Staff & Committees

Impacting bird conservation across the Western Hemisphere

Paul Schmidt
Director of Road to Recovery
paulschmidtc4c@gmail.com

Katie Holland
Social Scientist
kkholland@vt.edu

Kiah Williams
Graduate Fellow
kiahwilliams89@gmail.com

Esmeralda Bravo Hernández
International Fellow
bio.bravohe@gmail.com

Collaboration is Critical to Our Success

In our Guidance Document—created with the help of experienced professionals from federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and universities— Road to Recovery (R2R) outlines a process that will lead to the restoration of bird populations throughout the United States, Canada, and beyond. Our vision is that such collaborations efforts will continue to provide a unified approach to recovering Tipping Point Species.

photo: Tim Romano

Road to Recovery Partnerships

Collaborations with diverse conservation initiatives like Partners in Flight (PIF) and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) are critical to our success. R2R will work closely with established PIF working groups to assess species vulnerability and urgency, understand science gaps, increase social science capacity, and advance the efforts of species working groups. Likewise, R2R will collaborate with NABCI’s sub-committees to strategically meet conservation targets across the full annual cycle, advance human dimensions and address environmental justice issues as they relate to bird conservation.

Advisory Board

John Fitzpatrick – Cornell Lab of Ornithology (retired)
Joe Keenan – The Nature Conservancy (retired)
Peter Marra – Georgetown University
Lynn Scarlett – The Nature Conservancy (retired)

Leadership Team

Humberto Berlanga – National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity
Susan Bonfield – Environment for the Americas
Katie Christie – Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Miyoko Chu – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Ashley Dayer – Virginia Tech
Todd Fearer -Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture
Marcel Gahbauer – Environment and Climate Change Canada
Katie Holland – Virginia Tech
Scott Johnston – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Edwin Juarez – Arizona Game and Fish Department
Sarah Kendrick – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Anna Lello-Smith – Wildlife Conservation Society
Peter Marra – Georgetown University
Ken Rosenberg – Cornell Lab of Ornithology (retired)
Brandt Ryder – Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Paul Schmidt – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ducks Unlimited, Inc (retired)
Melanie Steinkamp – U.S. Geological Survey
Becky Stewart– Environment and Climate Change Canada
Tom Will – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (retired)
E.J. Williams – American Bird Conservancy
Chad Wilsey – National Audubon Society

Subcommittees

Road to Recovery has sustained its momentum since 2021 by forming a Species Working Group Subcommittee, an International Subcommittee, and State Agency Subcommittee, holding three informal interactive engagement sessions to provide a forum for discussion and feedback on the recovery process. In the future, R2R’s goal is to make measurable progress in reversing declines of bird populations through activating research and conservation communities.

International Subcommittee

Steve Albert – Institute for Bird Populations
Humberto Berlanga – National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity
Wendy Easton – Environment and Climate Change Canada
Scott Johnston – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sarahy Contreras Martinez – University of Guadalajara
Paul Schmidt – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ducks Unlimited, Inc (retired)
Mary Whitfield – Southern Sierra Research Station

Species Working Group Subcommittee

Katie Christie – Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Maureen Correll – Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Ashley Dayer – Virginia Tech
Randy Dettmers – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Todd Fearer – Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture
Katie Holland – Virginia Tech
Edwin Juarez – Arizona Game and Fish Department
Vicente Rodriguez – National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity
Ken Rosenberg – Cornell Lab of Ornithology (retired)
Amber Roth – University of Maine
Brandt Ryder – Road to Recovery/ Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Paul Schmidt – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Ducks Unlimited, Inc (retired)
Calandra Stanley – Georgetown University
Melanie Steinkamp – U.S. Geological Survey
E.J. Williams – American Bird Conservancy
David Yeany – Western Pennsylvania Conservancy