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Young Professionals Advisory Council

Young Professionals Advisory Council

Houston Audubon's Young Professionals Advisory Council, or YPAC, is a passionate group of volunteers that help advance our mission of bird conservation through outreach and community engagement efforts, the coordination of Houston Bird Week, hands-on habitat restoration, community science, and more. 

YPAC 2024 Members

Leadership

Members

About YPAC

YPAC members have the chance to make a significant impact in the world of bird conservation and play an important role in enhancing wildlife habitat. The YPAC is a one-year volunteer commitment. In addition to general meetings, YPAC members participate on one or more project committees throughout the year. Members also get together for in-person socials, birding trips, game nights, and more, developing long-lasting personal and professional relationships beyond their term on YPAC. Applications for the 2025 YPAC will be available in October 2024.

The inaugural Young Professionals Advisory Council kicked off in 2019 during Houston Audubon’s 50th anniversary year with 17 dedicated members. This group of passionate young conservationists launched the first ever Houston Bird Week and successfully ran a contest to determine the official Bird of Houston – the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. Since then, the YPAC has been organizing Houston Bird Week every year in addition to various community projects such as Bird-Friendly Spaces, the Flock Together Photo Contest, Birdy Book Club, AviChat, park restoration projects, bird banding, and more.

YPAC Emeritus Members

Thank you to our past YPAC members that have helped us make a difference in bird conservation through hands-on conservation work and public engagement.

Name Years Served
Patrick Bolgren 2019
Daniel Crump 2019
Claire Everett 2019
Hannah Muegge 2019
Christina Neveu 2019
Andy Newman 2019
Shantelle Patterson 2019
Dana Scanes 2019
Amanda Woomer 2019
Tony Dang 2019-2020
Ian Wesley Gapp 2019-2020
Andrew Martinez 2019-2020
Cassidy Kempf 2019-2021
Taylor Rhoades 2019-2021
Stuart Nelson 2019-2022
Carl Nooteboom 2019-2022
Alexander Kneubehl 2019-2023
Marissa Buschow 2020
Paul DiFiore 2020
Chris Hammond 2020
Karastin Katusin 2020
Elise Nishikawa 2020
Sheila Scott 2020
Halli Macdonald 2020-2021
John Scaramucci 2020-2021
Branwen Ranck 2020-2023
Chris Bick 2021
Hannah Gross 2021
Melissa D'Mello 2021
Catherine Lee Clarke 2021-2022
Kelly Martin 2021-2022
Ryan Call 2021-2023
Danielle Cavender 2021-2023
Cameron Kirkpatrick 2021-2023
Clayton Leopold 2021-2023
Nikki Paranzino 2021-2023
Colleen Cavanaugh 2022
Taran M. Jensvold 2022
Abra Ziegler 2022-2023
Miqdaad Bhuriwala 2023
Kerry Egan 2023
Lauren Ferrante 2023
Carrie Mansfield 2023
Christine Mansfield 2023
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