Catherine was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Chico, California for a short period of time to receive her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Chico State University in 2017. She has always had a passion and interest in ecology and returned to the Bay Area where she spent a summer volunteering with Golden Gate National Recreation Area aiding in habitat restoration projects throughout several parks.

After interning with Felidae, Catherine’s interest in the Bay Area ecology grew as did an interest in mountain lions and she has been a part of Felidae Conservation Fund since October 2017. As office and development manager, Catherine works in office, at events, and assists biologists in the field. Email Catherine at catherine@felidaefund.org.

Brad is originally from southeastern Ohio and received his Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Resources from the University of Idaho in Moscow in 2005. He earned a Master’s degree from Utah State University in Logan in 2017 while conducting research on mountain lion prey composition, kill rates, and resource selection in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Shaver Lake, CA. He has always had an interest in carnivore research, conservation, and public outreach/education. Prior to his graduate work, Brad worked for the US Forest Service for 7 years studying fishers and assisting the Integral Ecology Research Center with mesocarnivore research which added to his interest in mountain lion ecology and led to his graduate work at Utah State.

Brad also spent time with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife researching lynx in northern Maine; working with USFWS as an intern on the red wolf project; researching black bears at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in NC and in the Ouachita Mountains of OK. He also volunteered at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, MT and the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in Ramah, NM; as well as, worked as assistant education director and animal enrichment/caretaker at the Beartooth Nature Center in Red Lodge, MT. He has been working at Felidae Conservation Fund for the Bay Area Puma Project as a field biologist since September of 2017. Email Brad at brad.nichols@felidaefund.org.

Megan graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in accounting. After moving to Raleigh and working as an accountant for NC State, she decided to also start her own business, Voyage Bookkeeping.

After always having a passion for animals, cats especially, Megan reached out to Felidae to volunteer her services. She plans to use her financial background to support Felidae in making as large an impact as possible. She lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband Cash, dog Oliver and cats Biscuit and Gravy.

Tanner is a wildlife biologist working remotely from Montana. From the moment he discovered a photo of a mountain lion on a camera-trap he placed in his backyard, nothing could stop his pursuit to obtain a career in wildlife. Tanner has a vast experience working with wildlife as he has worked with mountain lions and bobcats in California to wolves in Montana, and internationally on caracals in South Africa. Although he has worked with wild felids most of his life he has also studied and worked with every ungulate species in the US. Tanner is particularly intrigued by the effects of a growing human population on felids and preaches public outreach as the effective medium to educate and conserve. Tanner is also an avid wildlife photographer and mountain biker always looking for an adventure in the outdoors.

Michael is currently a software engineer at Magic Leap, Inc., and has been working at the cutting edge of interactive entertainment for three decades. As Development Director for Felidae, he is inspired by the potential for using cutting-edge technology to drive environmental awareness, and believes that recent advances in the web and mobile devices have created opportunities for bringing the conservation message to a new generation on a wider scale.

From 1990 to 2000, Michael worked in the development team at LucasArts where he helped bring dozens of leading computer and video game into existence. He subsequently worked in startups and as a consultant for a wide range of media and technology companies, including games, web, mobile and educational software. Michael holds a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.F.A. from Mills College. He has been on Felidae's board since 2008, contributing to the organization's strategy, fundraising and media efforts.

Biologist and entrepreneur Zara is founder and president of Felidae, a global conservation organization conducting innovative research on wild felid species in the Bay Area and in targeted regions across the globe. Zara has led startup ventures in technology, biotech, healthcare and private equity. She formed Felidae in 2006 after a transformative encounter on a Bay Area trail with a mountain lion. The benign encounter compelled her to question the prevailing narrative of the dangerous predator, leading to further questions about how wild felids influence ecosystems and biodiversity, especially at the urban-wildland interface, and how we can succeed at co-existence. She has worked throughout the world researching snow leopards, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, and multiple lesser known small cat species in Asia, Africa and South America. Zara is also a former competitive marathoner and ultra-runner, as well as a dedicated biohacker and certified human potential coach.

John A. Tompkins was born and raised in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI. He is a graduate of the Berkshire School in Sheffield, MA and the University of Michigan.

From 1976 to 1993, he worked with with United Airlines in various management positions, primarily in their Chicago headquarters in Sales and Marketing.

From 1993 to now, John is the owner of Tompkins World Travel Services, located in Sausalito, CA.

May 2, 1970 - November 2, 2007

Wildlife biologist Eric York died on Friday November 2nd, 2007 at his residence in the Grand Canyon after becoming ill on Oct. 30 and calling in sick for a couple of days. Eric never missed work. Colleagues became concerned and checked on him the next morning. They found him unresponsive. Tests were positive for the pneumonic plague.

Eric was a unique individual who could work well with different personalities and in different cultures. His connection to wildlife and his unassuming manner were rare gifts and pleasures to witness. His endless knowledge caught anyone off guard because of his quiet nature. He showed a caring and thoughtfulness toward others that his rugged nature sometimes disguised from those who did not know him well. His work ethic was unmatched and his field capabilities were extremely special.

Eric was often referred to as analogous to the animals he studied, in that he moved within their world so naturally. He pushed all of his limits to navigate impossible, and at times, risky terrain that required long field hours, with a firm dedication to answering some difficult conservation questions.

David C. Stoner is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University. David received his BA from the Department of Geography at UC Berkeley, and holds graduate degrees from USU, where he investigated the effects of urbanization, habitat fragmentation, and exploitation on cougar behavior and population dynamics. His current work is focused on ungulate migration patterns and habitat use in response to plant phenology, snowpack dynamics, and predation risk. He has worked for the US Forest Service, UC Santa Cruz's Predatory Bird Research Group as well as the USGS Biological Resources Division, Humboldt State University and the California Department of Fish and Game. His interests are in the application of landscape and behavioral ecology to the conservation of mammals and birds.

Susan has spent the better part of the last 35 years involved with community activities, politics, volunteer work and philanthropy, both locally and globally. Her primary focus has been in the area of women's issues, particularly reproductive rights, but she has been involved with various educational institutions and other community organizations.

A fundrasier as well as donor, she has held leadership positions with many philanthropic organizations. Some of her current affiliations include Pitzer College and Mother Jones magazine.

With her husband and four children she established a family foundation. The Libra Foundation, whose mission is to support organizations which promote human rights.

Soon after graduating from Duke University with an MBA, Kia moved to Silicon Valley to help consumer companies rapidly scale by acquiring the right talent. Most recently as Head of Recruiting for SolarCity (now Tesla), she helped grow the company from 700 to 15,000 employees across the US and Mexico and built an award winning Recruiting Team 150 people strong. Now retired from the private sector, Kia is able to pursue her life-long interest in conservation. Kia and her husband Brad live in Redwood City with their domestic lions ( three orange tabby cats) and are avid hikers and adventure travelers.

Michelle is looking forward to being on the Felidae board. As a wildlife artist, Michelle primarily focuses on Puma concolor and the multifaceted world that has encircled it - its life in zoos, the pet trade, in the wild, those that are hunted, and human infringement into their territory. Her passion for this umbrella species led Michelle to spend 2 winters in Montana, with professional trackers, tracking these majestic creatures and shooting them, with her camera. This process led to a greater understanding of hunting, their vulnerability, and habitat loss.

Michelle has been a Marin resident for 44 years, and has served on several non-profit boards both here and in Sonoma County. Originally from Austria, Michelle has lived in many states across the country. Michelle graduated from UC Berkeley and was an interior designer for many years.

Shelley Alger. serial entrepreneur, also investor, wildlife photographer and advocate. Formerly a Fine Art Photographer, her photography hopes to connect those who rarely if ever interact with wildlife discover an emotional connection and caring for our fellow earthmates. She seeks to make a positive contribution to preserve wild spaces and reverse the trends that are devastating our natural world. She is really looking forward to being on the Felidae Board.

Shelley immerses herself in nascent trends and technologies that promise a more healthy, holistic and sustainable world. She’s passionate about building profitable, socially impactful companies, empowering female founders, fostering balanced, mutually honoring gender dynamics, great teams, leadership, new technologies, advocating for Nature and wildlife, regenerative food systems, integrated health, photography and art, world travel, cultural anthropology, language, dance and neuroscience.

Shelley is a Marin native, a graduate of UCLA and Dominican University, and has traveled to ~80 countries photographing wildlife, indigenous and traditional cultures.

Kevin B. Clark, Ph.D. is CPO and Director of The Franklin Foundation for Innovation, and NSF XSEDE Campus Champion. His academic pedigree includes seven Nobel laureates in addition to several distinguished scientists.

Together, Kevin’s competencies as a peer-respected STEAM professional and educator, community liaison, business leader and advisor, and lifelong steward of natural wetlands and other habitats helps him serve the Felidae Conservation Fund and its Board of Directors in various significant ways. He also has been instrumental in creating both local and national (urban and rural) community outreach, educational, and business programs that improve diversity, personalized instruction, and discovery culture in STEAM fields of study across human lifespan and educational levels. The Fund’s goals for K12 environmental education especially complement some of his past and current work in collaboration with professional societies, corporate technology giants, world-class tertiary academic/research institutions, nonprofit organizations, and local public school districts to establish forward-thinking scientific/educational partnerships, special STEAM curricular programs, advanced (neuroscience-based) instructional and assessment methods, and public outreach. Kevin is committed to applying all areas of his expertise to further the Fund’s mission in apex predator conservation and natural ecosystem health and diversity.

Michael is a Financial Advisor at Scarbrough Financial Group, with offices in the North and East Bay. He enjoys helping people develop successful strategies to manage their money, bringing over 10 years of experience in the financial services industry. Starting out on the trading floors of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, he has a breadth of knowledge and experience – working in the areas of Financial Operations, Trading, and Risk Management.

Michael received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and has continued to pursue knowledge and personal experience through extensive travel. He has a passion for the outdoors and is an active trail runner, leading to his interest in wildlife and environmental conservation. Michael’s role on the Board is to provide energy and expertise in initiating and growing partnerships with the community in order to further the organization’s mission toward global co-existence with wild cat species and improving the state of their ecosystems.

Courtney is a central California native with a bachelors in animal biology from UC Davis and a PhD from the University of South Florida. She is generally interested in examining the role of host and environmental variation in animal health. For her graduate degree, she primarily investigated the ecological interactions between a recently invaded songbird, its native competitors, and their shared parasites in Kenya. After completing graduate school, she worked for two years as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pretoria in South Africa where she studied infection incidence and immunity in wild African buffalo inside a wildlife preserve and domestic cattle that live near the preserve boundaries. Findings from this study are being used to develop an effective disease control program that considers aspects of individual physiological risk factors. Email Courtney at courtneycoon@felidaefund.org.

Ms. Osberg, now retired, worked for 25 years in financial technology development and management. The bulk of her career was spent at Wells Fargo Bank where she became Executive Vice President in charge of the newly created Online Financial Services Division. She was responsible for charting the bank’s internet course and growing the online business. After leaving Wells Fargo, Ms. Osberg was Chief Operating Officer for 724 Solutions, Inc. in Toronto, Canada, and has held various consulting positions for insurance, banking, and technology companies. She also served on the Board of Directors of The Sequoia Fund for 11 years, holding the position of Chairperson from 2013 until retirement. She holds a BA degree from Dickinson College. Ms. Osberg is a two-time world bridge champion and an avid wildlife photographer/videographer.

Roger G. Merrill, is a business consultant through NewBridge Consulting Group in San Francisco and Atlanta. He has more than 20 years of experience with global strategic partnering strategies in high technology. In addition, Roger has over 20 years of strategy consulting and start up experience with high-technology and energy and natural resource companies worldwide. He was a principal in a Silicon Valley-based consulting firm that specialized in product market strategies, major channel partner development and mergers and acquisition. He provided due diligence advice for venture capital clients in well over 100 new and turnaround opportunities across a broad range of industry segments. His work required extensive global travel and he has been in all 50 US states.

Roger has had a life-long interest in mountain lions starting with a family heritage of Montana cattle ranching and outdoor activities throughout the Western US. Over the last several years he has been researching, collecting evidence and cataloging purported mountain lion activities in the northern San Francisco Bay Area (Napa and Solano County). He has seen four mountain lions in the wild.

Roger has a BS degree (Geology) from the University of Northern Colorado, a MS (Engineering) from Stanford University and a MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Ginger is a seasoned executive in the conservation, technology, youth and community development fields. Applying many years of experience and learning to social impact throughout her career and particularly since 1995, She recognizes the importance of preserving all life on the planet through awareness building, data collection and analysis and action. Ginger spent five years working with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya to build their presence in the USA. Lewa offered a unique opportunity to bring development to conservation strategies and conservation to development strategies in rural Kenya – and Ginger helped to catalyze the impact of this small and highly effective organization. An animal lover with a call to the plight of the African elephant and the many endangered species of eastern Africa, she recognized Lewa’s deep understanding of the critical connection between man and nature. Conservation is, after all, a human “problem”, in the words of her Lewa colleagues.

Her previous areas of expertise include: digital payment systems, consumer mobile and Internet, strategy, leadership development, team-building, international expansion, program management, marketing, financial services, entrepreneurism and emerging market development.

Ginger is thrilled to work with Felidae to advance the organization’s data-driven approach to wild cat – and ecosystem – conservation.