President: Tiffany Whitsitt-Odell

I have enjoyed the past year serving as President-Elect alongside a strong Central Coast Chapter Board that has worked hard to provide more opportunities for our membership. I look forward to serving as your Chapter President. I have worked to ensure events are hosted in Santa Barbara County and I want to work to continue that effort as our chapter grows. I have enjoyed getting to meet many of you at events or via email and want to continue to hear from you about what kind of opportunities you would like to see the Chapter offer.

Contact: President.CCCCTWS@gmail.com

President Elect: Sara Snyder

I have served on the California Central Coast Chapter Board as the Chapter Representative to the Western Section for the past two years and am excited to serve as President Elect. While on the Board I have worked to strengthen our relationship with the Western Section and have worked with the other members of our Board to provide new events for our membership. While serving as President Elect, I will continue to expand our Chapter’s presence in Monterey County with field trips and more lecture series. I look forward to working with our Monterey County members to make this happen.

Contact: PresidentElect.CCCCTWS@gmail.com

Chapter Representative/Past-President: Clint Scheuerman

Having served as CCCC TWS President over the past year, I look forward to serving as Past President and Chapter Representative. The California Central Coast Chapter Board has achieved great cohesiveness and fluidity the past few years and we look forward to expanding our reach and opportunities for members.

Contact: Representative.CCCCTWS@gmail.com

Secretary: John Perrine

I am a professor in the Biological Sciences Department at Cal Poly. I teach a number of courses in the “wildlife ecology and conservation” curriculum, including Wildlife Management, Wildlife Ecology, Mammalogy, Conservation Biology, and a summer course on field techniques in wildlife ecology. I conduct field research along with my students on mammals of conservation concern, including Channel Island fox, mountain lions, black bears, wild hogs, American pika, and giant kangaroo rats. I also manage the Cal Poly mammal and bird specimen collection and am the faculty advisor for the Cal Poly Wildlife Club. I have been involved with TWS-Western Section for more than 15 years, including serving on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal Western Wildlife, chairing technical sessions at the annual conference, and participating in several working groups and committees.

Contact: cacentralcoastchaptertws@gmail.com

Treasurer: Michaela Koenig

I have served on the TWS California Central Coast Chapter Board for four years, two as Secretary, one as President, and one as Past President. In that time I have worked diligently to establish a current chapter roster, chapter website, developed our outreach program, grow membership, obtain chapter awards, and help build an excellent Executive Board. My goals are to help streamline accounting, provide transparency in our Chapter finances, and to increase student member travel grant opportunities and research grants by growing our working budget.

Contact: Treasurer.CCCCTWS@gmail.com

This is my first year serving on the board as the Professional Development Chair and have enjoyed getting to know our members and helping to provide fun and practical workshops and events that our members desire. I have a Masters Degree in Sustainability from Arizona State University and currently manage multiple business ventures with my significant other. I have also had opportunities to work as a consultant for HelpingRhinos.org, an educator at an AZA accredited sanctuary and as an educator and manager at sustainable wineries in California that has contributed to my unique perspective and skill set. The majority of my focus has been pulled to conservation manager’s perceptions of conservation technologies and their respective environments and how that impacts their decisions. I spent time in South Africa researching the previously mentioned regarding the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in rhino conservation and protection. I look forward to continuing to help provide memorable and useful experiences for all of you, here on the central coast.

Contact: PDC.CCCCTWS@gmail.com

Contact: CAC.CCCCTWS@gmail.com

I am a recent graduate from the University of California Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolution. I am currently working full time as a Junior Environmental Planner and am a graduate student at Colorado State University’s online program getting a Masters in Natural Resource Stewardship with an emphasis in Ecological Restoration. I am pretty new to The Wildlife Society and am so excited for the opportunity to be a part of the Chapter!

Contact: Media.CCCCTWS@gmail.com

If you are interested in chairing this position please contact Tiffany Whitsitt-Odell at President.CCCCTWS@gmail.com.

Andrea is a wildlife biologist with a background in marine mammal research. Her Master’s thesis focused on humpback whale habitat modeling and reducing ship strike risk in the Bay Area and her undergraduate thesis focused on harbor porpoise habitat use in British Columbia. She has contributed to a variety of other projects researching harbor seals in Point Reyes National Seashore, monitoring gray whales along the coast of California, studying Irrawaddy dolphins in Thailand, and aerial and boat-based monitoring of large whales species such as blue whales at risk of ship strike in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Andrea enjoys biking, SUPing, horseback riding and scuba diving. She is a new member of The Wildlife Society and is thrilled to be a part of the team.

Contact: Newsletter.CCCCTWS@gmail.com