The INSTITUTE for BIRD POPULATIONS
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IBP‘S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 
Martin Bern Photo
Martin Bern, President
Martin Bern is a litigation partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco. He obtained a law degree from Berkeley Law in 1990, a Master's degree from UC Berkeley in Political Science in 1986, and a Bachelor's degree from Tufts University in International Relations and Economics in 1984. Martin previously served as President of the Board of the Truckee Donner Land Trust during an aggressive period of land acquisition and preservation in the Northern Sierra. He also served two terms as an elected Director of the Sierra Lakes County Water District. Recently, Martin has provided pro bono representation to Ventana Wildlife Society in connection with efforts to protect California Condors from poisoning by lead bullets, and the California Native Plant Society in connection with efforts to protect Live Oak trees threatened by proposed development. He joined the IBP Board in 2019.
Andrea Jones Photo
Andrea Jones
Andrea Jones is the Senior Director of Conservation for Audubon California. Andrea leads Audubon’s conservation programs and works with staff and the network of Audubon chapters across the state to implement conservation projects across California’s landscapes and at high priority Important Bird Areas. She oversees Audubon California's efforts in priority bird species and serves as a spokeswoman for bird conservation across California. Prior to Audubon California, Andrea worked at Massachusetts Audubon where she served as the Director of the Coastal Waterbird Program. Andrea received her M.S. in Wildlife Conservation / Ornithology and her B.S. in Wildlife Biology and Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Rodd Kelsey Photo
Rodd Kelsey
Rodd currently leads the wildlife-friendly agriculture strategy for the Water Program of The Nature Conservancy in California. In this work, Rodd focuses on developing approaches to rebalance water use and agricultural management to deliver habitat migratory birds need when and where they need it most in ways that also create multiple other benefits for people and nature. Rodd provides strategic leadership, fundraising, and support for a portfolio of demonstration projects, scientific research, tool development, and policy engagements. By training Rodd is an avian ecologist and conservation scientist. He has a B.A. in environmental conservation at the University of Colorado, an M.S. in biology at California State University, Long Beach, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. Rodd has studied birds all over the western U.S. as well as in Costa Rica and Venezuela.
Dayna Mauer Photo
Dayna Mauer, Secretary
Dayna Mauer started her relationship with IBP in 2006 as an intern. Looking for opportunities to further her birding knowledge and interest, she applied to survey for Great Gray Owls in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. She has since continued working on many projects, including Willow Flycatcher surveys in Yosemite National Park and IBP’s initial pilot study to survey for Black-backed Woodpeckers. In 2016 she joined the IBP Board of Directors. Dayna balances time at IBP with her regular job being an Emmy-nominated special effects compositor for television shows.
Deborah Mills Photo
Deborah Mills, Treasurer
Deborah Joined IBP in 2016 as Chief Financial Officer and was elected Treasurer in 2019. She retired at the end of 2024 to become an International Woman of Mystery. Deborah is a Certified Financial Planner and has spent 30 years building businesses. Her passion lives in finance, technology and operations. Her mission: making the world a better place. Deborah is a nomad, an avid environmentalist and bird lover.
Rodney Siegel Photo
Rodney Siegel
Rodney joined IBP in 1998 as a research scientist, after completing his B.A. at Yale and his Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis. He was appointed Executive Director in 2008. Rodney's research interests include effects of fire and forest management on birds, conservation of meadow birds in the Sierra Nevada, ecology and conservation of owls, and effects of climate change on forest birds. He is particularly interested in research that has practical applications for management and conservation. Rodney has published approximately 75 papers in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored multiple conservation strategies for California birds. Phone (707) 789-3224.
Thomas Smith Photo
Thomas Smith
Thomas B. Smith is the founder and co-director of the Congo Basin Institute (CBI), the founding director of the Center for Tropical Research, and a distinguished professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Institute of Environment and Sustainably at UCLA. A central focus of Smith’s research is investigating how biodiversity is generated and maintained in tropical rainforests. The results of his research point to new and more effective ways of prioritizing regions for conservation. His research also focuses on studying evolution in human-altered environments, the ecology of animal and human diseases, the conservation of migratory birds, and developing new approaches for mitigating the impacts of climate change. He currently co-directs the Bird Genoscape Project and oversees numerous research projects, and directs the research of graduate students and postdoctoral and senior researchers on projects worldwide.