Directors

Stephanie Bowman, President

Stephanie is an artist, educator, and educational consultant impassioned to harness science, art and youth to help save natural ecosystems. She has been teaching art and science in her native Virginia and beloved Arizona (to various ages and in various capacities) for over 20 years. She also creates her own art as well as commissioned art in the forms of murals, paintings, sculpture, and commercial illustrations.  In addition to creating outreach lessons for RAEI that teach conservation via art,  Stephanie is personally involved with her own outreach program and children’s book to help save the endangered longfin eel of New Zealand.

Stephanie’s first (and still one of her best) memory was having her dad strap her in her stroller by the base of a maple tree to sit for hours watching a cicada emerge from it’s skin, fill with color, and fly away. Resume | www.bowmansart.com

Brian Ravizza, Secretary

Brian graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1999 with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolution.  His field studies include conservation work on Bison and wolves in Yellowstone National Park, Orangutans in Sumatra and he also participated in the 2008 Ecuador expedition.   Brian ran his own wildlife tour company in Costa Rica teaching adults and children about the flora and fauna of tropical ecosystems. He currently teaches Middle School Biology in the classroom and field.

Derek O'Neill, Treasurer

Derek has a B.S in Zoology from Iowa State University. He has worked in various zoological institutions across the country; sits on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Herpetological Association as well as RAEI. He attended the summer research expedition in 2008. He currently works as a research assistant in a laboratory which studies the function and organization of spinal motoneurons.

Paul Hamilton, Executive Director

Founder of RAEI, Paul holds a Master’s Degree in Biology from the University of California, Riverside, and a PhD in Biology from Arizona State University, and has conducted field studies in evolutionary, behavioral and conservation ecology both in the tropics and the desert southwest. He also has extensive experience in photography and web design, and has designed and maintains the two organizational web sites. As a previous associate faculty member at Arizona State University at the West Campus, he has a strong track-record of teaching field courses and public speaking. He is also a well published photographer, and has won acclaim for both scientific and artistic applications of photography. CV.| Email.

Ross Maynard

Ross has a B.S. in Zoology and a passion for herpetology. His field experience conducting herpetological research has taken him throughout the southeastern U.S., Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks, Saint Lucia, Mexico, and Ecuador. Ross has been active in our organization since 2007, as he has been part of multiple research expeditions and assisted with our macro photography workshops. When he isn't herping, Ross enjoys hiking, playing ping pong, collecting herp literature, and eating pumpkin pie. He is currently working as a field biologist for a consulting agency and is pursuing graduate school in the near future. 

Paul Maier

Paul holds a BSc in Ecology/Evolution and a BSc in Aquatic Biology from UC Santa Barbara. He has conducted ecological and conservation research in the Neotropics, the Caribbean, and throughout mountains and deserts of the American West, including two expeditions with RAEI. He currently resides as USGS Biologist and GIS Director for RAEI.

Nathalie Aall

Nathalie received her M.Sc. in biological sciences with a concentration in herpetology in May 2011. Her graduate thesis comprised of a six month seasonal movement study involving radio telemetry of the Eastern Box Turtle in West Virginia. Her main research interests include behavioral ecology, wildlife conservation, and natural history. Nathalie’s current goals involve utilizing both her scientific and artistic background to promote RAEI. Other activities she is interested in are observing animals in their natural habitat, painting said animals, baking with interesting ingredients, and traveling for new adventures.

Marisa Still

Marisa has a B.A. in Nature and Culture with a focus in Bioregionalism from UC Davis.  She spent four years working in the field of environmental education traveling throughout the ecosystems of California to learn and teach about what makes those systems unique and participated in the interpretive development program as an Associate Naturalist at Grand Canyon National Park.  Marisa also learned about our food systems through her work at two Bay Area organic farms.  As an elementary science and garden teacher, Marisa works to build connections between her students and the natural world, hoping to inspire students to preserve and protect that which sustains them.  

Anita Shaul

Anita’s passion for photography, wildlife, languages, and adventure meshes well with RAEI’s mission and she is excited to assist with photo management, workshop promotion, and Board responsibilities.  She holds a B.S. in Biology from Portland State University and over 25 years experience as a professional aquatic biologist with an emphasis on amphibians. She is fluent in French, Spanish, and highly competent in American Sign Language. She lived and worked in Switzerland for two years, and also visited Guatemala six times, working and leading a team on community development and education. Most recently, Anita joined RAEI in the field in both a photo workshop and a research expedition.

Board of Advisors

Tanner Harvey

Tanner graduated from Bowdoin College in December of 2009 with an undergraduate degree in neuroscience.  Currently living in New Orleans as a full time volunteer at the Audubon Zoo, Tanner plans on attending veterinary school in fall of 2013.  Tanner has studied ecology previously in Tanzania and has assisted the organization with their research in the coastal and amazonian forests of Ecuador.  He is currently organizing a research expedition to take place in March of 2012 to the dry forests of southern Ecuador as well as producing a cohesive first response and evacuation policy regarding medical emergencies in the field.

Tim Christensen

Tim Christensen is a natural resources manager in Virginia where he also serves as the Conservation Committee Chair of the Virginia Herpetological Society.  His education includes a BS in biology from State University of NY at Geneseo, MS in management from Troy University and MS in community health from Old Dominion University.  Currently, he is pursuing another graduate degree in entomology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and plans to do some field research on neotropical ectoparasites of herpetofauna in the near future.

Michael Lustbader

Michael brings a lifelong interest and keen skills to RAEI’s photography programs. Over the past 30 years, Michael’s images of the natural world have been published by National Geographic Publications, Audubon, Sierra Club, Eastman Kodak, Oxford Scientific Films, and literally hundreds of other book, calendar, and paper products, world-wide. Michael has exhibited and lectured at various venues across North America. His work is represented by Photo Researchers and The Image Finders. He is a member of numerous professional societies and studied at The Rochester Institute of Technology and Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Michael coauthored  “Close-up Photography--Capturing Nature’s Intimate Landscapes” and “How to Photograph Close-ups in Nature”. He also just completed “Butterfly Dreams—The Seasons through Haiku and Photographs”, a compilation of his images with original translations of traditional Japanese haiku. When not photographing, Michael is a practicing Urologist in western Pennsylvania.  Michael’s Website

Gaye Hamilton, Finance Director

Gaye is retired from a career in corporate accounting and finance. Her education includes an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley and she holds CPA certification. She brings these important money management skills to the organization which is otherwise comprised of individuals whose skills lie elsewhere. She is a lifelong hiker, camper, and supporter of environmental causes and has been on one of our trips to Ecuador and is looking forward to another in the near future.

Dale DeNardo

Dale received his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.  Dale is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.  His teaching and research interests center on environmental physiology, with particular interest in the how organisms utilize their environment for critical resources and how environmental conditions influence physiology and behavior.  His predominant study species are lizards and snakes. His research and field courses have led him to numerous field locations around the world including deserts and tropical forests. Website.

William Boarman

Bill has a Ph.D. in Ecology from Rutgers University studying the evolution of bird song. He now focuses his research on the conservation and ecology of desert tortoises, a threatened species, in the Mojave Desert of California, and ecology and management common ravens, a predator on young desert tortoises. He specializes on tortoise translocations, threats to tortoise populations, road ecology, and effectiveness monitoring. Surveying common raven populations and their nests near energy projects are two of his most recent raven projects, but he has also conducted research on their movements, demography, and foraging ecology.  He worked as a Wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey for 15 years and now owns his own company providing science and technical support to government agencies, non-profits, and private entities.  Bill loves traveling, techno and trance music, and hanging with his awesome wife and kids.  CV | conservation-science.com.