Members in good standing of Golden Gate Bird Alliance are eligible to vote for candidates for the Board of Directors. You may vote for up to eight candidates. Ballots must be received by June 30, 2013.

Candidates are nominated for three-year terms that will end in 2016. Their biographies are below.

Karim Al-Khafaji

Karim joined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Board of Directors in 2010. He is currently on the Nominating and Development committees. Karim also served as a chapter representative on the National Audubon Society’s strategic planning process and currently serves on Audubon California’s Chapter Network strategic planning committee. In March 2013, Karim was elected to serve as the Pan-Flyway Regional Director for the National Audubon Society. Karim has a PhD in Ecology from Stanford University and bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Civil Engineering from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He works as a strategy consultant with The Bridgespan Group, which provides strategic planning resources to nonprofit groups.

Jack Dumbacher

Jack joined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Board of Directors in 2010. Jack is the chair and curator of the Department of Ornithology and Mammology at the California Academy of Sciences. Among many honors and positions, Jack is a Professor of Biology at San Francisco State University and was a research associate with the Smithsonian Research Center. Jack has a PhD in Ecology of Evolution from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in General Biology from Vanderbilt University.  Jack is currently chair of GGBA’  San Francisco Conservation Committee.

Alan Harper

Alan joined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Board of Directors in 2010. Alan is a biologist and photographer with a passion for plants and animals of “the Californias.” He is a founder of Terra Peninsular, AC, a Mexican land conservation organization based in Ensenada, which is working to protect the peninsula of Baja California. Currently working on a book about the natural history of Baja, Alan has published scientific papers on that region and featured it in a portfolio of large-format landscape images. He is a founding board member of the California Institute for Biodiversity. Alan received a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a PhD in zoology from the University of Washington, studying mathematical models of evolution. Alan serves as chair of the Finance Committee, and serves on the Development and Executive Committees.

John Muir “Jack” Laws

Jack joined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Board of Directors. A well-known environmental educator and artist, Jack is the author of  The Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada (2007) and the Laws Guide to Drawing Birds (2012), among other books. Jack leads trips and holds workshops on illustration and nature journaling around the Bay Area.  He received a B.S. in conservation and resource studies from U.C. Berkeley and a Master’s in wildlife biology from the University of Montana, as well as a degree in scientific illustration from U.C. Santa Cruz.  Jack is also a research associate at the California Academy of Sciences. In 2010, he was the TogetherGreen Conservation Leadership Fellow with the National Audubon Society. Jack chairs the Youth Education Committee.

Bob Lewis

Bob rejoined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Board of Directors in 2012. Bob spent 33 years at Chevron Corp. as a scientist and manager, overseeing a 60-person staff and $15 million budget. He is one of the Bay Area’s leading birding instructors, teaching classes on Bay Area Birds, Bird Migration, and Birds of the Sierra.  Bob serves on the board of the Farallon Foundation and is a coordinator of the Oakland Christmas Bird Count, in which he has been a participant for over 25 years. A GGBA field trip leader, he has taken part in several county breeding bird surveys and is an expert bird and wildlife photographer. Bob received a B.S. in chemistry from Carnegie Institute of Technology and a Master’s and PhD in organic chemistry from Princeton University. Bob chairs the Adult Education Committee.

Michael Lozeau

Mike joined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Board of Directors in 2010. He is a partner in the law firm Lozeau Drury LLP, an Oakland-based firm that specializes in representing nonprofit and community groups in environmental matters. Mike is a graduate of the Rutgers Law School at Newark. He served as the Executive Director of Waterkeepers Northern California and was a staff attorney with the EarthJustice Environmental Law Clinic at Stanford and a lecturer at the Stanford Law school. Mike serves on the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Conservation Committee.

Sarah Peterman

Sarah first joined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Board of Directors in 2010. She is a partner with the law firm of Farella Braun + Martel, with a focus on environmental and natural resource litigation and counseling. Sarah attended the Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, where she served as a legal intern with San Francisco Baykeeper. After law school, she was a judicial extern for the Honorable Maxine Chesney of the Northern District of California. She currently serves on the board’s Conservation, Communication and Audit Committees. Prior to law school, Sara received an A.B. from Princeton University.

Jay Pierpont

Jay joined the Golden Gate Bird Alliance Board of Directors in 2010. Jay manages the Equilibrium Capital Group’s product development and marketing departments. He is a strong supporter of sustainable, impact investment. Jay is the current chair of Golden Gate Bird Alliance’s Development Committee. Jay has a B.S. in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University and a M.M. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.