In Memoriam:

Habitat Harmony is saddened by the passing of two of our long-term board members. Tish Bogan-Ozmun was a founding member of Habitat Harmony and served as the board president for many years. Jean Myers served as a board member and treasurer at Habitat Harmony. Tish and Jean were both committed advocates for wildlife and prairie dogs and devoted to the Habitat Harmony mission. They are dearly missed.

Our all-volunteer Board of Directors meets four times a year. We set direction for the organization, conduct research, raise funds, lead and assist with wildlife relocations, provide public and school education programs, conduct community outreach, participate in public decision-making processes that affect wildlife, and, until staff is hired, conduct all administrative work for the organization.

It is our policy to seek consensus, and to build cooperative relationships. It is our goal to pursue our mission in a manner that promotes a sense of community. We believe that greater good may be accomplished by a respectful approach to issues.

Treasurer - Brenda Smith earned her BS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont (1978) and MS in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from University of Arizona (1984). Her career included wildlife biologist and supervisory positions with US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Texas, Utah, and Arizona, working on wildlife habitat management on both public and private lands. For 15 years, she led the USFWS Ecological Services staff in Flagstaff, Arizona, concentrating on the conservation and management of threatened and endangered species throughout northern Arizona, including California condors, black-footed ferrets, and Mexican spotted owls. She retired in 2018. With a continued interested in the conservation of threatened, endangered, and declining species, she joined the board of Habitat Harmony in 2020.

Secretary - Erika is currently an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Earth and Sustainability and the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University, and is the owner of Erika M. Nowak Herpetological Consulting. She earned a BS in Wildlife Biology from Cornell University (1991), and a MS in Biology (1998) and a PhD in Biology (2009) from Northern Arizona University. Erika’s current research interests are in ecology, behavior, conservation, and science-based management of herpetofauna, particularly federally threatened gartersnakes and venomous reptiles. Her internationally-recognized conservation work with rattlesnakes and gartersnakes was profiled in the 2018 book American Snakes. Erika is passionate about using the results of scientific research to teach people to live in harmony with venomous predators and other wildlife. Her rattlesnake ecology and safe handling trainings for state, federal, and local agencies and private groups encourage humane handling and management of venomous snakes.

Emily (Nelson) Renn is the Executive Director for the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, a non-profit organization working to return wolves to their historic range in the Grand Canyon region. She completed her M.S. degree at Northern Arizona University in Biology with a focus on wildlife conservation biology, and B.S. in Biology with emphasis in Fish and Wildlife Management. Her graduate research focused on the survival success of translocated Gunnison's prairie dogs in the Flagstaff area, and she continues to coordinate prairie dog translocations for colonies threatened by development or destruction with Habitat Harmony. Over the past 14 years, Emily has worked as a field biological technician, researcher, and environmental educator with many species of mammals and birds in northern Arizona. She started as a volunteer with Habitat Harmony, Inc. in 2003 during the Flagstaff Mall's expansion site prairie dog relocation. Emily strongly supports Habitat Harmony's role in being an advocate and providing a voice to the "under dogs" of our wildlife neighbors.

Tyler Roberts is a Restoration Ecologist at the Institute for Applied Ecology in Oregon. Originally from Illinois, Tyler earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Oregon in 2010 and later completed a Master’s in Biology at Northern Arizona University in 2020. With a career that spans diverse ecosystems, Tyler has worked as a researcher, ecologist, and biologist on projects from Alaska to Australia. His expertise includes hands-on experience managing threatened and endangered species, as well as the restoration of degraded ecosystems. While residing in Colorado, Tyler gained experience translocating black-tailed prairie dogs in collaboration with the Prairie Dog Coalition and Colorado State University. Tyler’s deep appreciation for the critical role of these industrious ecosystem engineers drives his commitment to ensuring their conservation. He is passionate about preserving the natural world and dedicated to making a lasting impact through his work. He has been serving on the Habitat Harmony Board since 2018.

Habitat Harmony, Inc. is looking for individuals who would like to serve on our Board of Directors. Habitat Harmony is a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation founded upon the recognition of the inherent value of the natural world.  Our mission is to assist humans to live in harmony with wildlife. Learn more about our programs.

This goal is reflected in the following activity areas:  education; public policy advocacy; habitat improvement and preservation; and relocation and alternative care for displaced wildlife.  Our focus has been the prairie ecosystem of northern Arizona, with much of our resources devoted to protecting prairie dogs.

Our all-volunteer Board of Directors meets four times annually. We set direction for the organization, conduct research, raise funds, lead and assist with wildlife relocations, provide public and school education programs, conduct community outreach, participate in public decision-making processes that affect wildlife, and, until staff is hired, conduct all administrative work for the organization.

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