SFBBO Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors provide governing leadership for SFBBO, work with staff to raise money for our programs, and act as SFBBO ambassadors in the community. They also approve our strategic plan and serve on Board committees which meet throughout the year, including the Executive Committee, Finance Committee, and Fund Development Committee. They serve three-year terms. To learn more about serving on SFBBO’s Board, please contact Executive Director Chris Overington at coverington@sfbbo.org.

Read below to learn about our current Board members and why they are dedicated to our mission, and check out our blog to read why some of our former Board members got involved with SFBBO: Bill Whitmer, Anshuman Mohapatra, and Shubha Tuljapurkar.

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Lynne Trulio – Board Co-Chair

Lynne Trulio is a professor of Environmental Studies at San José State University and was the Department Chair for approximately 15 years.  She was also the Interim Associate Dean of the College of Social Sciences for two years. Her research investigates human impacts to species and habitats, especially in urban environments, and seeks effective methods to mitigate or eliminate those impacts.  Research with colleagues and graduate students includes studies of tidal salt marsh restoration in the San Francisco Bay, the effects of recreation on wildlife, and the ecology and preservation of the western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) in California.  She has been the Lead Scientist for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, an Environmental Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a previous Board Member with SFBBO. Check out our blog to read why Lynne got involved with SFBBO. 

Bruce Paton – Board Co-Chair

Bruce is a Professor at Menlo College. His teaching focuses on sustainable business and creative problem solving. He helped launch the Sustainable Business program at San Francisco State University and has served as Dean for 2 business schools. He earned a BA in Environmental Science from Wesleyan University, an MBA from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has served as board chair for the Sunnyvale Sustainability Commission, Leadership Sunnyvale, and Sustainable Silicon Valley. Check out our blog to read about why Bruce got involved with SFBBO.

Debbie Wong – Board Secretary

Debbie Wong grew up in Hong Kong. She received her bachelor’s degree in computer science and MBA in the Bay Area and has worked in Mountain View for over 20 years. Debbie joined the SFBBO community in 2000 when she became a volunteer bird bander at the Coyote Creek Field Station and she still volunteers in the program today! She became certified as a master bird bander through Point Blue Conservation Science and has banded birds in Peru, participated in a World Wildlife Fund/USGS project doing water bird satellite tagging in Hong Kong to study avian flu, and participated in a Fish and Wildlife radio frequency banding study of Western Sandpipers. Her other volunteer activities include serving as a docent for the Asian Art Museum and board member for the affiliated Society for Asian Art, and serving as a board member for the Ohlone Audubon Society. Debbie also enjoys beekeeping and was the only featured top-bar beekeeper by the Oakland Museum of California in its Off-Site Exhibition Program in the Oakland International Airport in an exhibition on “Bees.” Check out our blog to read why Debbie got involved with SFBBO.

Karan Gathani – Board Fund Development Committee Chair

Karan joined the SFBBO board with a history of working with tech startups in the San Francisco Bay Area helping them ship products efficiently without compromising on quality. In his spare time, he likes to participate in BioBlitzes organized around the Bay Area. Read our blog to read why Karan got involved with SFBBO. 

Caroline Selfridge – Board Member

Caroline joined the SFBBO board in January, 2023, following a yearlong Encore Fellowship with the organization. Prior to joining SFBBO, Caroline worked as an attorney with Intel Corporation for nearly 30 years. In her spare time, she enjoys trail running, hiking, gardening, California wildflowers, studying French, cooking, travel, and basket-making. Caroline is secretary to the Bay Area Basket Makers guild. Check out our blog to read about why Caroline got involved in SFBBO. 

Elaine Lea-Chou – Board Member 

Elaine is a Sunnyvale-based consultant for biotech start-ups and biopharma. Her scientist life began in the laboratory when she was 15 years old and her most fun times were playing with jellyfish-based glow-in-dark pigments and sending cells up in space. She’s a big STEM education advocate and has judged middle and high school science fairs and mentored kindergarteners to college graduates. She’s been a Commissioner/Board Member for NorCal Junior Lacrosse, a volunteer ranger at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and a volunteer at History Park San Jose (Bay Area Glassblowing, and dressing up in historical costumes). When she’s not getting schooled by her three cats, she can be found creating silly costumes, sniffing out dessert, or binge watching detective shows. 

Lisa Myers – Board Member

Lisa is a South Bay Area native and has been watching birds since she was a teen. With a degree in Communications she combined her experience in small business with her passion for birds and taught adult birding classes for several venues including Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance and the Palo Alto Adult School. She founded “Let’s Go Birding” with the goal to get new birders out into the field to have fun and non-intimidating adventures throughout Northern California and Central America. After years of teaching classes and designing birding tours for the Los Gatos Birdwatcher Lisa bought this unique store in 2015 upon the previous owner’s retirement. Pairing backyard bird feeding with birding adventures paved the way for Let’s Go Birding to become the tour division of the Los Gatos Birdwatcher. Partnering with area non-profits to help the birds and the environment is part of the store’s mission. Lisa is a previous Board Member with SFBBO and is excited to be back.