Board of Directors and Founders

HOLLY ERNEST, DVM, PhD - Holly Ernest is a Wildlife Ecologist, Geneticist, Veterinarian, and a faculty member in the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis. Her research interests are in hummingbird population health, genetics, and diseases. Details about her research & teaching at http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/wildlife

ANN GOSLINE, JD - Ann Gosline is a mediator and facilitator who works with govenment agencies, non-profits and other entities to develop solutions to natural resource and other public policy issues.  She lives in Litchfield, Maine and Patagonia, Arizona. 

NANCY KAUFMAN - Info coming soon.

GEORGE WEST, PhD - George is Professor of Zoophsiology, Emeritus from the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he conducted research on arctic and subarctic birds, mammals, plants, and taiga and tundra ecosystems. Living in Arizona since 1996, he is conducting population research on hummingbirds, writing books, and illustrating scientific and popular biological publications. Details of hummingbird research and illustrations at http://www.birchsidestudios.com

SUSAN WETHINGTON, PhD - Susan is Executive Director and Science/Monitoring Coordinator of HMN and a hummingbird population biologist. Her interests are in conservation issues for the family Trochilidae, long-term monitoring of hummingbird species and detecting their population trends, inter-relationships between hummingbird nest success with raptor nest attempts, ageing and sexing of hummingbirds based on plumage characters, effect of nectar availability on hummingbird abundance and movement patterns, and energetics of hummingbird flight. For recent publications see Projects under Education on this web site.

Biographical Sketches of the three HMN Founders:

SUSAN M. WETHINGTON, Ph.D.
Education: BA Mathematics, Texas Tech University, 1976; MA Mathematics, University of Arizona, 1978; MS Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona 1995; Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona 2000.
Experience: Development Engineer/Programmer at IBM, 1978-1996; Ph.D. Student at University of Arizona 1991-2000; Research Associate at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2001-2004; Executive Director of the Hummingbird Monitoring Network, 2002-present.
Current Research. Envisioned and is building the Hummingbird Monitoring Network (HMN), a science-based, project-driven conservation program for hummingbirds. Leads the monitoring program, is responsible for management and analysis of monitoring data, and for training hummingbird banders in Arizona; working with botanist Meg Quinn to define HMN’s botany program that focuses on mapping and estimating abundance of hummingbird nectar resources in southeastern Arizona; working with Dr. C. D. Becker to preserve portions of the Fog Forest in western Ecuador and to monitor hummingbird populations there. 
Publications: During her professional career with IBM, she has two patents and several technical reports. Since becoming an avian ecologist, she has published or in the process of publishing ten manuscripts.
Current Memberships: American Ornithologists’ Union; Western Field Ornithologists; Western Bird-Banding Association; Society of Conservation Biologists; Southwest Naturalists; North American Banding Council (Certified to train others to band hummingbirds); National Audubon Society; The Nature Conservancy; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

GEORGE C. WEST, Ph.D.
Education: BA Biology, Middlebury College, 1953; MS Zoology, University of Illinois, 1956;  Ph.D. Physiological Ecology, University of Illinois, 1958.
Experience: Postdoctoral fellowship in metabolism and heat regulation of birds at the National Research Council of Canada, 1959 – 60; Assistant Professor, Ecology, Ornithology, University of Rhode Island, 1960 – 63; Professor of Zoophysiology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1963 – 1984; Emeritus Professor 1984 – present. Director, The Biome Center, Univ. Alaska (Int’l Biol. Program) 1970 – 79; Dean and Director, Division of Life Sciences and the Institute of Arctic Biology, Univ. Alaska, 1974 – 77; Fellow Alexander von Humbolt Stiftung at the Max Planck Institute fur Verhaltensphysiologie, Erling-Andechs, Germany, 1971 – 72; Vice President Academic Affairs, Univ. Alaska Statewide System, 1980 – 1984. President, Board of Directors, Pratt Museum, Homer, AK 1986 – 1996, Acting Museum Director 1996. Editor, Univ. Alaska Press, 1978 – 84; Kachemak Bay Bird Watch, 1987 – 1997; Canyon Chatter, Friends of Madera Canyon, AZ, 2004 – present.
Publications: Over 120 publications (mostly in scientific journals), books, and popular articles dealing with bird populations, habitat conservation, bird migration, and their ecology, energetics, thermoregulation, foods, fat deposition and fatty acid distribution, and circadian rhythms, structure and function of tundra and taiga ecosystems, lipids and fatty acids of marine mammals and plants. Research using banding of passerines and shorebirds conducted since 1960 and hummingbirds since 1999. Over 2,000 illustrations, paintings, and drawings, mostly related to birds and produced for others, some sold, most donated, and many available on the web.
Current Research: Hummingbird banding research as part of the Hummingbird Monitoring Network program at Miller Canyon, Huachuca Mts., AZ from 2000 – 2003, at Madera Canyon, Santa Rita Mts, AZ from 2002 – present, and at Arivaca from 2004 – 2006.
Current Memberships: Arctic Institute of North America (fellow); American Ornithologists’ Union (life fellow); Western Bird-Banding Association (Editorial Advisory Board); American Birding Association; The Nature Conservancy; Western Field Ornithologists, Tucson and National Audubon Societies.

BARBARA A. CARLSON
Education: BS Biology, University of California, Riverside, 1978 MA Biology University of California, Riverside, 1983.
Experience: Programmer/Analyst for Research and Development for General Dynamics – 1963-1975, Biological consultant for Tierra Madre Consultants and self employed 1983-1986, Community College Instructor – part-time for Riverside, Victorville, and San Jacinto Community Colleges 1984-1988, Reserve director for three reserves for the University of California’s Natural Reserve System.
Current Research:  Coordinator of California’s Sites for the Hummingbird Monitoring Network. 
Publications: Seven articles on sparrow ecology and hummingbird ecology.
Current Memberships: Field Ornithology, Western Field Ornithologists; Western Bird-Banding Association