Graham has been working as a wildlife biologist for more than 10 years. He developed his conservationist mindset at a young age while searching the fields and canals near his home for amphibians, reptiles, and other wildlife. He worked for H.T. Harvey & Associates for five years, primarily on large scale solar projects. His professional career started at California State University Stanislaus’s Endangered Species Recovery Program (ESRP). While at ESRP, Graham’s work focused on the native plant nursery for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Land Retirement Demonstration Project (LRDP). He developed his knowledge of native flora of the San Joaquin Valley by collecting, processing, and propagating 150 native species for the LRDP. He has also conducted habitat suitability assessment surveys, protocol surveys, pre-activity surveys, and construction monitoring for many special-status species including California tiger salamander, California red-legged frog, blunt-nosed leopard lizard, Swainson’s hawk, burrowing owl, American badger, Fresno kangaroo rat, Tipton kangaroo rat, giant kangaroo rat, riparian brush rabbit, riparian woodrat, San Joaquin antelope squirrel, and San Joaquin kit fox. During his spare time, Graham visits national parks with his family and photographs wildlife and natural scenery.

Adrienne grew up in northern New Jersey, with frequent camping and hiking trips throughout the northeast with her family. She earned a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. While completing her undergraduate studies, Adrienne had several research internships focusing on small mammal bioacoustics and behavior, bat flight mechanics, marine mammal conservation, and wildlife rehabilitation. She went on to earn an M.S. degree in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Michigan, specializing in Ecosystem Science & Management and Geospatial Data Science. Her master’s research analyzed the impact of human activity on wildlife spatial ecology to inform management practices at wildlife preserves in Alaska. After graduating, Adrienne worked as a seasonal wildlife biologist conducting surveys for raptors, songbirds, and amphibians in Colorado and Wyoming. More recently, she worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Kern National Wildlife Refuge, leading a camera trap study for the endangered Buena Vista Lake ornate shrew. In her free time, Adrienne enjoys traveling, reading, photography, and playing music with friends and family.

Monica is a proud Air Force veteran born and raised in San Diego. She served six years as a Signals Production Specialist and earned the rank of Staff Sergeant. After years of military directed moving, she and her family decided to make Fresno their home. Monica earned a bachelor’s degree in human resources and worked previously for a non-profit here in Fresno before becoming the Operations Manager for Colibri. Monica’s husband is a retired Air Force veteran, having served 23 years. They’re blessed with three children and a yorkie named Megatron.

Phil is a biologist with more than 20 years experience studying a variety of North American bird taxa, with a primary focus on seabirds. He began his career studying songbirds in California, Washington, and Idaho, and as a long-term volunteer at the Farallon Islands. In 1996, as a technician in the first year of a seabird restoration project in central California, he learned aerial photographic survey methods for monitoring breeding colonies of surface-nesting seabirds, and he has been in the plane every year since. Phil has guided these methods into the digital era and remains one of the lead researchers responsible for annual aerial photographic surveys throughout coastal California. Since 2007, he also has been part of a team conducting low-level, at-sea aerial surveys of birds and mammals in California, including in response to oil spills. With Colibri, he has applied his aerial survey expertise to waterbird studies in the Gulf of Mexico. Phil also has radio-tracked seabirds, shorebirds, and raptors, and continues to volunteer annually with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. He became interested in natural history while completing a B.S. in Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, finding classes in vertebrate zoology and botany more inspiring than pre-med coursework. Born, raised, and still residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of Phil’s favorite activities is celebrating Giants World Series Championships.

Howard has 30 years of professional wildlife, ecology, and research experience focused on the fauna and ecosystems of California. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist® (The Wildlife Society [TWS]) and a Certified Senior Ecologist (Ecological Society of America) whose work as an ecological consultant has included extensive baseline inventories, surveys for rare animals, and habitat assessments for species including blunt-nosed leopard lizard, burrowing owl, San Joaquin kit fox, giant kangaroo rat, and Mohave ground squirrel, among many others. Howard began his career with the Endangered Species Recovery Program where he spent seven years as a wildlife biologist while he completed his bachelor’s degree at CSU Stanislaus in 1998 and his Master’s degree at CSU Fresno in 2001. His thesis addressed the interactions between the endangered San Joaquin kit fox and the non-native red fox in Kern County, California. He developed his consulting skills while working for H. T. Harvey & Associates for 10 years and Garcia and Associates for three years before joining Colibri in 2016. Howard was awarded the Raymond F. Dasmann Award for Professional of the Year by The Western Section of TWS in 2015, the Champions of Wildlife award by the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of TWS in 2020, and the Distinguished Service Award by the international TWS in 2025. His commitment to the biology community includes serving as an instructor for TWS workshops on blunt-nosed leopard lizard, San Joaquin kit fox, and small mammals and volunteering since 2014 as the Layout Editor for the Western Section’s journal Western Wildlife. During leisure time, Howard enjoys hiking, geocaching, and playing Pokémon Go with his daughter and significant other.

Cassie grew up in Fresno, California, where she spent much of her childhood outdoors in the Sierra. Her love of the natural world led her to pursue higher education in biology. Cassie began her academic career at Fresno City College where she received an Associates of Art degree in Chicano/Latino studies while fulfilling her undergraduate requirements for biological sciences. While at Fresno City College, Cassie took a field biology class that gave her an in-depth knowledge and appreciation of local habitats, plants, and animals. She then completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and Management at Humboldt State University. While at Humboldt State, Cassie worked as a data collection assistant for project that focused on understanding habitat requirements needed to bring Roosevelt elk populations back to indigenous communities. Cassie is passionate about using her knowledge to help her community and inspire others to get involved in preserving local habitats.

Tala Davis (she/they) has loved the natural world and conservation as long as they can remember. They spent the first part of their life in rural Colorado, running around with the family wolfdog. Then, after spending most of their childhood in Iowa, Tala moved to Idaho and earned three associate degrees from the College of Western Idaho, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Idaho in Ecology & Conservation Biology and Wildlife Resources. Over their wildlife career, Tala has worked with greater sage-grouse, American kestrel, white-tailed deer, Mexican gray wolf, and various songbirds. In their spare time, Tala enjoys exploring the natural world, engaging in creative activities like writing and drawing, and catching up on their reading list.

Brandon grew up in the central Texas Hill Country, where he spent many summers in the outdoors camping and backpacking. He earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Texas State University. While at the university, he developed a passion for plants and animals. After graduating, he worked several seasonal field jobs. Those involved helping to recover endangered sea turtles with the National Park Service, investigating the plague in small mammals with the U.S. Geological Survey, banding birds with Point Blue Conservation Science, and studying semipalmated sandpipers and other shorebirds with New Jersey Audubon. This field experience led Brandon to pursue a master’s degree in biology at Arkansas State University. There, his research focused on the ecology of chuck-will’s-widows and eastern whip-poor-wills in the Ozark Mountains. In his free time, Brandon enjoys live music, birding, and board games with friends.

Raised in Los Angeles near Griffith Park, Ryan developed his passion for the natural world at a young age. This passion led him to pursue a degree in conservation biology at Kansas State University. During his undergraduate studies, Ryan assisted with projects concerning plants, arthropods, reptiles, grassland birds, and small mammals. A special interest in grasses led him to perform research in the field of grassland ecophysiology, which eventually led to a master’s degree also at Kansas State University. Ryan now lives in Merced and enjoys botanizing in the wide range of ecosystems that California has to offer. He is an avid user of the citizen science platform iNaturalist and hikes, runs, and looks at plants in his free time.

Rowdy grew up in the corn fields of Illinois and the forested mountains of North Carolina, catching snakes and salamanders on his many hikes and bike rides. He moved to California and attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, earning a B.A. in biology while doing environmental modeling research on the city’s introduced parrot population. He also spent months studying and conducting avian surveys in Tanzania. After college, he spent multiple field seasons as an Americorps member under the Great Basin Institute, doing forestry work in the Sierra Nevada for the U.S. Forest Service and monitoring for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California Condor Recovery Program. Prior to joining Colibri, Rowdy also did environmental consulting work on renewable energy projects in California – including burrowing owl and kit fox monitoring for solar field construction, fatality monitoring for birds and bats on wind projects, and raptor curtailment work for California’s largest wind project. His love for animals extends into his free time, having volunteered at two wildlife sanctuaries and going on day trips to find and photograph species he has not previously observed.

Kurt Hildebrandt was born in San Diego but raised in Fresno, California. He spent his childhood exploring the outdoors, whether it was Torrey Pines Beach in San Diego or Sierra National Forest just outside of Fresno. This early exposure to nature helped foster his love for the environment. Kurt attended Westmont College in Santa Barbara, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology with an emphasis in Ecology and Evolution. His coursework focused largely on marine biology. During his time at Westmont, he volunteered at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum’s Sea Center and the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute, where he helped rescue and rehabilitate California sea lions. He also participated in undergraduate research documenting the coral genus Thesea. After college, Kurt transitioned from conducting research with Battelle’s National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to working in ecological consulting. In his free time, Kurt enjoys playing and coaching volleyball, hiking, and scuba diving.

Sarah grew up in Mariposa, California, just outside of Yosemite National Park. She developed a passion for wildlife and forestry at Reedley College, where she earned an Associate of Science degree in Natural Resources. During her tenure at Reedley College, Sarah interned with El Dorado National Forest, where she conducted surveys for northern goshawk and spotted owl and participated in the North American Bat Monitoring Program. Sarah received a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Resources with a minor in Forestry Resources from University of Idaho. After completing her studies, she worked for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on an effort to eradicate nutria, an invasive rodent, from California waterways. In her free time, Sarah enjoys hiking and traveling with friends and family.

Sara Lisac was born and raised in Northwest Indiana where she grew up exploring the wetlands in her backyard. She had the fortunate experience of traveling to national parks all over the country with her family, which led her to study Environmental Science at Indiana University. Upon graduating, Sara started her journey working in public lands management through the Geoscientists-in-the-Parks program at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho. Since then, she has worked in visitor services, interpretation, and resource management with the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service. Most recently, Sara spent three seasons working for Yosemite National Park’s Aquatic Wildlife branch where she specialized in Yosemite toad and Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog surveys. She is excited by the opportunities consulting brings to continue protecting and educating others about native California species.

Samantha developed a passion for botany and wildlife at a young age. She grew up in the high desert of Southern California and later moved to far Northern California. There she studied Environmental Science with a focus on Education and Interpretation at Humboldt State University. After graduating she had several jobs in outdoor education where she shared her love for the outdoors with both kids and adults. In 2020, she landed an internship with the National Park Service conducting invasive and rare plant surveys in Thousand Oaks. She started her consulting career in 2021, conducting nesting bird surveys and pre-construction surveys for special-status species. As a biologist she enjoys learning more about the wide array of plant and animal life in California.

Cheyanne grew up in Fresno, California, surrounded by agriculture and the Sierra Nevada. She earned an A.S. degree in Life Science from Clovis Community College while working as a field technician for the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). During her time with NEON, she gained hands-on experience with various flora and fauna survey and monitoring protocols in the Sierra Nevada. Cheyanne then transferred to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she earned a B.S. in Environmental Management and Protection. As an undergraduate, she completed seasonal fieldwork at Harvard Forest, focusing on plant ecology research, and at Kansas State University, contributing to agronomy research. Before graduating, she also surveyed native plants at the Topaz and Gold Tree solar sites in California. In her free time, Cheyanne enjoys camping, hiking, and fishing.

Antonio brings a diverse professional background that includes experience in public safety and community reintegration, manufacturing, and retail management. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration in Strategic and Organizational Leadership. Antonio takes a well-rounded, adaptable approach to operations, focusing on supporting the team and optimizing workflow. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling, listening to Elvis Presley, and spending time with his two young sons.

Jaime grew up exploring the woods of North Carolina. She earned a B.S. in biology from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.S. from Cal Poly Pomona, where she studied the phenology and diel activity of bats in Southern California orchards. Her career began at an aquarium, but a strong interest in the outdoors and species conservation quickly drew her into field research. Before returning to school for her Master’s, she spent the next 15 years working with a range of species—including bats, sea turtles, birds, small mammals, and pinnipeds—while moving around the U.S. for various research projects. Outside of work Jaime enjoys hiking, rock climbing, and spending time with her dog.

Katherine grew up on a farm in the Central Valley, where her love of the outdoors began. Throughout her life, she has been a student of the Sierra Nevada and the treasures it holds. While attending Fresno City College she took many courses that put her on the path to a career in biology. She then transferred to Fresno State, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. During her time at Fresno State, Katherine worked as an educator for organizations such as the Fresno Chaffee Zoo and the Boy Scouts of America. After graduating from Fresno State, she worked in education as a high school biology teacher in Madera, California. As a teacher, she instilled a love for California endemic species in the hearts of many of her students. Katherine spends most of her free time fishing and creating art.

Marcus grew up in Woodland, California, just west of Sacramento. He has always been interested in animals, but especially reptiles and amphibians growing up. He attended Chico State University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in zoology. During his final year of college, he started his wildlife career as a giant garter snake technician in the Sacramento region. After graduation, he worked on a project with Oregon spotted frogs and Cascade torrent salamanders all throughout Oregon. In 2023, he took his talents to the southeastern U.S., working as a land management technician getting accustomed to southeastern herp species including the Eastern indigo snake, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and gopher tortoise. During his time in Georgia, he also became more knowledgeable on habitat restoration serving as a member of a prescribed burn crew. For the next year and a half, Marcus worked on a reticulated flatwoods salamander project on the panhandle of Florida learning more about habitat restoration, wetlands, and endangered animals. He spends most of his free time herping, playing sports, and hanging out with family and friends.

Cameron grew up spending time outdoors through his involvement in Boy Scouts of America. Those experiences left him with a great respect for nature. Having lived in Fresno his whole life, he was able to spend considerable time in the adjacent Sierra Nevada and on the Central Coast. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at California State University Fresno. His coursework included a class on fungal biology, which developed his enthusiasm for fungi. In his free time, Cameron enjoys hunting for and identifying mushrooms while hiking.

Stephanie is from Sacramento, California. As a child she spent most of her time outside, sharing her discoveries with others. Her time outdoors led to a deep desire to better understand wildlife as she grew up. Stephanie went on to attend Humboldt State University where she gained knowledge of wildlife biology, ecology, environmental science, and environmental laws. Receiving her B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and Management, she learned to identify, survey, and trap various wildlife taxa. Passionate about education, she then applied her newly developed knowledge and skills as a volunteer for the Sacramento Wildlife Rehabilitation Program. There she gave community presentations addressing ways to minimize disturbance to threatened and endangered species in Humboldt County. Her passion for wildlife motivates her to help others feel just as inspired about wildlife and hopeful about the future.

Rebekah was born and raised in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, where she spent many hours catching tadpoles and playing in wildflower fields as a kid. After switching her major from English to biology, she took a field biology course at Fresno City College that further inspired her to study and protect the unique native flora and fauna of California. While getting her B.S. in Biology at CSU Fresno, she completed a conservation internship at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. She helped release and monitor captive-bred blunt-nosed leopard lizards on the Panoche Plateau in a historic program to prevent this genetically unique population from going extinct. In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, going on nature walks, and spending time with family and friends. 

Emily grew up in Vermont, where the Green Mountains compelled her passion for the natural world. Having family in Fresno, she got to explore the local area and nearby Yosemite and Sequoia national parks and the central coast. Emily received an Associate of Science in Environmental Science from the Community College of Vermont. She then graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife & Fisheries Biology from the University of Vermont. After graduating, Emily spent three years working field positions in Vermont, California, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho. These involved public outreach and environmental property assessments, trail maintenance, ecological restoration, vegetation monitoring, and small mammal trapping and handling of the Northern Idaho ground squirrel, Columbian ground squirrel, and yellow-pine chipmunk. In her free time, Emily enjoys traveling, camping, reading, and baking.

Steven was born in Northern California and grew up splitting time between the deserts of Arizona and the redwoods of Northern California. During summer, his family vacationed at Lake Shasta, where Steven hiked, fished, and wakeboarded. His love of the outdoors led him to get a degree in biology from Arizona State University. After college, Steven worked as a ranger for a state park in Arizona. He then moved to Oregon, where he helped maintain public lands by fixing fences, educating the public, and monitoring fish populations. Steven spent two seasons in Colorado working on various public lands where he helped maintain trails, led an invasive vegetation removal program, and assisted with rare plant surveys, seed collection, plant propagation, and habitat restoration. Steven also worked as an interpretive park ranger in Wyoming, where he educated visitors about the dynamic ecosystem. Steven recently worked as a horticulturalist at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo as well as a field technician for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). While working for CDFW on the Nutria Eradication Program, Steven was responsible for setting field cameras, trapping, and surveying wetlands, rivers, and riparian areas in Stanislaus, Merced, and Fresno counties by foot, boat, and kayak. In his free time, Steven likes to hike, kayak, and snowboard.

Madison grew up in Sarasota, Florida where she spent most of her childhood catching lizards and swimming at the beach. She attended the University of North Florida where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology with a focus on ecology. Madison completed a master’s thesis on American alligator nesting patterns in urban contexts. She enjoys working with all species but is especially interested in reptiles and birds. When not working, she spends time with her dog and travels as much as possible. Madison is passionate about making science more accessible to the public and getting the local community involved in public lands.