Learn more about the 2023 Board Nominees by reading their bios below! Election will take place at the virtual May Member Meeting– more details for that meeting coming soon.
John Bloomfield
John moved to Texas in January 2021 and has a long history of volunteering with Audubon organizations. He was Secretary and Communications Chair of New Jersey Audubon in his native state, and later served as President of Hilton Head Audubon in South Carolina, where he was also a member of the Audubon SC Board of Advisors. John was part of the 2021 Master Birder program and currently leads field trips, blogs, and serves as Travis Audubon’s Advocacy Committee Chair. In his professional life, John spent more than three decades as a global healthcare communications executive. He now serves as the communications leader for the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, a group of 45 organizations, including National Audubon and the National Wildlife Federation, dedicated to preserving the American Horseshoe Crab and the shorebirds who depend on them.
John is nominated for another three-year term on Travis Audubon’s Board of Directors..
Richard Deulofeut
Richard has been birding since taking his now-husband Matt on a surprise visit to the Rio Grande Valley in 2019. Now a Travis Audubon Master Birder, he has seen over 800 species of birds worldwide and frequently volunteers for TAS. Richard serves on Travis Audubon’s education and field trip committees, regularly leads walks at Reimers Ranch and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and co-leads Austin’s Christmas Bird Count for Area 7.
Richard is currently a vice-president at Trust Ventures, a multi-stage venture capital firm, where he leads the firm’s investment process in emerging companies and sits on several fast-growing private-sector company boards. He holds a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Chicago.
In addition to loving conservation efforts in all its forms, Richard loves birding by ear, using data to forecast optimal birding days, and cracking a few jokes on the trail. You won’t “r-egret” joining him for a few hours on his next walk!
Richard is nominated to complete two years of a three-year term for a departing Board member.
Chris Garza
Chris is a Certified Ecologist, ISA Certified Arborist, and Certified Ecosystem Restoration Practitioner in Training. He also holds a GIS certificate from Texas A&M University where he received a M.S. in Forestry and has a B.S. in Biology from St. Edward’s University. Chris currently works as an ecologist with Siglo Group, providing environmental assessments and natural area management guidelines for several projects in Central Texas. Prior to his time with Siglo Group, Chris worked as an environmental scientist and GIS specialist for over 2.5 years at Hollaway Environmental in Houston, Texas. Chris also worked as an applied ecologist for over 3.5 years at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center during the design and implementation phases of their master plan. Chris has experience in wetland delineation, threatened & endangered species surveys, phase I environmental site assessments, wetland mitigation/restoration, ecosystem restoration, tree surveys, land/ecosystem management, invasive plant removal, herbicide application, and other biological surveys. Some of Chris’ other interests include botany, entomology, mycology, foraging, and rock climbing.
The board elects Chris to a one-year term on Travis Audubon’s Board of Directors.
Maura Powers
Maura came to Texas when she was 18 years old and has been here ever since. She retired from a litigation position with the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Over the years she has volunteered legal services for child adoptions, immigrants, and healthcare. While serving on the board of a union, she advocated for retired state employees at the legislature. While she has always considered herself an environmentalist, she focused on the importance of birds once the pandemic provided time to reflect on other priorities. Since then, she has learned a lot about birds and has volunteered with Travis Audubon in support of advocating for Lights Out.
The board elects Maura to a one-year term on Travis Audubon’s Board of Directors.
Flo Rice
Flo caught the birding bug in 2012 after an amazing warbler fallout at High Island. Since that time, she has taken many Travis Audubon classes and participated in numerous field trips. Flo has grown to treasure the amazing community of birders that we have here in Austin and is inspired by their tireless efforts. She retired from AISD in 2018 where she had worked for 13 years as an architect/project manager in the Construction Management Department. Since retiring, she completed the Capital Area Master Naturalist training program in 2019. Her volunteer work associated with CAMN includes Christmas Bird Counts and Hornsby Bend Bird surveys, as well as work with the COA Wildlands at Vireo Preserve and seed collection on Onion Creek. Flo has worked with the Kyles and Travis Audubon to develop a group of Chimney Swift Tower ambassadors. She has been a gardener at Deep Eddy Community Garden since 2004 and served as site coordinator there for 6 years. She has two young grandchildren that live in Austin and is doing her best to make sure they have a strong connection to the natural world.
Flo has been nominated for a three-year term on Travis Audubon’s Board of Directors.
Vidhya Sundar
Vidhya has inspired hundreds of people into birdwatching globally by combining her interest in birds with her artistic talent of making Rangolis, an Indian art form involving colorful decorative patterns usually made on the floor.
Her birding mania started in India back in 2012 when she set eyes on flocks of Rose-ringed Parakeets during a Sunday birding event organized by the Bangalore birders club. Since joining eBird in 2014, she became more involved with the thriving birding community in India. It has only strengthened since her move to Austin in 2019. One of the first things she did after arriving at Austin was looking up the local birding community and joining the Travis Audubon society events. Her perseverance in birdwatching wouldn’t be possible without her supportive family. She has continued her daily birding streak for more than 1500 days, received eBirder of the year 2016, India, and several eBirder of the month awards.
Determined to spread the joy of birding, she found captivating ways to engage kids and elders alike. Organizing and leading plenty of educational bird walks, conducting birding activities for school kids, leveraging social media to influence countless others. Along with the support of organizations such as Bird Count India, Birding Buddies, National Conservation Foundation India, she channelized her passion into bird conservation and spreading its importance.
To enhance her understanding of birds, she took part in the Basic Ornithology certification course, bird educator workshops, and regional birders’ meets. She participated in surveys such as the Asian Waterbird Census, which took part in the East Godavari region, one of the most significant wetlands in all of Asia. She is looking forward to creating a local impact by joining the Travis Audubon Society Board.
The board elects Vidhya to a one-year term on Travis Audubon’s Board of Directors.
Celeste Treadway
Celeste is a small animal veterinarian, mostly retired. She was sole owner owner of a relatively large, fast-paced veterinary hospital which she sold in 2017. Prior to that, she served as medical director of a local emergency clinic for 6 years, started up and was part-owner of an animal blood bank, and also helped her husband run a tropical plant nursery for several years. Celeste has been involved with TAS for several years. She has held an annual Birdathon event on her property in Leander since 2015, helped last year with the Baker Sanctuary Birdathon, and this year will be leading three Birdathon events. She has participated extensively in Golden-cheeked Warbler re-sighting surveys at Baker Sanctuary and has completed the Master Birder Class among other TAS classes. Celeste brings enthusiasm, energy, and cheerfulness, and is a good organizer and communicator. She absolutely loves TAS and am always looking for ways to contribute and be of service.
Celeste has been nominated for a three-year term on Travis Audubon’s Board of Directors.
Sherry Wynn
As a youngster growing up in the Appalachian Mountains, Sherry developed a profound love of the natural world while hiking, camping, rafting, fishing, and wildlife-watching with her mom and sister. She cultivated a passion for conservation efforts as a teen, volunteering at Reflection Riding Nature Center in Chattanooga, TN, cleaning and caring for recovering and resident raptors. During her twenty-year Air Force career, Sherry dedicated much of her off-duty time raising awareness and preserving native habitat and wildlife with the Virginia Living Museum and Suisun Wildlife Rescue Center.
Sherry now serves as a Corporate Social Responsibility Manager for IBM, supporting sustainability, education, and employee engagement initiatives across an 11-state region. A recent graduate of Travis Audubon’s Master Birder course, Sherry is excited to join the board, leveraging her experience and affiliations to amplify and advocate for wildlife habitat conservation in Travis County and beyond.
Sherry is nominated for a three-year term on Travis Audubon’s Board of Directors.
