Staff

Janelle Long, Executive Director

Janelle Long began her career as the Executive Director at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in August 2007. She received her M.Ed. in Environmental Education at the University of Minnesota Duluth and a B.S. in Wildlife Management and Biology at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. Her interest in ornithology and conservation biology began by assisting several Ph.D. students with their field research studying neotropical migrants and grassland birds. She continued to share her passion for birds in the field of environmental education working at several Audubon Centers and for the Bureau of Land Management’s Yaquina Head Oustanding Natural Area in OR. She enjoys bridging the bird conservation research, education, and stewardship components through her career with Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. Janelle resides in Duluth, MN with her husband and 3 children.

jlong@hawkridge.org
218-428-6209

Margie Menzies, Education Director

One-part educator, two parts naturalist, and two parts bird nerd! After years in the formal classroom, this educator has abandoned the indoors for the great outdoor classroom. Margie joined the Hawk Ridge staff as a Naturalist in 2011 and is now the full-time Education Director for Hawk Ridge. She loves birds and sharing the natural world with people of all ages. She also helps lead the passerine (songbird) banding at Hawk Ridge during fall migration and with three MAPS stations studying summer breeding birds at Hawk Ridge, Wolf Ridge, and Sugarloaf Cove. She has a BA in Biology from Bethel University, and a MA in Education from University of St. Thomas.

mmenzies@hawkridge.org
218-428-8722

Emily Pavlovic, Research Director

Emily grew up in Northwest Indiana and earned a B.A. in Biochemistry from Earlham College. After her undergraduate, she taught environmental education at various nature centers acrossthe country for about five years. While working for the Audubon Society her love for birds and specifically raptors grew. Emily completed an M.S. in Integrated Biosciences at UMD in 2022. She conducted her thesis research at Hawk Ridge which was focused on determining natal origins and migratory patterns of raptors using stable isotope analysis. Since graduating in 2022, she has remained a research volunteer at Hawk Ridge. She loves spending time at Hawk Ridge and is excited to continue developing the research program in a more formal position! Emily lives with her husband, Sean, and their bluetick coonhound, Ezra. They enjoy doing various activities in nature, curling, cooking (and eating), and learning new skills! Emily is really grateful for all of the support from the HRBO Crew!

epavlovic@hawkridge.org

218-428-1479

Frank Nicoletti, Senior Research Associate

Frank Nicoletti grew up in New York State along the Hudson River where he started watching raptors at the age of 11. His passion for raptors and other birds fueled him to work at various locations including Cape May and Sandy Hook NJ, Braddock Bay NY and in Israel. From 1984 until 1996 he traveled throughout the country and conducted various raptor related projects which included nesting surveys, tracking winter raptors and migration work. He arrived in Duluth in 1991 to count raptors and to witness the invasion of the Northern Goshawk and he conducted the count at Hawk Ridge until 2005. After moving to Duluth permanently in the fall of 1996, he conducted the first spring count of raptors migrating north in Minnesota along the West Skyline Parkway of Duluth. Frank continues to study raptors and has been concentrating on boreal forest owls and managing raptor banding sites. He has published a number of papers on birds and has helped with many authors working on books and articles. Frank joined the Hawk Ridge staff in 2011 as the Banding Director and is now the Senior Research Associate to help lead research projects, as well as raptor banding and bird migration count research. He lives just north of Duluth with his wife, Kate, and their well-loved dogs.

fnicoletti@hawkridge.org

David Alexander – Volunteer Bander

David Alexander grew up living all over the world, and after finishing his medical training in Dallas, Madison, and Tucson finally decided it was time to settle down. Through some luck, he and his wife Christina landed in Duluth, MN of all places. David has been a passionate birder over the years and still manages to get overseas for a few nature trips a year. Starting in the Fall of 1995, he has been an annual visitor and later a volunteer at Hawk Ridge.

David served on the board of Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve in the early years and then returned on the board in 2010 for 10 years with Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. David works full-time as a radiologist for Essentia Health in Duluth. In his time off, he spends long days at Hawk Ridge in the fall helping to lead the Hawk Ridge Passerine Banding Project, as well as one of the assistant Raptor Banders. In conjunction with Margie Menzies, he helps direct the summer MAPS breeding bird banding study.

Kara Beer, Bander

Kara has been migrating about for several years working as a technician on various avian research projects, and traveling in between. Now, she spends her summers in the subarctic tundra ecosystem around Nome, Alaska studying Gyrfalcons and the other cliff-nesting raptors that breed there! Kara first came to Hawk Ridge in 2022 as a banding trainee and was amazed by the flight here. She is incredibly excited to return this fall for her third season as a bander at Hawk Ridge!

Erik Bruhnke, Volunteer Count Interpreter/Counter

Erik Bruhnke has loved birds since he was a child looking at chickadees. He graduated from Northland College in Wisconsin with a Natural Resources degree in 2008 and taught field ornithology at Northland College for three semesters. Throughout college and shortly after, he spent his summers conducting field research focused on breeding bird transects in Upper Michigan, point counts for a breeding bird atlas in Minnesota and Wisconsin’s Northwoods, vegetation and breeding bird surveys throughout wind farms in North Dakota’s prairie potholes, and cavity-nesting surveys in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon. He educated visitors about raptor identification throughout six fall seasons at Hawk Ridge, where he caught the lifelong hawkwatching bug.

Following Hawk Ridge, he counted migrating raptors at the Corpus Christi HawkWatch in Texas in 2015; and was the 2016, 2017, and 2018 hawk counter at the Cape May Hawkwatch in New Jersey. Erik’s wildlife photography has won national awards, and he’s written for the American Birding Association’s Birder’s Guide, BirdWatching magazine, and Bird Watcher’s Digest. Erik is a full-time birding tour guide for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours. He also runs his own business, Naturally Avian. He enjoys hiking, kayaking, ice skating, and all that comes with the changing of the seasons. In his free time he loves to cook and bake, often following the recipes of his Omas and Opas. Erik is looking forward to helping people connect to the magic of migration at Hawk Ridge this fall!

Marie Chappell, Counter

Hi, I’m Marie! I’ve been obsessed with birds since I was 13 years old, when I was inspired to pick up the Golden Guide that was hanging around my parents’ house and was promptly shocked at how many species there are (“I have to see all of them!”). Since then, I’ve had the honor of studying birds at Cornell University; traveling to Costa Rica, China, and Australia to record avian vocalizations; and helping with ornithological research projects across the country (such as being last year’s trainee at Hawk Ridge and surveying marsh sparrows, Red Knots, and wading bird colonies in Georgia the first half of this year). I worked for a year at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for their Merlin Bird ID project, and since high school I’ve helped curate data as a local Northeast Florida reviewer for eBird. I also enjoy playing the harp, painting, and inventing recipes.

Sara DePew, Lead Naturalist

Sara joined Hawk Ridge in the spring of 2022 and is excited to be back as Lead Naturalist for a third fall migration! She received her B.A. in Zoology and Environmental Science from Miami University, in her hometown of Oxford, Ohio, and has lived in Michigan for the last 18 years.

Sara spent over two decades in the animal care and environmental education field, working with hundreds of species of wildlife, and sharing her love of conservation with others. Before joining Hawk Ridge, Sara was an animal care supervisor and placed rehabilitated trumpeter swans into breeding programs to increase wild population numbers. Proud to be part of this conservation success story, she is a supporter of the “Get the Lead Out” campaign to reduce lead poisoning in birds. Her paper, “Still Threatened: Trumpeter Swans and the Lead Crisis” was published in the American Association of Zookeepers’ Animal Keepers Forum.

Sara’s other interests include spending time with her animals at home, cooking, reading, native plants, and all things J.R.R. Tolkien; she dreams of one day visiting Middle Earth (a.k.a. New Zealand), where she can also see Kea parrots in the wild.  

Miranda Durbin – Volunteer Bander

Miranda Durbin has lived in Duluth most of her life, growing up right below Hawk Ridge.  She got her BS in Fisheries and Wildlife, with a specialization in Wildlife at the University of Minnesota.  Her love of birds didn’t begin in earnest until an ornithology class and an internship at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville helping in the avian nursery.After some traveling and time away from Duluth, she moved back in 2011 and began volunteering at Hawk Ridge during the 2012 fall season. She started volunteering in the banding station in 2013 and this will be her thirteenth year helping as one of the Banders at Hawk Ridge.

Olivia Fortuna, Owl Bander

Although Liv grew up in Nassau County, NY her passion for wildlife developed in New England. She graduated with a BS in Wildlife & Conservation Biology and a minor in Animal Behavior from the University of New Hampshire. Throughout her time in New Hampshire she fell in love with the north woods and became fascinated by its biodiversity. Livs passion for avian research began in 2020 when she worked with the Loon Preservation Committee studying Common Loons in New Hampshire. She found herself increasingly interested in the Eagles and Ospreys and after two years of Loon work decided to step into the world of raptors. Since 2022 she has spent her time in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California working with both California Spotted Owls and Great Gray Owls. Liv first came to Hawk Ridge last year as a banding apprentice and is very excited to return to HRBO as the Owl Bander. She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge of different owl species and teaching what she loves. Liv also enjoys long hikes, yoga and reading. 

Lydia Ihde, Naturalist

Lydia grew up in Decorah, Iowa, watching birds soar over cornfields and bluffs. She moved up to Duluth to attend the University of Minnesota Duluth majoring in Environmental and Outdoor Education. She spends her time learning about the north woods and those who call this place home, falling in love with all that surrounds her.  She spends her free time camping, kayaking, hiking, and sharing her love for the outdoors with everyone around her. Her favorite bird is the turkey vulture because of their overlooked uniqueness. Lydia is very excited to spend the fall migration at Hawk Ridge! 

Anna Johnson, Naturalist

Anna Johnson is originally from LaCrosse, Wisconsin. She’s currently attending the University of Minnesota Duluth where she is studying Biology, French, and Environmental and Outdoor Education. She is also an officer of the UMD Bird Club. Anna has been a long time enthusiast of anything outdoors. She enjoys almost any outdoor activity from skiing to camping to climbing and more, but birds have always held a special place in her heart. Growing up spending lots of time in the outdoors, Anna knew she wanted to do something involving nature. Her passion for working with birds was cemented last season when she volunteered up at Hawk Ridge.

Steve Kolbe – Volunteer Counter

Steve Kolbe has counted migrating birds at Bradbury Mountain, the Avalon Seawatch, Tussey Mountain, Holiday Beach, Kiptopeke, Derby Hill, and Hawk Ridge (fall 2014 & spring 2018). He completed his Master’s degree at the University of Minnesota Duluth studying the migration of Common Nighthawks and is currently working for the Natural Resources Research Institute. Steve will be returning for his 6th season as a volunteer to help with the fall bird migration count at Hawk Ridge. Steve loves watching and taking photographs of migrating birds.

Jess Matyas, Banding Apprentice

Jess Matyas grew up in Monroe, Washington in the shadow of the Cascade Mountains. She grew up loving animals but didn’t find her passion for birds until she took Field Ornithology at the University of Washington and was immediately hooked. She graduated from UW with a BS in Biology, Evolution and Conservation and has been working as a seasonal technician since. She has worked with restoration ecology, invasive species removal, Oregon Spotted Frogs, and in 2022 completed her first season of migration at the Chelan Ridge HawkWatch site, where she fell in love with raptors. Most recently, she has worked with American Kestrels, Western Screech-Owls, and Burrowing Owls as an American Kestrel Conservation Intern with HawkWatch International. She has never worked east of the Rockies before and is very excited for all the new experiences Hawk Ridge will bring. 

Sean McLaughlin, Lead Counter

Sean is from the ridge and valley province of Central Pennsylvania in the heart of hawk watching country. After years of birding the valleys, he discovered the wondrous migratory world in the air above. He has been a volunteer counter at Stone Mountain hawk watch, Bald Eagle hawk watch, and official counter at Tussey Mountain and the Hawk Ridge West Skyline Spring Count. Sean has spent time in the north woods at Northland College, and is thrilled to spend another fall counting at Hawk Ridge. 

Peter Mundale, Naturalist

Peter is from Blaine, Minnesota and has been fascinated by the outdoors his whole life. His obsession for birds began at 8 years old reading Peterson Field guides, and traveling to Hawk Ridge with his family to observe the migration! Over twelve years later and still obsessed with birds, Peter is returning for his third season at Hawk Ridge! He is currently studying Biology: Ecology at the University of Minnesota Duluth! He is also the Vice President of the UMD Bird Club, and a saxophonist in the UMD Marching Band & UMD Pep Band! At UMD, Peter is currently studying two subspecies of Horned Larks as apart of the Undergraduate Research Program as these birds migrate through Park Point in Duluth. This study focuses on the differences in the immune system of two geographically separated subspecies (prairie & tundra larks). He has also been a Research Assistant in a study involving Common Redpolls for the past two winters. Peter loves hawk watching! Whether it’s at Hawk Ridge, West Skyline, or Bagley Hill behind campus the magic of migration is a spectacle that he loves to watch and share with others! When he’s not directly birding (which is rare), Peter enjoys Hiking, Camping, Snowshoeing, Canoeing, Climbing, and especially Photography!

Sarah Needles, Banding Apprentice

Sarah grew up in Davis, CA and graduated in 2023 from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Environmental Studies. An ornithology class sparked her passion for bird conservation and research, which prompted her to intern at two nearby songbird banding stations. After graduating, she spent the fall season at Hawk Ridge, where she received training in the banding, migration count, and education programs. She spent the following spring and summer banding songbirds in California with Point Blue Conservation Science. She is super excited to return to Hawk Ridge as a Banding Apprentice and to dive deeper into the world of raptor banding. In her free time, you can find her hiking, reading, and crafting.

Lisa Oakland – Lead Visitor Services Specialist

This is Lisa’s sixth year working at Hawk Ridge. For many years before she was hired she could be found up at the Ridge every fall to watch the migration and reconnect with staff, volunteers, and friends. She was raised in Duluth, not far from Hawk Ridge, in a family that spent a lot of time outdoors, especially enjoying frequent camping trips every summer. She came to love birding as an adult through the influence of her wife and her father, who was a Hawk Ridge board member and avid birder. Lisa has many years of retail/customer service experience. Her love of birding, customer experiences and love of interacting with people makes the merchandise trailer a perfect place for her to be in the fall. She lives in Cloquet, MN with her wife Barb and a fiesta cat. They enjoy spending free time camping with the cat, birding, and time outdoors in general-usually with binoculars. When not pursuing these activities, she can be found with a good book in hand.

Arzu Pahl, Trainee

Arzu grew up in Maryland and graduated from St. Olaf College in 2024 with degrees in Biology and Spanish and a concentration in Environmental Studies. Arzu has always been a lover of all things outdoors and is an avid hiker. Ironically, she discovered her love for birds while conducting undergraduate field research on milkweed and quickly became particularly fascinated with raptors. Arzu has previously helped conduct occupancy surveys of the Northern Goshawk in the Sierras and took part in bird banding throughout college. She aims to pursue higher education in the future with the hopes of one day running her own research lab surrounding the study of raptors. In her free time, Arzu can consistently be found in one of four places: the gym, the ice rink, the library, or on a hiking trail. She is thrilled to be returning to Minnesota and for all of the knowledge she hopes to gain during her time at Hawk Ridge!

Allie Pesano, Research Volunteer

Allie grew up in Syracuse, NY, obtained a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from Unity College, and has traveled the country working on various avian ecology projects. She first joined Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory (HRBO) as a banding trainee in 2016. With this experience she discovered a passion for raptor migration and a home-away-from-home in Duluth and the HRBO community. This then led her to working with HawkWatch International in 2017, where she trapped, banded, and counted migrating raptors at the Goshute Mountains migration site in Nevada. She was excited to join HRBO again in 2018 as a bander, primarily running the Moose Valley station. Most recently, Allie graduated this with her Master’s of Science in Integrated Biosciences at the University of Minnesota Duluth. In collaboration with Hawk Ridge, Allie’s research utilized microsatellites and satellite transmitters to elucidate the probabilistic origins of Minnesota’s migratory Red-tailed Hawks, with a special focus on individuals with B.j. abieticola and dark-morph phenotypes.

Emily Sandly, Naturalist

Emily Sandly is an Associate Wildlife Biologist with a Bachelors in Wildlife Biology from Keystone College. She is from Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. She has studied a variety of wildlife, from grassland songbirds, seabirds and raptors, to white-tailed deer. Last fall, she worked as a seasonal counter for Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. In addition, she was previously a Conservation Science Trainee and also a member of the Visitor Services team at the sanctuary. Emily is an avid outdoorswoman, and can always be found hiking, camping, hunting or fishing. She also loves music, and plays the violin and ukulele. Lastly, Emily is a board member for the PA Chapter of The Wildlife Society as the current Newsletter Editor and is serving in her third year.

Gracie Sangmeister, Naturalist

Gracie grew up just outside of Philadelphia, PA, and graduated from Juniata College in 2021. After studying for two semesters at her school’s field station, where she spent 24/7 in the woods of central Pennsylvania, she truly developed a love for the natural world. She started hawk watching as the official counter at Bake Oven Knob in the Lehigh Valley region of PA in the Fall of ’21, then spent the last three springs counting with the Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch, helping to develop their recently established site on Mackinac Island (a site that she considers to be “her hawk watch”).  She started at Hawk Ridge as a migration counter in the fall of ‘22, and was the Count Interpreter/Relief Counter last fall. She spent the summer on the north shore of Minnesota at Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center, where she also helped out at the Sugarloaf MAPS banding station.  She is excited to step into a naturalist role this year, and continue to work with a bunch of other awesome bird nerds. When not talking your ear off about birds, she can be found hiking, paddleboarding, crocheting, or reading cheesy romance novels on the beach.

Valerie Slocum, Volunteer Coordinator

Valerie grew up in Battle Creek, MI (aka the cereal capital of the world) with a love of the outdoors and the living world. She received her B.A.A. in Earth Science and Outdoor and Environmental Recreation from Central Michigan University. Valerie has spend the majority of her career both teaching educational programs as well as working with educational raptors at facilities such as Kalamazoo Nature Center, Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, the Lake Superior Zoo, where she also served as the Volunteer Manager, and currently at Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation. Volunteering has always played a big role in her life and began holding regular volunteer jobs when she was 15. She believes that volunteering is one of the most fulfilling activities that people can participate in. Valerie began volunteering with Hawk Ridge in 2013 and is very excited to work with all of the amazing volunteers this year! Her favorite bird is the Turkey Vulture, and if there’s anything you want to know, please ask her because she loves to tell anyone she can about these amazing creatures!

Phil Stollsteimer, Trainee

Phil Stollsteimer developed his passion for birds at the age of 12 and has since spent as much time as possible outside with these amazing animals. After graduating from the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology, Phil has travelled around the country working with various species such as Bobolinks, Golden-cheeked Warblers, and American Goshawks. Spending fall days watching raptor migration has always been a highlight to Phil over the years, so he is very excited to experience that migration to the fullest at Hawk Ridge this year!

Jamie Tigges, Naturalist

Jamie comes from Iowa and is a University of Iowa alumni with a BS in Environmental Sciences and Biology and current graduate student at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the Masters of Environmental Outdoor Education program. He’s been banding and helping lead ornithologically focused events since 2018 at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. He’s excited for the upcoming year and being able to help out again at Hawk Ridge. After a summer of hanging out with Hartley Nature Center kiddos Jamie is excited for the fall migration season!

Caroline Urban, Naturalist

Caroline grew up in Plymouth, MN and wishes she had discovered her love of birds sooner. In college she had the epiphany that she was a bird nerd, and ever since she regrets every time she walks out the door without binoculars. Caroline worked as a naturalist at Wolf Ridge ELC in Finland, MN for two years where she was able to combine her two passions: birds and teaching. While not leading kids on bird hikes she learned how to band birds, and continued the momentum as a bird banding intern in northern New Mexico. She currently works at North Shore Community School in Duluth as the Environmental Educator and hopes all her students will become birders like her. Along with banding birds Caroline enjoys knitting, photography, reading, and writing letters to friends.  

Abbie Valine, Lead Bander

Abbie Valine first discovered birds in her second-grade science class and never looked back. Since graduating from the University of Northwestern—St. Paul with a B.S. in biology, Abbie has spent field seasons across the country working with a myriad of species from cerulean warblers to Florida scrub-jays. After completing the Hawk Ridge banding traineeship in 2019, Abbie returned to trap at the Moose Valley station for two seasons, then spent a season running Intermountain Bird Observatory’s Lucky Peak station in the mountains of Idaho. She is excited to return to Hawk Ridge for a second consecutive fall season as lead raptor bander! When not birding, Abbie enjoys knitting, reading, playing the flute, and thinking about shrikes.

Tania Womack, Visitor Services Specialist

Former United States Marine that is from Hawaii. I love everything outdoors – animals, plants, activities including hiking, fishing, and kayaking. I’m probably the only US Marine you will ever meet that still can hula dance.

Logan Woods, Naturalist

Logan grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota and graduated from Saint John’s University in 2023. With a degree in mathematics and computer science, the obvious decision was to follow outdoor education. Having spent a majority of the last 5 summers in Ely working at Camp du Nord, a love for birds was sparked. He completed the Graduate Naturalist Program at Wolf Ridge this past spring and still works there as a mentor naturalist. He keeps busy with 2 ridges on the North Shore along with a passion for sports and playing music. 

June Yost, Trainee

June had no idea she had a love for birds until she took an ornithology class at UC Santa Cruz in 2021. Quickly, birding became one of her favorite hobbies, and she aimed to transform that hobby into the foundation for a career. During undergrad June took on several internships, where she participated in songbird banding, Golden-Crowned Sparrow behavioral research, and bird-window collision studies. This past summer, June spent a season doing Falcon and Owl conservation with HawkWatch International. She looks forward to working with larger raptors this fall at Hawk Ridge!