Board of Directors
At the Russell Peterson Wildlife Refuge, at the Wilmington Riverfront.
Steve Cottrell
President
Steve has been a member of the Delaware Audubon board since 2017. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, and his master’s degree in Applied Statistics from Villanova University.
Since retiring from his professional career, he has been heavily involved in birding activities, including setting up and monitoring nest boxes and Purple Martin colonies in public and private open spaces, as well as being an advocate for bird conservation.
As a licensed pesticide applicator, he has been working since 2018 on removing invasives to increase biodiversity at Middle Run Valley Natural Area.
Steve can be reached at steve.cottrell@delawareaudubon.org.
Emma Jonas
Vice President
Emma is an Entomology masters student at the University of Delaware working with Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). She also has experience studying Flammulated Owls in Utah and Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers in Florida. She is excited to contribute to local conservation efforts and is especially passionate about habitat restoration in urban areas.
Jon Euston
Secretary
Jon is a Delaware native who grew up traversing the Tri-State landscape during his years hiking and camping as a Boy Scout. He has developed great love and admiration for the outdoors and is eager to help in the efforts to preserve it, starting right at home. Birds have always been one of the core sounds of nature and Jon is focused on helping conserve their many unique voices for years to come.
His spark bird is the Belted Kingfisher, in which he first discovered rattling on a lakeside tree while on a canoeing trip in Canada.
Jon obtained his Business Degree from Goldey-Beacom College after attending Deltech Community College, where he captained the Men's Soccer Team.
Ashey Kennedy
Treasurer
Ashley has been a Delaware resident since 2010, when she began graduate school at the University of Delaware. She studied insect taxonomy for her MS thesis and bird-insect food webs for her PhD dissertation. Before that, she studied animal behavior at Johns Hopkins University, and first got into birding in 2007 while doing research at the Centre for Wildlife Management Studies in Kimana, Kenya (spark bird: hamerkop!). Her past employment includes positions with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife, Defense Centers for Public Health, Smithsonian National Zoo, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Aside from birds and insects, she loves reading and board games.
Tracey Duffy
Membership Chair
Tracey is a life-long resident of Delaware and a 19-year veteran of a local police department. Tracey has always been curious about nature and understands the importance of conservation, environmental justice, and respect for the natural community.
Tracey organized Delaware’s first Black Birders Week bird walk in 2023. The very successful event took place on May 31 at Curtis Mill Park in Newark.
MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
Nathan Meyer
Nathan has a love for wildlife, habitat, and nature in general, but birds are special since they are always around us. He grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota where his dad taught him about farming practices that improve the environment and protect wildlife.
He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Biology and received his M.S. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University.
Hollis Thomases
Hollis Thomases has been connected to nature her entire life. A native of New York state, she spent her childhood living on Woodland Road and playing in the woods, her winters skiing, and her summers in the Catskill and Taconic mountains. A Delaware resident since 2003, Hollis appreciates the state’s abundant trail system for hiking, mountain biking, and bird watching.
Born with a creative, entrepreneurial spirit and an education in marketing and communications, Hollis has hatched three businesses. In recent years, she has re-directed her focus to advocating for natural land and wildlife protection. Hollis has a B.A. in Social Relations with a Concentration in Communication Arts from Cornell University.
Kimberly Richardson
Kimberly Richardson is a self-proclaimed nerd with a passion for wildlife, travel and photography. Originally from Flint, Michigan, she currently lives in Wilmington, Delaware.
Kimberly received her B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Michigan and law degree from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where she currently serves on the Alumni Board and occasionally lectures on labor and employment law.
Kimberly is Of Counsel at the law firm of Conn Maciel Carey LLP in Washington, DC, an Adjunct Faculty at Drexel University Thomas R Kline School of Law in Philadelphia, PA and an Adjunct Coordinator at Wilmington University's new School of Law. She is also on the Advisory Board for the Delaware Chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI).