Learn more about the 2024 Board Nominees by reading their bios below! Election will take place at the May 16 Member Meeting– more details coming soon.
In addition to board elections, members will be voting on changes to the organization bylaws – see the proposed amendments to the bylaws here.
Michèle Martell
Michèle Martell is an entertainment and intellectual property attorney and entrepreneur who has provided business guidance and legal insight to major brands including the Muppets, the WWE, Sony, Crayola, Hasbro, Samsung, and The Saturday Evening Post. Michèle started her business and legal consultancy, Martell Media House PLLC, in Austin in 2014, where she helps creators, entrepreneurs, artists and visionaries launch, build, and protect their businesses with insightful, practical and well-informed legal guidance.
Michèle serves on many boards, both on a professional and personal level. Michèle joined the board of Austin’s award-winning Forklift Danceworks in 2015, almost immediately after moving to Austin, and served for 8 years, most recently as Board President. Through her service to Forklift, Michèle gained a passion for creative placemaking, innovative community engagement, and the importance of access to green spaces for everyone. She serves on the Board of RISE, an anti-racist and liberatory early childhood education program.
Professionally, Michèle is the Chair of the Entertainment and Sports Law section of the Austin Bar Association; the Programming Chair for Women in Toys, Entertainment & Licensing; the Co-Chair of the Austin Chapter of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP); and sits on the Advisory Board for Women in Film/TV-Austin. Michèle is a member of Leadership Austin/Essentials Class 42.
Michèle has built relationships across a variety of communities in Austin, and has deep connections in the entertainment, media and technology industries. She is a passionate yoga practitioner, an avid hiker, and an enthusiastic and new birder.
Jordan Weingarten
A Texan since 1967 and an Austinite since 1987, Jordan has been birding avidly since 2022 when he went on his first Travis Audubon Society sponsored walk. A new convert to birding and conservation, Jordan speaks for the TAS Speaker’s Bureau, leads monthly beginners’ bird walks at Commons Ford Ranch Metropolitan Park, and has completed the Master Birder program. An enthusiastic advocate for birds and conservation, Jordan’s passion is migration and the need for national and international solutions for dark skies and habitat loss. He looks forward to helping support Travis Audubon’s Vision of “Inspiring conservation through birding” and growing its membership.
Rachel Zierzow
Rachel Zierzow’s love of birding and avian conservation began at Colby College in Maine, where she got her start conducting ornithological fieldwork, Breeding Bird Surveys, and Christmas Bird Counts.
Rachel moved to Austin to study Ecology and Evolution at UT Austin. While pursuing her Master’s degree, Rachel worked on projects involving Worm-eating Warblers and Calypte hummingbirds, and volunteered for the City of Austin conducting Golden-cheeked Warbler surveys.
Since 2023, Rachel has been co-leading Travis Audubon bird walks at Barton Springs, Holly Shores at Town Lake, Reimers Ranch, Commons Ford, and Bastrop State Park and has served on the Field Trip and Birdathon Committees. She is soon to be a graduate of the 2024 class of the Capital Area Master Naturalists Program (CAMN).
Rachel is a self-employed chef and culinary instructor and creator of cookloveheal.com. She lives in Austin with her husband Nelson and 16-year old daughter Izzy.
Michèle, Jordan, and Rachel have been nominated to serve three-year terms on the Board. In addition, Rich Kostecke, Maura Powers, and Vidhya Sundar, all of whom are current directors, have been nominated for additional three-year terms. Chris Garza and Suzanne Kho, also current directors, have been appointed by the Board to serve additional one-year terms.
