Each year Audubon Society of Omaha elects or re-elects officers and directors. Here are the results for the term that starts July 1, 2021:
President: Current 1st Vice President Christine Jacobsen will be taking over as president with guidance from Robert Wells, who will serve as past president. Christine is the Director of Education at Lauritzen Gardens.
1st Vice President: Former board member and Student Art Contest Chair Virginia Stauffer will serve as 1st VP.
2nd Vice President: Current ASO board member and Chairman of the Education Committee Elizabeth Chalen is taking over the duties of 2nd VP. She will want to hear from you in the future about nominees for the leadership team for 2022-23.
Treasurer: Michelle Foss, currently an ASO director, was nominated as Treasurer by Betty Fullerton. Michelle holds a Master of Project Management degree from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Science, Environmental Science, degree from SUNY Albany. Director of Resource Stewardship, at Fontenelle Forest, Michelle is also Scoutmaster for her daughter’s BSA troop.
Secretary: Anne Maguire, Chairman of the Fundraising Committee and Publisher of the Meadowlark, will be taking over from Shannon Engberg as secretary.
Board of Directors:
Because the new officers vacated director positions, three new board members have been elected:
Amy Campagna, nominated by Elizabeth Chalen, has spent much of her long career working with students ages 5-18. Amy is the Environmental Education Coordinator for Pottawattamie County Conservation. Previously she was an Educator at Fontenelle Forest. She is also a Nebraska Master Naturalist and a Master Gardener. Amy holds a Master of Science, Family Life Education, degree from University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
Lauren Robinson began volunteering with ASO last year. Fascinated by the intersection of birding, conservation, and science communications, Lauren draws upon her communications expertise to help manage ASO’s social media pages. She has made it her mission to encourage the non-bird-indoctrinated to stop and appreciate the abundance of wildlife around them. Lauren holds a Master’s degree in Journalism, Science Reporting Specialization, Northwestern University. She is currently Communications Director at the Mid-America Mental Health Technology Transfer Center at UNMC
Katy Simmons holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Creighton University and will soon have a Master of Science degree in Conservation Biology. With experience in operations at The Nature Conservancy, Katy knows how to get things done. She is also certified by Havard EdEx in Energy With Environmental Constraints.
