Author: Caitlyn Gillespie

Ruth has served as the VA Dept. of Wildlife Resources’ coastal nongame biologist since 2001. She is based on the Eastern Shore of VA and her area of responsibility includes the lower Delmarva Peninsula and adjacent seaward marshes and barrier islands as well the waters, shorelines, islands and major tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Her work focuses primarily on all aspects of nongame waterbird (i.e., shorebirds, seabirds and long-legged wading birds) conservation, research, monitoring and management. Ruth became involved with the AKN by way of the Atlantic Flyway Council which provided funds under three separate contracts to: (1) create a colonial waterbird (CWB) extension in which to enter, store and analyze historical, recent and future CWB data; (2) upload all records in the USGS CWB database into the CWB extension; (3) develop analytical and visualization tools for the extension; and (4) develop and offer training tools and webinars for data users and contributors.

John Alexander, Klamath Bird Observatory Executive Director, has been an AKN collaborator since its inception. Dr. Alexander has been working to integrate bird conservation with natural resource management in the Pacific Northwest since 1992. He is focused on applying bird conservation science as a tool for advancing ecosystem conservation regionally, nationally, and internationally. His expertise includes participatory action research; ecological monitoring and research using standard bird and habitat sampling techniques; the use of scientific results for overcoming land stewardship challenges; and the development of applied science tools and teaching materials for natural resource management professionals, community members, and students of all ages. John’s KBO team manages the Avian Knowledge Northwest regional AKN portal, as well as the eBird Northwest portal. John represents the AKN on the North American Bird Conservation Initiative US Committee.

BLM HQ Wildlife Biologist. Wildlife career started with graduate research on sage-grouse reproductive ecology and assessment of habitat management effectiveness. Came into the federal government through a student internship program with USFWS Ecological Services working on Utah prairie dogs, sage-grouse, and desert tortoise for 10 years. Worked at BLM Utah State Office as sage-grouse biologist for 4 years. Moved to NRCS Utah State Office as the state wildlife biologist and environmental compliance coordinator for 2 years. Moved to a BLM field biologist position for 2 years. Been in present position since 2020 as the BLM national POC for Migratory Birds and providing assistance to the National BLM Sage-grouse Coordinator

Elizabeth Neipert chairs the AKN Steering Committee, the primary decision- making body for the AKN, committed to fostering the international collaboration of diverse institutions and agencies with goals to improve the conservation of birds and their habitats utilizing scientific data and cooperative partnerships. She also represents DoD and leads the federal agency partnership, coordinating plans and actions with the over 100 AKN partner organizations.

Ms. Neipert is also the Director of DoD’s Avian Knowledge Network (AKN) Program where she leads the interagency partnership to address all DoD avian data needs. She coordinates DoD’s use of the AKN with the Office of Secretary of Defense, the Military Services, installations, cooperators, and partners to create an organized, strategic, and comprehensive approach that directly supports the DoD Bird Conservation Strategic Plan and supports DoD’s military missions.

Ms. Neipert serves the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Environmental Laboratory in the Ecological Resources Branch as a Research Wildlife Biologist stationed in Interior Alaska, where she conducts wildlife research and monitoring projects on DoD lands nationwide. Previously, Elizabeth served as President of the National Military Fish and Wildlife Association from 2016-2018 and co-founded NMFWA’s Bird Conservation Working Group in 2015.