Leadership & Staff
Photo: Julie Ansell
Leadership
- Officers -
Valerie Andersen
President
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Valerie Andersen is a long-time Reno resident. About 15 years ago, she found a home in our birdwatching community - learning about new birding areas through Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance’s field trips, attending eye opening programs, and finding kinship with other welcoming members.
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If there’s a volunteer job with NNBA, she probably has done it, including serving on the board. She is a retired academic librarian with an MLS from Emory University (Georgia) and an undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona. When she’s not birding, she enjoys hiking, biking, and kayaking.
Lauren Whitenack
Vice President
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Lauren Whitenack is a PhD student at the University of Nevada, Reno studying Mountain Chickadees in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains. She has been involved in LAS since 2021 and has served on the Board of Trustees since 2022. She also serves as chair of the Program and Activities (monthly meeting speaker series), and Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging committees.
Judy Duffy
Treasurer
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Judy Duffy is a retired software systems engineer who worked in the aerospace industry and with several technology startups. She previously served as treasurer for the nonprofit Friends of the Milpitas Library in California. Judy is an avid birder and nature photographer who was first energized by birds during a trip to the Galapagos Islands in 2010. She is delighted to serve as the treasurer for the Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance. Judy also participates in NNBA-sponsored field trips and shorebird surveys. Judy holds a BS in Computer Science from Santa Clara University and an MS in Computer Science from U.C. Berkeley.
Bill Grossi
Secretary
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Bill Grossi grew up in Central New York near Syracuse. The love of the outdoors and influence from an uncle in the California Fish and Game Department led him to pursue a career in wildlife management. A B.S. in wildlife science was earned from New Mexico State University in 1975. While attending New Mexico State, he also fell in love with the West’s public lands. New York was never the same so, after marrying his wife Mary, they moved back to Las Cruces, New Mexico and he took a job with the Bureau of Land Management. His BLM career has taken him to Carson City, NV, Hanksville, UT, Milwaukee, WI, Yuma, AZ and, Phoenix for 17 years as the Arizona State Office Wildlife Program Leader. Bill is an avid birdwatcher who has traveled all over North America and the world adding birds to his life list. He also enjoys gardening, camping, watching the Montreal Canadiens, and of course, traveling.
OFFICERS
Valerie Andersen – President
Lauren Whitenack– Vice President
Judy Duffy – Treasurer
Bill Grossi – Secretary
TRUSTEES
Seat 1 – Valerie Andersen – 2026
Seat 2 – Judy Duffy – 2026
Seat 3 – Phyllis Henderson – 2026
Seat 4 – Bruce Blackadar – 2027
Seat 5 – Marisa Ernst – 2027
Seat 6 – Lorraine Hickey – 2027
Seat 7 – Bill Grossi– 2028
Seat 8 – Lauren Whitenack – 2028
Seat 9 – Katie Smith – 2028
COMMITTEES
Activity and Program
Lauren Whitenack - Chair
Audit
vacant - Chair
Communications
vacant – Chair
Conservation
Marisa Ernst - Chair
Education
Alan Gubanich – Chair
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Field Trips
Katie Smith – Chair
Fundraising/Membership
vacant – Chair
Kristin Szabo - membership letters
Jane Burnham
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Lauren Whitenack - Chair
Jaida Marinas - Co-Chair
Investments
Judy Duffy
Valerie Andersen
Nominating Committee
Bruce Blackadar
The Board of Trustees shall, no later than the first Board meeting of the fiscal year, appoint up to two (2) members of the Board, whose terms are not expiring, to the Nominating Committee as provided in Article VI, Section 2.
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Mailing Address:
Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance
P.O. Box 2304
Reno, NV 89505-2304
Tax ID: 23-7181150
Staff
Diane Wong-Kone
Executive Director
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When she first arrived in Nevada during the late 1990s, Diane was a traveling bird bander and field biologist working in multiple western states. Once in Nevada, Diane quickly joined Northwest Nevada Bird Allliance (NNBA), which was then known as Lahontan Audubon Society, and the Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO). She worked many years as wildlife biologist for Otis Bay Ecological Consultants, assisting with wetland restoration projects throughout Nevada, and focusing on the lower Truckee River. Simultaneously, Diane collected bird data for GBBO’s Nevada Bird Atlas, Nevada Bird Count, Pyramid/Walker Lake Counts, Desert Thrashers, and Lower Colorado River Riparian Bird Surveys. She served as the AmeriCorps VISTA Development Coordinator for NNBA in 2022, and became Executive Director in August 2023. She is honored to take on this new role and aims to continue her predecessors’ work to promote the growth of our birding community. ​
Patty Moen
AmeriCorps Education ​
Outreach Coordinator
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Patty has been an Americorps member working with Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance since April 2023. She has been assisting with the many activities of the Education Committee, updating lesson plans, volunteer management, and community outreach. A long time Reno resident, she enjoys learning about and teaching others about birds and their habitats in Nevada.
Julie Ansell​
Outreach Coordinator
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Julie worked as a professional photographer for twenty years shooting weddings, special events and conventions in Las Vegas, NV. Wanting to expand on her creative skills, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Information Technology from Arizona State University in 2021. She has always had a passion for nature, animals, and her community and has volunteered her time assisting various non-profits throughout the years. She found birding during her time in Reno, Nevada and it changed her life! She hopes working for Northwest Nevada Bird Alliance as an Outreach Coordinator she can give back to her community. She feels it is important to educate others about birds and how essential it is to cherish and preserve our wildlife and natural spaces for future generations.