Cecilia M. Riley
Executive Director

A native Texan, biologist and avid bird watcher, Cecilia has committed her life's work to avian research and natural history in both North America and Latin America. Cecilia's educational background includes a B.S. in Ecology from the University of Texas at Arlington and a M.S. in Zoology from the University of Arkansas. Prior to her position at the GCBO, she spent 2 years as the state coordinator for Texas Partners in Flight and 8 years as a research associate of marine studies at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.

Currently, Cecilia's professional efforts focus on the conservation issues associated with the protection of migratory songbirds and stopover habitat in the ecologically important Gulf of Mexico region.

John Arvin has been studying the birds of South Texas since childhood. He had a 25 year career leading birding tours throughout the Western Hemisphere with a heavy emphasis on Latin America where he has traveled through most of the countries studying birds. Since 1996 he has spent four to six months each year working as a seasonal naturalist in Manu National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Peru. Recently he worked for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department as an avian biologist in the Lower Rio Grande Valley before joining the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory in early 2005 serving as Research Coordinator. In this capacity John heads up the annual Smith Point Hawkwatch, and has developed two large scaled programs, the Texas Ivory-billed Woodpecker Survey, and the Avian International Monitoring Network.

After a rewarding career in corporate America, Carol comes to GCBO with significant experience in customer relationship building and facilitating agreements between groups with varying needs. A birder and nature enthusiast all her adult life, she has spent many hours participating in volunteer activities for habitat conservation and environmental awareness and monitoring. The opportunity to contribute at this new level is a challenge she enthusiastically welcomes. Carol has a BA in Zoology from the University of Texas at Austin.

Susan Heath
Avian Conservation Biologist

After a successful career in computer security, Susan Heath returned to school to pursue her love of avian conservation in 1999.  She received a master’s in biology from George Mason University for her work on wintering waterfowl on the Northern Virginia Piedmont and expects to finish her PhD from the same institution in the fall of 2007.  Her dissertation involves the effects of pesticides on birds that nest in agriculture in the north central states.  She is thrilled to be back in her home state of Texas after spending over 20 years in Virginia where she served as the secretary for the Virginia Avian Records Committee and worked for American Bird Conservancy while pursuing her degrees.  Susan will coordinate the Avian Site Partner Network as well as manage various research efforts.

Karen McBride
Office Manager

Our new Office Manager, Karen McBride, is a native Texan who has lived out of the state for nearly 30 years before returning in 2006.  She grew up in the Dallas area, attended the University of Texas at Austin and North Texas State College, and has had many years of experience as an Office Manager in varied settings.   Karen is an avid birder who has traveled all over the world chasing birds, was a guide and birding tour leader in Arizona for eight years, and has headed up a number of birding clubs.  She loves to talk "birds" with anyone and will go birding at the drop of a hat!

Ben Wardwell
Field Biologist

Our Benjamin Wardwell, an Endangered Species Biologist from Black Mountain, North Carolina, will be working with GCBO’s ornithologists as a field researcher on a 12-month study of the Gulf Coast’s plovers.  Ben has a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management and Forestry from Frostburg State University in Maryland.  He spent two seasons with Cornell’s Ivory-billed Woodpecker search teams at White River NWR, and two seasons studying the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher in Arizona. GCBO’s plover study is funded by a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.  Ben will help determine the habitat characteristics preferred by wintering plovers, any threats to those habitats, and plover population size on the Upper Texas Coast in winter.