mexico to communities and customers across New Mexico and Arizona. In this role, Isaac manages project planning, environmental permitting, mitigation design and implementation, land acquisition, commercial negotiations, and stakeholder and local engagement.  Previously, Isaac was a project developer focused on large-scale solar and battery energy storage development for ConnectGen LLC. Isaac holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University and is an avid birder in his spare time.

Zainab has earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Houston. Afterwards, she worked in Financial Services in Fixed Income Asset Management for over 5 years before leaving to go to Berlin to pursue an MBA at the European School of Management and Technology Berlin. She has recently moved back to Houston and hopes to spend more time dedicated to conservation efforts.

Beyond her professional achievements, Zainab loves to learn new things and is a bit of an explorer. In her free time, she enjoys reading, going for a walk, and trying out a new hobby. She also likes to travel and can be found wandering parks, museums, and bookstores.   

Kirsten Vernin is a Senior Research Assistant at the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) focusing on watershed quality. Her research interests include understanding the connection between biodiversity, climate resilience, and water quality improvements, particularly in urban areas. She received her Master of Science in Environmental Analysis with a concentration in Environmental Sustainability from Rice University and her Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Texas A&M University. Her favorite activities include birding, hiking, and camping.  

Liz Virgl is the Texas Coastal Education Specialist at American Bird Conservancy. She is passionate about bringing engaging outdoor educational experiences to Houston's youth through bird ecology and conservation.