Audubon Vermont, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect birds, wildlife and their habitat through engaging people of all ages in education, conservation, stewardship and action, is pleased to welcome Ellen Martinsen, Research Biologist; John Roe, Project Manager for the Institute of Applied Agriculture and Food Systems at VTC; Charlie Rattigan, Senior Advisor and Co-Founder of Green Mountain Digital; William Post, Retired Estate and Tax Lawyer at Gravel and Shea; and Curt Alpeter, Executive Vice President of MyWebGrocer, Inc., to their board of directors.
“Our board set out one year ago to bring to Audubon Vermont, board members that are distinguished for their leadership and achievements. It is with enthusiasm that we welcome our five newest board members to the Audubon family,” stated Peter Ross, VP and Executive Director of Audubon Vermont.
Ellen Martinsen
Ellen Martinsen is a biologist and nature enthusiast with a lifelong interest in and involvement with bird health and conservation. Ellen has conducted field work on a number of conservation-based bird research projects in Vermont, New Hampshire, Washington D.C., California, Hawaii, and the Dominican Republic. Her formal training includes a B.S. and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Vermont with a focus on ecology, evolution, ornithology, and conservation biology. After completing her Ph.D., Ellen worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, where she was stationed at the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. As part of her postdoctoral work, she worked on a collaborative project studying the pathogens that pose a threat to immunologically naïve bird populations. Ellen now continues research on a variety of bird related projects as a research associate at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.
John Roe
John Roe graduated from Dartmouth and received a Master’s in ecology and evolution from the University of Florida. John headed the conservation and stewardship program of the Vermont Nature Conservancy for almost 20 years where he was deeply involved in ecological forest management, including over a decade on the management team of the 25,000 acre Atlas Timberland Partnership.
John has done research in Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, has been involved in land conservation real estate for over 30 years, and is currently involved in affordable housing projects and also is the Project Manager of the Institute for Applied Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Technical College. A Bullard Fellowship at Harvard last year gave John the opportunity to nearly finish the first draft of a book in progress on the ecological management of northern hardwoods.
Charlie Rattigan
Charles F. Rattigan is Senior Advisor and Co-Founder in 2009 of Green Mountain Digital, America’s leading publisher of digital field guides for nature and outdoor enthusiasts. He managed the team of designers, scientists, and software engineers in the creation of Audubon portfolio of 30 plus mobile apps across platforms including iOS, Android, Google Play, Amazon, HP, Nook, and Windows 8. Charlie is also responsible for all content development and acquisition including contract negations with a variety of content suppliers. The Audubon Guides apps have been downloaded over 1,000,000 times by consumers. He is an awarding-winning producer, director, and writer of film and video with an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Imaging Arts.
Charlie’s television productions have been distributed worldwide and appeared on PBS, ESPN, and National Geographic Channel. His documentary productions for the National Park Service, the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation, and others have been seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers. Charlie has been nominated for an Emmy and has received three Telly awards (2007, 2008, and 2009) for Outstanding Creative Use of Media among other awards.
William G. Post, Jr.
William G. Post Jr. was until January of this year, a member of the Burlington law firm of Gravel and Shea. He received his B.A. degree from Colby College and his J.D. degree from New York University School of Law. Bill is the author of How You Can Benefit From the New Tax Laws published by Little, Brown & Company in November 1981. Bill has practiced exclusively in the areas of estate planning and administration for 42 years, 40 of which have been in Vermont. Bill is a member of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, and is former Vermont State Chair of that Counsel. Bill has served on numerous boards over the years, most notably the Vermont Counsel on the Arts, the Vermont Mozart Festival (President, 1986) Champlain College (Chair, 2003-2005), and Burlington City Arts. Bill retired from the active practice of law at the end of 2013.
Curt Alpeter
Curt Alpeter is Executive Vice President at MyWebGrocer, Inc, an internet software company based in Winooski, Vt. He owns a small hobby farm, Staige Hill Farm which is currently part of Champlain Valley Bird Initiative project run by Audubon Vermont. His farm is also part of a multi-year study on the impacts of habitat on migratory songbirds. In addition to professional interests in technology and digital marketing, Curt’s passions lie in land, wildlife and habitat conservation and all things Vermont; from farming to food/cooking to the environment. Curt is a past Vice President of the Charlotte Land Trust Board of Directors as well as a past board member of the North Country Federal Credit Union. Curt holds a BS in Marketing from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.