Board of Directors

Michigan Audubon’s Board of Directors

Michigan Audubon is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The board serves to support and advance the Michigan Audubon mission. As a group, board members provide organizational leadership by developing and reviewing board policies, communicating with the executive director, and monitoring the organization’s finances.

The Board meets a minimum of six times per year and allows participation and voting via teleconference technology. An annual Board retreat takes place in March.

The job of the individual board member is to participate as part of the board team to accomplish the mission of the organization; “Connecting Birds and People for the Benefit of Both.” Each board member represents a community perspective to Michigan Audubon and is expected to represent Michigan Audubon in the community, communicating organizational goals and successes. We meet at least quarterly, and most years we meet bi-monthly. We are a passionate group of volunteer professionals committed to providing oversight of organizational operations through direct monitoring of our Executive Director (via Policy Governance). Serving on the Board is a responsibility we take seriously, and our oversight responsibilities require time and energy. However, to a person, we enjoy one another’s fellowship in pursuing a common goal, and we have a considerable amount of fun in doing it. If you are interested in finding out more about our Board, or serving on it, please write to birds@michiganaudubon.org.

	Ray Stocking (Board Chair) is a former president of the Washtenaw Audubon Society and a passionate bird watcher. He works at Cisco Corporation in the Global Security Sales Organization as a Security Enablement Manager. Ray lives in Ann Arbor and birds there--and everywhere.
	Anne Brasie (Board Vice Chair) has been on our Board since 2014. She has worked in nonprofit marketing, management and fundraising for more than twenty years, including positions in regional and national water quality and land protection agencies.
	Penny Meints (Board Treasurer) is Manager of IT and Payroll Services for Warmels & Comstock, PLLC in East Lansing. She has a long history with Michigan Audubon. She volunteered and worked in the Michigan Audubon office when it was located in the Kalamazoo Nature Center, led a few field trips for campouts, and served on the Board years ago. Penny lives in the DeWitt area and loves birding, botanizing and travelling Michigan.
	Mike Bishop is a professor in the Biology department at Alma College and the director of the Alma College Bird Observatory. Mike has been on and off of the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory board since 1998. Mike is also on the board of Michigan Birds and Natural History as the peer-review editor and MA Board Liaison. Aside from birds, Mike has no other interests.
	Deaver (Dea) Armstrong is a retired City of Ann Arbor Ornithologist. Dea earned her BA in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Virginia, 1972; the first class that graduated women from the university, and her MA in Avian Ecology from the University of Michigan in 1998.
	Rich Bailhe (Board Secretary) was elected to the in Board in 2014. He has worked in public schools his entire career in various capacities. He began as an upper elementary teacher, got involved in union advocacy, and then became a labor relations consultant. He has represented school boards working for the Michigan Association of School Boards and unions working for the Michigan Education Association. Currently retired, Rich has a wide variety of interests, passions, and hobbies with birding being one that he discovered in the last few years. He loves spending time with his 3 children, Ben, Monique, and Mitch.
	Diane Dupuis draws on more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit administration, with communications and fundraising leadership at arts education and environmental organizations throughout Michigan. Currently Development Director at Legacy Land Conservancy in Ann Arbor, Diane enjoys hiking, paddling, cross-country skiing, and keeping a sharp eye out for buffleheads, cedar waxwings, and black-crowned night herons.
	Natasha Koss received both a bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Northern Michigan University in wildlife biology. This led her to several biological tech positions with Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Hiawatha National Forest. Following her passion for conservation, Natasha traveled to Northwest Lower Michigan to work as an environmental consultant in the Traverse City area. Natasha’s passion for nonprofit work fully launched when she was hired as a fundraiser for the Leelanau Conservancy to protect some of the region’s most sensitive habitats. As a committed advocate for the Great Lakes, Natasha landed in Marquette with the Superior Watershed Partnership fundraising and managing a variety of watershed protection and energy projects. Also during this time Natasha sat on Marquette’s Planning Commission and served on the Board of Directors for Michigan Audubon. Currently Natasha helps small businesses start and grow as a fundraiser for nonprofit Northern Initiatives and sits on the Marquette Chamber of Commerce and Presque Isle Park Advisory Committee. Most days, Natasha can be found fully unplugged either trail running, mountain biking, or skiing with friends, husband Matt or daughter Elsa (and almost always with dog Marty) on a section of nearly 100 miles of single track trails in Marquette County.
	A Michigan native, Derrick Kooistra grew up exploring the rural landscapes of Newaygo County and currently lives in Grand Rapids where he oversees Operations and Technology at Mercantile Bank of Michigan. In addition to birding, Derrick also enjoys natural history, hiking, and gardening.
	Rosann Kovalcik has been on our board since 2013. She has owned Wild Birds Unlimited of Grosse Pointe Woods for 25 years, where she “Brings People & Nature Together”. During that time, Rosann has been bringing birds into people's lives outside her store through bird walks, donations of bird feeding supplies to nature centers, and through presenting a variety of programs geared towards attracting birds and creating backyard bird habitat. Aside from birding, Rosann enjoys camping, kayaking and spending time with her family.