KBO Staff

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – As Klamath Bird Observatory co-founder, John works with KBO’s Board of Directors, Research Advisor, Science Director, Outreach and Science Communications Specialist, and Executive Administrator overseeing all aspects of the organization’s efforts.

As Director of Conservation, Jaime integrates a foundation of forest ecology, bird conservation priorities, and regional avian science to inform land management decisions. She collaborates with a diverse suite of partners to guide resource management strategies and conservation actions that improve outcomes for birds and ecosystems.

DIRECTOR’S ASSISTANT AND ADMINISTRATOR Jacob joined KBO in September of 2016 after moving to Ashland from the San Francisco Bay area in California. He wears many hats as the Office Administrator, including assisting the Executive Director. Jacob received a BA in Economics from the University of California, Davis in 2015.

RESEARCH BIOLOGIST Sarah manages several KBO programs monitoring birds at riparian and coniferous restoration sites, and studying the ecology of specific bird species of conservation concern. She uses multiple methodologies in her research, including point counts, spot-mapping, nest-searching, and new technology such as archival GPS tags; analyzes data; and delivers results to diverse audiences.

As Science Director, Ryan will lead the development, design, and review of monitoring and research studies, including long-term monitoring, effectiveness monitoring, and theoretical research; oversee staff leading long-term bird banding (25+ year dataset), long-term monitoring, and applied ecology studies using point count methodology, and full-lifecycle limiting factors research focused on single species using multiple methodologies; advance KBO’s robust body of science focused on bird populations and their response to management and/or restoration of shrub-steppe, western forests, oak woodlands, riparian, and montane meadows of Oregon and northern California; and contribute to forest collaboratives, provide expertise specific to bird conservation and the application of birds as focal species to inform planning and evaluate success.

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, OUTREACH, AND DEI MANAGER Elva joined KBO in December 2021. She works closely with the KBO team to communicate their work across social media platforms, websites, and news outlets. She leads outreach projects involving the local and international community with bird conservation. Elva helps lead KBO’s DEI mission internally and with our partners. 

Tom McLaren joined KBO in October 2022 to support the Point-Count Program focused on the long-term monitoring of bird populations. He received his MS in Biology from the University of Colorado Denver in May 2022. His research focused on understanding Clark’s nutcracker habitat use in Yellowstone National Park, particularly concerning the species’ coevolved mutualism with whitebark pine.

RESEARCH BIOLOGIST Caitlyn joined KBO in August 2016 to assist with ongoing research, including the oak habitat conservation and species distribution modeling projects.

Sam joined KBO in January 2023 as part of the Point-Count program to assist in project support and conducting field surveys for KBO’s long term avian monitoring project. In 2020 she graduated from Portland State university with a BS in Biology, where she focused on avian ecology and wildlife conservation. Sam first joined KBO in 2021 as part of a project working with Oregon Vesper sparrows and earned her NABC Bander certification through KBO’s banding program.

INFORMATICS SPECIALIST Ellie helps manage KBO’s data and assists in organizing and running multiple projects during the field season including; the Trinity River project, the Point Count field season and Community Science effort. Ellie started as a KBO intern in April 2013 when she joined the field crew for the Trinity River Restoration Program.