SFBBO Staff
Kristin Butler, M.S.
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING
kbutler@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 EXT. 2
Chris Overington, is the executive director at SFBBO. Originally from England, Chris studied for his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology and Environmental Sciences at King’s College, in the University of London. He later relocated to the United States, where he first worked on the East Coast developing and teaching residential Environmental Education programs. He then continued west and found a home at Hidden Villa in the Los Altos Hills, where he has been responsible for a variety of roles over the last 25-plus years, including Executive Director for the past 14 years. He is an avid birder and spends much of his free time birding the baylands of Santa Clara County and is an active eBird compiler!
Contact: coverington@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 ext. 1
Eric Lynch (he/him) is Director of Natural Resources at SFBBO who specializes in habitat restoration. Eric’s family moved to San Jose from Salem, MA in 1997. He received his B.A. in English and American Literature at Harvard University in 2009. Eric then returned to the San Francisco Bay and worked a desk job for four years. He spent most of his free time exploring the outdoor spaces around the San Francisco Bay, California coastal ranges, the Sierras, and eventually the southwestern deserts before deciding to pursue a career where he could work outside and improve the condition of the natural resources he loves. Eric returned to school to get an A.S. degree from West Valley College’s Park Management Program and take biology classes while working seasonal jobs with local, state, and federal land managers, and became an ecologist at SFBBO. In 2018, Eric left SFBBO to pursue a master’s degree at Sonoma State focused on raptor migration phenology at the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, where he is a longtime volunteer. Now that his degree is almost complete, Eric has returned to his beloved South Bay to continue working to improve the relationship between humans and the environment through conservation, restoration, research, and outreach.
Contact: elynch@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 ext. 3
Katie LaBarbera, Ph.D., (they/them or she/her) is Director of Landbird Science at SFBBO who specializes in landbird research and conservation. One of their primary responsibilities at SFBBO is managing the long-running bird banding program at Coyote Creek Field Station. After developing a fondness for urban birds growing up in Chicago, Katie fell in love with ornithology at Cornell University while studying the adventurous love lives of house wrens. They received a Ph.D. in Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, studying life history variation in dark-eyed juncos in the Sierra Nevada mountains. They subsequently taught at UC Berkeley, then detoured to beautiful Minnesota to study tree frog communication. Katie has volunteered as a math tutor at San Quentin Prison and as a wildlife hospital volunteer at the Lindsay Wildlife Experience. They are interested in animal behavior, conservation, and everything birdy.
Contact: klabarbera@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 ext. 8
Nathan Van Schmidt, Ph.D., is Director of Regional Strategies at SFBBO who specializes in regional strategies. After getting a B.S. in Zoology at University of Wisconsin-Madison, he moved out to California to pursue a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. His dissertation focused on understanding how human-created wetlands allowed rails to persist through California’s droughts. He has held a variety of other positions at the U.S. Geological Survey, U.C. Santa Cruz, and the International Crane Foundation, where he has researched cranes, sage-grouse, and water sustainability and policy. Nathan has lived in the Bay Area for over a decade and is excited to be working at SFBBO and finally studying the landscape he lives in. His interdisciplinary research approach focuses on understanding how waterbirds, their habitats, and human decision-making around those precious natural resources co-evolve over time. He combines field research with simulation models that forecast those changes into the future, with the aim of identifying effective long-term conservation strategies that can allow birds to adapt to the pressures posed by ongoing climate change and development.
Contact: nvanschmidt@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 ext. 7
Maddy Schwarz is Director of Plover and Tern Science SFBBO who specializes in plover and tern research and conservation. She graduated from UC Davis in 2017 with a Bachelor’s in Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology. Maddy began working with SFBBO in 2018 on the plover team, then began volunteering at our Coyote Creek Field Station. Maddy has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and multiple environmental consulting companies in the Bay Area. When she is not in the field, she spends her time reading, rock climbing, singing, and taking care of her many house plants and snake.
Contact: mschwarz@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 ext. 6
Josh Scullen is Director of Infrastructure and also works as a Senior Biologist at SFBBO. Josh has a B.S. in Wildlife Management from West Virginia University and is a North American Banding Council Certified Trainer. Originally from Maryland, Josh has spent several years conducting field work throughout North and Central America and Hawaii, and has lived on the California coast since 2006. Josh was a former Science Director specializing in landbirds and served as our IT specialist. He now conducts research with the landbird, waterbird and plover teams.
Contact: jscullen@sfbbo.org
Kristin Butler, M.S., (she/her) is Director of Communications and Marketing at SFBBO. She has a B.A. in Politics from Whitman College and an M.S. in Mass Communications from San Jose State University. Kristin has directed communications and business development for conservation, gender equity, and education agencies, nonprofits, and businesses. At SFBBO, Kristin creates communications plans; manages a team of digital creators and outreach specialists; leads the staff and board in experiential marketing and public relations initiatives; develops corporate partnerships; handles media inquiries; and serves on the AI Policy, Guidance, and Best Practices Working Group.
Contact: kbutler@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 ext. 2
Z Gerber (she/her) is Director of Admin and Finance at SFBBO and is a Bay Area resident of 30 years. She has a background in Wildlife Rehabilitation, with a special focus on raptors and raptor rehab, and is a lifelong conservationist, bird enthusiast, gardener, and avid hiker.
Contact: zgerber@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 ext. 4
Cole Jower, M.S., (he/him) is a senior ecologist at SFBBO who specializes in tidal marsh habitat restoration and research. Cole holds a B.S. degree in Wildlife Conservation from Humboldt State University and an M.S. degree in Biology from San Jose State University where he examined patterns of habitat use by breeding Rhinoceros Auklets on southeast Farallon Island. In addition to playing an important leadership role in the habitats program, Cole has worked in our waterbird and plover and tern programs, and also serves on the SFBBO IDEA committee.
Contact: cjower@sfbbo.org
Kaili Hovind (she/her) is a habitats lead ecologist and nursery manager at SFBBO. She received a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a minor in Environmental Restoration from San José State University in 2019. A few months before graduation she began working at SFBBO as a habitats intern, completing her senior capstone project in partnership with the Habitats team by studying the effects of soil type in the germination success and growth of two native Californian plant species.
Contact: khovind@sfbbo.org
Fen Conway (they/them) is a lead biologist at SFBBO. After receiving a B.S. in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley in 2020, they shifted their focus to birds and pursued fieldwork throughout California and Washington. Working with a number of government and non-profit organizations, they conducted point count, spotted owl and goshawk surveys, and banded passerines and saw-whet owls from the alpine backcountry to the Pacific coast. They love working with the dedicated volunteers at CCFS to monitor bird populations in the Bay Area, and spreading awareness about avian conservation. In their free time, they love backpacking, reading, rock climbing, jamming with friends on the cello, and of course, birding.
Contact: fconway@sfbbo.org
Amy Parsons, M.S., is a lead biologist at SFBBO. She completed an M.S. in Biology at San Jose State University, where she studied the microbiome of California gulls in the SF bay area and Mono Lake. Previously, she worked as a field biologist for USGS, monitoring the nests of American avocets, Black-necked stilts, and Forster’s terns in the SF Bay. She is excited to, once again, be working to study and conserve waterbirds in and around her community. In a previous life, Amy completed a B.A. in Linguistics and an M.A. in Education and thereafter spent many meaningful years as a teacher in international schools in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. She hopes to spend many of her future years contributing to the understanding and conservation of the planet’s rich biodiversity.
Contact: aparsons@sfbbo.org
Hop Le is an ecologist at SFBBO. He studied Environmental Studies with a focus on Natural Resources Management at San Francisco State University. His interest in the field was sparked by environmental justice movements on campus, which led him to study and focus on conservation as a career. When you meet him, be sure to ask Hop about his time with the San Jose Conservation Corp, where he worked with Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and led volunteer creek cleanups, habitat restoration days, and bioblitz events!
Contact: hle@sfbbo.org
Jeremy Reinhard (he/him) is a lead biologist at SFBBO. He studied biology at Sacramento City College before transferring to UC Berkeley, where he completed a B.S. in Molecular Environmental Biology in 2020 with a concentration in Biodiversity. He has previously worked with the California Department of Public Health in helping track the spread of West Nile Virus in birds throughout the state. He started with SFBBO as a Snowy Plover Intern in 2022. In addition to birding, Jeremy has an avid interest in studying the resident plants and fungi of the Bay.
Contact: snpl_intern_1@sfbbo.org
Jesse Wentworth (she/her) is a biologist at SFBBO. A born-and-bred Wisconsinite, Jesse earned her M.A. in British and American literature at Marquette University before moving to California and working in content marketing and publicity for a variety of Bay Area organizations. In 2018 she said goodbye to marketing and started working toward her B.S. in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences through Oregon State University. Before joining the SFBBO team, she was involved with harbor seal surveys and education at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Hawaiian Gallinule research at the Kauai National Wildlife Refuge, wildlife rehabilitation at the Peninsula Humane Society/SPCA, and animal care at CuriOdyssey in San Mateo. When she’s not busy staring at birds, Jesse is likely watching horror movies, hiking, reading, or playing nerdy board games.
Contact: jwentworth@sfbbo.org
Francis Mendoza (he/they/sila) is the Education Program Coordinator at SFBBO. They received their B.S. in Integrative Biology with an Education Minor from UC Berkeley, Teaching Credential in Science from Cal State Hayward and California Naturalist Certificate from UC Davis. Francis specializes in working at the intersection of nature, race, gender and culture to ensure youth from all backgrounds have equitable access to nature, especially those with marginalized identities such as QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous and People of Color), Neurodivergent and Disabled people from underserved communities. They also serve as the Vice Chair of the East Bay Regional Park District’s Park Advisory Committee. Francis enjoys birding, hiking, trail running, kayaking, climbing and camping with their two daughters and nephew.
Contact: fmendoza@sfbbo.org
(408) 946-6548 ext. 5
Emily Chan (she/her) is a technician with SFBBO. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During her undergraduate work, she developed her passion for birds and conservation through field research she conducted in classes and bird banding done at a university reserve. She combined these two skills through her work as an Avian Malaria Project Technician with East Hawaii Wildlife. Now she hopes to continue utilizing her skills at her position with SFBBO. In her free time she enjoys playing games with friends, singing karaoke, and birding.
Contact: echan@sfbbo.org
Isabella Nunez-Garro is a Seasonal Restoration Ecologist for SFBBO. She is a first-generation Mexican-American college student at San Jose State University pursuing a degree in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Evolution. Her goal is to work in wildlife conservation and rehabilitation, specifically in the field. At SFBBO she is assisting with the Habitats and Colonial Waterbird nest monitoring program and is conducting an independent research project to study Black-crowned Night Heron colonies in Oakland, identifying the nesting conditions of these birds to help land managers safely relocate herons from downtown to Lake Merritt.
Contact: inunezgarro@sfbbo.org
Isabella Munoz Garcia is a seasonal restoration ecologist at SFBBO. She graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A in Environmental Studies and a minor in Environmental Justice. Her goal is to work in wildlife conservation or outdoor environmental education. Isabella enjoys spending her free time hiking and stopping for plants along the way.
Contact: imgarcia@sfbbo.org
Conrad Fay (he/him) is a Snowy Plover Intern at SFBBO. Conrad received a B.S. in Computer Science at UC Davis in 2015. After spending several years in the tech field, he channeled his passion for animals and pursued a career in conservation ecology. Conrad got some of his first field experiences volunteering with SFBBO, and has since worked at an animal shelter, restored riparian habitat on the east fork of the Salmon River, and established adaptive forest management plots in Jackson Demonstration State Forest for University of Nevada in Reno. In his free time, Conrad enjoys caring for his native garden, hanging out with his vertebrate and invertebrate animal companions, and of course, birding.
Contact: cfay@sfbbo.org