Mike Powers grew up in Pittsford and went on to work as a conservation biologist at Cornell, where he lead eBird and conducted pioneering research into migration using acoustic monitoring technologies.
Jeff Bouton started by counting hawks at Braddock Bay, and is now the manager of Birding and Nature Markets at Leica Sport Optics.
Clay Taylor spent several years birding in Rochester during college. In 1999, he was hired by Swarovski Optik to be “their birder”. He is now the Naturalist Market Manager for Swarovski Optik.
Brett Ewald started by counting hawks at Braddock Bay then eventually started his own tour company. He currently works as the Program Director for the Cape May Bird Observatory / New Jersey Audubon.
Jessie Barry grew up in Greece, NY and is an expert birder at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She led the development of the Merlin ID program, and is now the program manager for the Macauley Library.
Greg Lawrence was active with New York State Young Birders’ Club before a masters degree in environmental science at SUNY Brockport. He is currently a research scientist in the Department of Environmental Science & Ecology at the College of Brockport where he manages multiple wetland restoration and monitoring grants.
Emily (Pipher) Angell grew up in Greece, NY and spent six years managing a colony of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. She currently works for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Florida.
