Brad Barr
Brad Barr received a B.S. from the University of Maine and M.S. from the University of Massachusetts, and is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Alaska. He has worked at the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, managed NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and is currently a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the Director of the US National Marine Sanctuary Program. In addition to being on the GWS Board, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Science and Management of Protected Areas Association, and the Coastal Zone Canada Association, and is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas. He has published extensively on marine protected areas science and management, recently focusing on the issue of ocean wilderness.
Rebecca Conard
Treasurer
Rebecca is Professor of History at Middle Tennessee State University, where she directs the public history graduate program and also enjoys teaching American environmental history. While completing her doctoral work at UC Santa Barbara, she co-founded PHR Associates, a historical research firm based in Santa Barbara, California. Prior to entering teaching full-time in 1992, she was a principal partner with Tallgrass Historians L.C. of Iowa City, and she maintains associate status with this firm. As a consultant, she has specialized in historic preservation and cultural resource management services, which has given her countless opportunities to explore America's cultural and natural landscapes, from the bowels of deactivated Nike missile silos in the Angeles National Forest to meandering stonewalls in remote areas of Massachusetts. She is a native of Iowa, a place she returns to often. Her major publications include Places of Quiet Beauty: Parks, Preserves, and Environmentalism (1997), Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Legislative History, 1920-1996 (National Park Service, 1998), and Benjamin Shambaugh and the Intellectual Foundations of Public History (2002). She has contributed chapters to Proceedings of the Kansas History and History of the Great Plains Symposium (2001) , Public History and the Environment (2004), and The Antiquities Act: A Century of American Archaeology, Historic Preservation, and Nature Conservation (2006), and also published articles in The Public Historian, George Wright Forum, Environmental Review, The Annals of Iowa, Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science, and Iowa Conservationist. She is a past president of the National Council on Public History (2002-2003); and she has received awards for her publications and for her contributions to public history from the American Association for State and Local History, the State Historical Society of Iowa, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the California Council for the Promotion of History, and the California Preservation Foundation.
Rolf Diamant
President
Rolf Diamant is superintendent of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. The park is home and partner to the National Park Service's Conservation Study Institute and Center for Place-Based Education and Community Engagement. In his 30 years with the National Park Service, Rolf has worked on new conservation strategies for wild and scenic rivers, national heritage areas, partnership parks and protected areas. Rolf directed studies that led to the creation of the Blackstone River and Canal National Heritage Corridor, one of the first national heritage areas, and the National Wild and Scenic designation of New Hampshire's Wildcat River -- an early model for cooperative river conservation and community land stewardship for which he received the American Rivers Conservation Award for Distinction in Public Service. Rolf also helped establish the Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, the NPS technical center for cultural landscape stewardship. Rolf was a Beatrix Farrand Fellow at the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley where he received his Bachelor of Science in Conservation of Natural Resources and Masters in Landscape Architecture and was awarded a Loeb Fellowship in Advanced Environmental Studies at Harvard University. In addition to his park work, Rolf is a lecturer on the faculty of the University of Vermont and adjunct faculty at the Vermont Law School. Rolf is a contributing author to several books including The Conservation Of Cultural Landscapes (CAB International, 2006), Reconstructing Conservation: Finding Common Ground (Island Press, 2003), Wilderness Comes Home, Re-wilding the Northeast (University Press of New England, 2001) and A Citizen's Guide to River Conservation (World Wildlife Fund/Conservation Foundation, 1984). Rolf has undertaken a number of international assignments on behalf of the NPS including park and protected landscape work in Poland and the Republic of Georgia. Most recently, he has worked on a series of workshops and exchanges with regional and national parks in Italy on new conservation strategies for lived-in protected landscapes and heritage areas, focusing on sustainable tourism and branding and marketing of traditional products.
David Graber
Secretary
David has been an ecologist and science manager working for the National Park Service for more than 30 years. He presently serves as the Chief Scientist for the Pacific West Region of NPS, which includes the 6 western-most states south of Alaska. He has long been based at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, in the Sierra Nevada of California. During much of his career, David was a field research biologist with NPS as well as USGS, studying species-habitat relationships and exploring the use of extensive field inventories combined with GIS for improved environmental analyses. In more recent years, his efforts have been concentrated on better informing park and reserve conservation and management, as well as the management of broader mixed-use landscapes, through science. This has included the management of plant and animal populations, wilderness stewardship, biotic inventories, and environmental monitoring. Over the years, David has served on a variety of Congressional, agency, and NGO advisory panels, including the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project; Giant Sequoia National Monument Science Advisory Committee; National Wilderness Steering Committee; Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment Science Panel; Trust for Public Land Science Advisory Panel. He also serves on several endangered species recovery teams. He was awarded the U.S. Department of Interior Meritorious Service medal in 2000. David graduated from the University of California with a B.A, in Political Science (1970). After several years of work and adventure, he returned to Berkeley's College of Natural Resources to obtain an M.S. (1976) and then Ph.D. (1981) in Wildland Resources Science. His graduate dissertation was Ecology and management of black bears in Yosemite National Park.
Suzette Kimball
Dr. Suzette M. Kimball is the Regional Director, Eastern Region for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and has served in that position since October 2004. Prior to that, she served as the Regional Executive for Biology and the Florida Integrated Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey's Eastern Region, based in Kearneysville, West Virginia. Dr. Kimball came to the USGS from the U.S. National Park Service, where she served as the Associate Regional Director of Science & Natural Resources Stewardship in Atlanta, Georgia.
Dr. Kimball received her bachelor's degree in English and completed the requirements for a B.S. degree in Geology from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., her M.S. in geology and geophysics from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., and her doctorate in environmental sciences with a specialty in coastal environmental processes from the University of Virginia. She entered the National Park Service in 1991 as the research coordinator for the barrier island component of the Global Climate Change Program and subsequently served as the Southeast Regional Chief Scientist before assuming the position of Associate Regional Director. She has also held the positions of research assistant professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia; co-director of the Center for Coastal Management and Policy and associate marine scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at William & Mary; and chief of the Coastal Morphology Unit and program manager of Barrier Island Sedimentation Studies in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Engineering Research Center.
Dr. Kimball has served on the National Park Service's Science Advisory Council, Natural Resources Advisory Council, and the ad-hoc Geologic Resources advisory group. She represents the Department of the Interior on the Gulf of Mexico Program Policy Review Board, has chaired the Executive Committee of the Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program, and is a member of the Council of Examiners of the National Association of State Boards of Geology. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of The Coastal Society and has served as the secretary of the Ocean Sciences Section of the American Geophysical Union, and on numerous other national and state councils and committees, including the Florida Panther Recovery Team and the Outer Banks Interagency Committee for Transportation Management. Her current assignments include USGS representative to the Subcommittee on Integrated Management of Ocean Resources; Regional Principal for Coastal America; and the USGS executive lead for the Integrated Storm Response Team and Hurricane Response and Recovery Science Planning Team.
She has taught university courses dealing with marine and coastal biology and geology, and she is the author of more than 75 technical publications concerning coastal ecosystem science, coastal zone management and policy, and natural resource exploration, evaluation and management.
M. Melia Lane-Kamahele
As a career employee with the NPS for more than 20 years, Melia has served in a variety of positions starting as a cartographic technician in the Pacific West regional office in Honolulu in 1986. Melia has served as the management assistant in the Pacific West Region, Honolulu Office since April 2007. Prior to that, she held the position of supervisory cartographer/GIS coordinator for the Pacific Area parks. Her primarily role in that position was to coordinate with parks, partner agencies and others to facilitate GIS and geospatial data programs in the 11 parks in the Pacific Islands and Trust Territories of the Pacific Basin whose geographical area spans multiple time zones, ecosystems, and cultures.
Other positions recently held include management assistant at Fort Vancouver NHP during her USDA Executive Leadership Program in 2006-2007 as well as opportunities to serve as the acting Pacific Area director and acting superintendent at the National Park of American Samoa.
After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1980 with a major in Geography and minor in Hawaiian Studies, she specialized in historical geography and cartographic production; she went on to complete a Master’s degree in Geography from the same university in 1986. Her M.A. thesis was a study of the migration of Native Hawaiians from Hawaii to coastal British Columbia, Canada, between 1810 and 1869. Currently Melia is completing an A.A. in Science (Paralegal) degree from Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Melia has served on a variety of national, regional and local committees and working groups focusing primarily on GIS, cultural and natural resources management issues and park planning. She chaired the National Park Service’s Pacific West Region Cultural Resources Advisory Committee for 11 years; served on the Regional Science and Resources Task Force; and currently serves on the Pacific West Region GIS Committee and the National GIS Committee for the NPS. Upon appointment by the governor, she served two terms on the Hawaii Island Burial Council and continues to be active in Native Hawaiian issues related to management and policy, NAGPRA, and a variety of projects pertaining to the indigenous people and diverse cultures of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin.
Park planning has also occupied her time through the years and she was fortunate to participate in major planning projects for Kaloko-Honokohau NHP, the National Park of American Samoa, the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, Kalaupapa NHP and the Ka’u Shoreline as well as other historic resources feasibility studies in the far Pacific.
Melia continues to provide leadership and mentoring to employees to encourage appreciation of cultures and celebrate diversity and continues to serve as a role model for those interested in careers with the agency or in federal service and foster programs supportive of minority applicants. She remains actively involved with publications, collaborative research, and presentations.
Suzanne Lewis
Suzanne Lewis began her duties as superintendent of Yellowstone National Park in 2002. She manages more than 2.2 million acres, a full time staff of 400 and an annual base budget of more than $28 million. Before coming to Yellowstone, Suzanne was superintendent at Glacier National Park. She began her NPS career as a seasonal park ranger in 1978 at Gulf Islands National Seashore. During her 11-year tenure at Gulf Islands National Seashore, she served in a variety of positions including park technician, park historian, supervisory park ranger and management assistant to the Superintendent. Chosen in 1988 for an international assignment to the Republic of Haiti, she assisted the United Nation's efforts to help Haitians preserve the country's natural and cultural resources. In 1989, Lewis was appointed acting superintendent for Christiansted National Historic Site and Buck Island Reef National Monument in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She was selected in 1990 as the first superintendent for the newly created Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve--a national park area in Jacksonville, Florida. Suzanne served as the superintendent for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1997 to April 2000, where she managed one of the busiest national recreation areas in the United States. She earned her B.A. (Magna Cum Laude) in American History in 1978 from the University of West Florida. During her Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Lewis completed assignments with the Department of Interior Secretary's Special Assistant for Alaska, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Walt Disney World Corporation. Lewis has received numerous awards including the Secretary of the Interior's Bronze Executive Leadership Award in March 2004, the National Park Service Meritorious Service Award in September 2003, and the National Parks and Conservation Association Park Manager of the Year for Partnerships in 1994. She was also awarded the Woman of Distinction Award by the Girl Scout Councils of America in 1997. Suzanne enjoys traveling and completed a tour of southern Africa in 1996, visiting six national parks in Botswana and Zimbabwe, including whitewater rafting the Zambezi River.
Brent A. Mitchell
Brent is Vice President, Stewardship, at QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment. Much of Brent's current work involves direct exchange among professional peers working for conservation in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North America, with a particular interest in civic engagement in landscape conservation. These programs reach more than 50 countries. Prior to joining the staff of QLF Mitchell lived and worked in five countries of the Caribbean and Latin America (including on-site development of the first two natural national parks in Haiti; gazetting of terrestrial and marine reserves in the Turks and Caicos Islands; and field research in wildlife ecology in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela). He worked as a field biologist for America's oldest land trust, the Trustees of Reservations, before joining QLF in 1987 to promote land trusts in eastern Canada. A member of IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas, he is leading an initiative on private protected areas and recently served as editor of an issue of its journal PARKS on the subject. He works with public land management agencies in all three countries of North America, particularly the U.S. National Park Service's Conservation Study Institute.
QLF (Quebec-Labrador Foundation) is a registered charity in Canada and a 501(c)(3) publicly-supported charity in the US. Its mission is two-fold, to support the rural communities and environment of eastern Canada and New England; and create models for stewardship of natural resources and cultural heritage applicable worldwide.
Rebecca E. Stanfield McCown
Student Representative to the BoardRebecca E. Stanfield McCown is the Conservation Study Institute Doctoral Fellow at the University of Vermont's Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Rebecca's research focuses on addressing underrepresentation of communities of color in parks and protected areas. She is currently working with the CSI and the Northeast Region of the National Park Service examining programs designed to increase minority participation. At UVM, Rebecca is involved in graduate recruitment efforts, serving on an advisory committee for the school's USDA Master's Multicultural Fellowship. She was awarded the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources 2007 Graduate Programs Outstanding Service Award. Rebecca was also a 2005 recipient of the George Melendez Wright Student Travel Scholarship. Rebecca has an M.S. in Natural Resource Planning (2006) from the University of Vermont. Her thesis research examined discrimination as an explanation for minority underrepresentation in national parks. Rebecca's B.S. is from Colorado State University (2004) in Natural Resources Tourism with a concentration in Parks and Protected Areas Management.
Stephanie Toothman
Vice President
Stephanie Toothman is the Chief, Cultural Resource Programs, for the National Park Service's Pacific West Region. Dr. Toothman and her staff provide support to 57 National Park System units in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands. In addition, they manage the regional preservation partnership programs providing assistance for documenting and preserving historic properties managed by public and private agencies and individuals and the Historic Preservation Fund grants to the historic preservation programs of Micronesia. Prior to her present position, Dr. Toothman served as Chief, Cultural Resource Division, and Regional Historian, Pacific Northwest Region, and held positions in the National Register of Historic Places and State Plans and Grants programs in Washington, DC. Dr. Toothman graduated from Smith College in the American Studies program and completed her M.A. and Ph.D. as a University Fellow in the American Civilization program at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to this second term on the George Wright Society Board, she serves on the board of 4Culture, a public development authority supporting the arts, heritage, and historic preservation communities of King County, and has served on the thesis and dissertation committees for the students at the University of Washington, University of Oregon, and most recently, Goucher College, for topics related to cultural resource management issues.
John Waithaka
John Waithaka, a conservation biologist with many years field experience in research and wildlife management, was born in Kenya next to Aberdares national park. Elephants, lions, buffaloes, rhinos and hyenas were part of the landscape that he grew up in. He decided to become a conservationist when he became aware of his community's hostility to wildlife. His PhD research was on the impact of land use changes on elephants in Kenya. During his career, he has developed and implemented conservation and management programs in and around protected areas, and worked with partners to promote and strengthen local, regional and international conservation initiatives.
John has worked with a broad spectrum of conservation and research partners from Africa, North America, Europe and Asia. He has represented organizations and governments in international conservation forums and worked with local communities, policy makers and donors (such as the World Bank, European Union, United States Agency for International Development, and IUCN Species Survival Commission to develop programs and guidelines for funding, implementing and evaluating conservation initiatives. He has experience in promoting private-sector involvement in conservation, and has received many research/conservation grants.
After receiving his PhD, John taught ecology at Kenyatta University in Nairobi for seven years. He later worked for Wildlife Conservation Society (conservation branch of New York Zoological Society) as a conservation biologist and the Kenya Wildlife Service as head of elephant program, and as deputy director in charge of the biodiversity department. He initiated the Biodiversity Conservation Program under the European Union to support conserve biodiversity in Kenya by expanding the capacity and willingness of local people to protect biological resources and addressing threats to conservation. Through this initiative many community owned wildlife sanctuaries were established.
Before immigrating to Canada in 2003, John was the director of the African Conservation Centre, an indigenous African conservation NGO that brings together the people and skills needed to build local capacity to conserve wildlife. He currently works as a conservation biologist in Parks Canada where his current focus is on the management of hyperabundant wildlife.
During his conservation career, John served as a member of many conservation organizations, including the East African Wildlife Society, East African National History Society, IUCN's Species Survival Commission-African Elephant Specialist Group, European Union Biodiversity Conservation Program, Kenya Forestry Working Group, Ecotourism Society of Kenya, Wildlife Clubs of Kenya and Elephant Research Trust Fund. He currently represents Parks Canada in the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada.
John is interested in conservation biology, the human-wildlife-habitat connection, conflict management, social-political-economic context of conservation, and the conservation science and policy interface. He has authored and co-authored scientific papers and articles, participated in a wide range of conservation programs in both formal and informal sectors, and received two international conservation awards.
Robert A. Winfree
Bob Winfree is the National Park Service's Alaska regional science advisor. Bob studied Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Iowa State (B.S.) and Texas A&M (M.S., Ph.D.) and completed the USDA Graduate School Executive Potential Program in 2003. He has broad interests and experience in science and resource management in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments across and outside of the U.S. Before coming to Alaska, Bob served as senior scientist at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, directed a National Biological Service laboratory in New York, managed a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service research station in Idaho, conducted fisheries research at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Florida, worked with the Walt Disney Company, and designed international development projects. Science and scholarship are critical to understanding and preserving the world's natural and cultural heritage. Bob believes that, as science and resource professionals, we have a responsibility to communicate what we learn, and reach out to the public, local and Native communities, and especially youths--the next generation of park scientists, scholars, educators, and managers. Bob is a GWS Life Member, has chaired and presented in many conference sessions, and organized two special scientific symposia with the GWS, one focused on Glacier Bay in 2004 and one on Central Alaska in 2006. Since 2002, he has also led production of Alaska Park Science, a multidisciplinary journal about science, history, and culture in Alaska's parks.