Pilots   Joseph Duff Operation Migration Co-founder and C.E.O. Born in 1949 in rural Ontario, Joseph Duff developed an early appreciation for nature and a love of flying, earning his pilot's license while working in the Yukon Territories. Duff was one of Canada's leading commercial photographers, known primarily for his work with the world's major automobile manufacturers. After twenty years of operating a studio in downtown Toronto, he began to look for new adventures. Joe joined Bill Lishman in 1993 and helped him conduct the first human-led bird migration. The two "artists turned naturalists" used two ultralight aircraft to lead 18 Canada geese from Ontario to Virginia. The success of this initial study led to the founding of Operation Migration the following year, and the making of "Fly Away Home" in 1995. For the film, Duff trained the "actor geese" to follow the aircraft, and worked closely with the production crew; even contributing some of the footage. In the same year Joe led Sandhill cranes in flights around southern Ontario, as well as leading 60 geese to South Carolina with Lishman and the OM crew. Once the 1997 Sandhill crane migration was completed, Duff assisted Dr. William Sladen and Gavin Shire in the first ultralight-led migration of Trumpeter swans, which was carried out by Warrenton, Virginia’s Airlie Environmental Studies Centre. To address the problem of tameness in birds conditioned to follow aircraft, Duff worked with the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center to establish the innovative costume-rearing protocol used in a 1998 study. He developed the protocol for the preliminary Sandhill-crane study and for the current Whooping crane reintroduction project. Joe heads the team of pilots that annually lead a new generation of Whooping cranes on their1200+ mile migration from the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin to the St. Marks and Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuges in Florida. In early 2006 Duff led a team of pilots on an aerial survey conducted Arkansas and Louisiana in search of the elusive Ivory-billed woodpecker. His personal aircraft will go permanent display in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum beginning in 2008. Joe has developed a keen interest in the science of migration and crane behavior, and no doubt has accumulated more hours in flight alongside more species of birds than any other human. Joe and his wife Diana have one daughter, Alex. The family lives in the small town of Port Perry, Ontario, the home of Operation Migration’s headquarters. Brooke Pennypacker An experienced ultralight pilot and mechanic, Brooke joined the OM flock during the 2002 training season. He first heard of Operation Migration when we were leading Canada geese and Sandhill cranes to Environmental Studies at Airlie Center in Warrenton, Virginia. He was one of a very few trike pilots back then. He became so interested in the project that he started working for Environmental Studies and eventually ran their Trumpeter swan reintroduction project, leading birds from New York state to Maryland - something not typically found on the resume of pilots.  Brooke joined us after Deke had his stroke and was no longer able to fly with us. He often wore a T shirt emblazoned with the caption, “A poor substitute for Deke” but it was more a testimony to his humor than his ability.    Armed with a degree in English Literature, Brooke once panned for gold, fought forest fires, and floated down the Mississippi River on a raft while reading Huckleberry Finn. He was a saturation diver spending weeks at a time working in 500 feet of water and living in a compression chamber. He was a construction supervisor, a hydroelectric developer and retrieved crashed aeroplanes for a salvage company. How is that for a diverse career?!   Brooke spends all summer at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge working with the juvenile birds. After our annual migration he stays on in Florida at his home in Crystal River. Richard Van Heuvelen Richard Van Heuvelen spent 28 years honing his skills as a creator of works of art in metal. He can bend steel to his own will the way you or I would fashion putty. His art is at once lifelike and surreal, as he captures the soft human form in hard plate or the gentle texture of feathers and fur in hammered alloy. Creating sculptures used in the making of the IMAX films The Last Buffalo and Titanica is only one of his achievements. Richard built lifelike metal figures of athletes and dancers to adorn the Sculpture Garden at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada. One of Richard’s latest works includes five life-like Whooping crane sculptures commissioned by the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin. Richard’s participation in Operation Migration dates back to the time when leading birds with aircraft was little more than a good idea. He worked as ground crew chief during the first migrations with Canada geese, and helped to assemble the very first aircraft and travel pens. He used his expertise to build aluminum propeller guards to protect birds, and trailers to transport the pens. The same year Richard learned to fly, he worked daily with the crew during the filming of the Columbia Pictures hit movie, Fly Away Home. He built props for the film sets, aircrafts used in the flying scenes and sculptures featured as the work of lead actor Jeff Daniels. During early studies with Sandhill cranes, Richard continued to lead the ground crew, occasionally filling in as back-up pilot. He officially joined Operation Migration’s aircrew full time in 2002. Richard comes from a family of 13 siblings and has 4 grown daughters of his own. When not engaged by OM, Richard spends his time at home in Ontario where he lives not too far from OM’s main office. He also operates his business, The Wooden Anvil, from this location. All of these skills and experience make him an integral part of the team. Field & Ground Crew Walter Sturgeon - Volunteer, Migration Crew Chief Walt was born in Point Pleasant, WV in 1941 when there were 21 whooping cranes left on earth. He graduated from Yale University in 1963 with a degree in mechanical engineering, and from the University of Rhode Island with a Masters Degree in Business Administration in 1971. For 38 years he worked in the nuclear industry, first as a Senior Test Engineer on nuclear submarines, then as the Manager of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, and finished his nuclear career as Executive Director of the NC Low Level Radioactive Waste Management Authority. In January 2001 Walt took the position of Assistant Director of the NC State Museum of Natural Sciences where he is responsible for its day to day operation. The museum has 140 employees and attracts over 700,000 visitors a year. In this job Walt is able to pursue his life long interest in conservation of the world’s wildlife and other natural resources on a full time basis. Walt and his wife Gay maintain a captive collection of waterfowl and cranes for conservation, research, and public education purposes in Spring Hope, NC. Over the past 30 years Walt has made more than 20 trips to the Canadian and Alaskan arctic to do field research on waterfowl and cranes. He is recognized around the world as an expert on the biology of arctic nesting geese. Walt has been President of the International Wild Waterfowl Association for twenty years and a Trustee and past President of the Whooping Crane Conservation Association for 15 years. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park and Eco-Center which opened in October of 2006 in Scotland Neck, NC. This non-profit facility is open to the public and provides education to all ages on the importance of maintaining our natural environment and conserving the world’s wildlife. 2011 will be Walter's 8th migration. David and Linda Boyd - Volunteers Linda and Dave Boyd met while attending Michigan State University, (back in the days when MSU football teams went to the Rose Bowl). Dave holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from MSU, and Linda holds a B.A. in journalism from MSU, and a M.A. in interior design from the University of Minnesota. They moved to Rhinelander, Wisconsin 35 years ago. There, Dave established a veterinary practice, and Linda worked in public relations at Nicolet Area Technical College, and later, she did marketing for the college. They raised their family of three daughters and numerous pets in Rhinelander and are now retired from both work and childcare (except for two and soon-to-be three grandchildren). When not enjoying Wisconsin's beautiful north woods, they can be found in their camper van. They have traveled from Alaska to southern Mexico, from southern California to northern Maine, and places in between. Because of their affinity for animals and love of nature and conservation, they are thrilled to be a part of the OM migration team. David will be driving one of our vehicles pulling a trailer, and Linda will be assisting with outreach and at flyovers. They look forward to contributing however they can to help with the reintroduction of the Eastern Migratory Whooping crane population. John Cooper - Volunteer John first joined OM’s migration team in 2006 when he volunteered as a top cover observer/spotter. Knee surgery kept him away from the action in 2008, but he again joined pilot Jack Wrighter in the cockpit to fly Top Cover for the ’09 and 2010 migrations. John grew up in Lakeland, FL and claims an uneventful childhood, with one high point being his having made Eagle Scout. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1964 with a degree in Industrial Engineering and immediately began flight training with the US Navy. John flew A4F Skyhawk and A7E Corsair II aircraft during the Vietnam war. He flew 200 plus combat missions and made over 400 carrier landings, mostly on the USS Ticonderoga. After active duty John stayed in the Naval Reserve but started flying for Delta Airlines. He retired from the Naval Reserve as a Navy Captain after 22 years, and had the pleasure of commanding an A7 squadron and also served as the Reserve Commanding Officer of NAS Cecil Field, FL. During John’s 32 year career with Delta he flew 10 different aircraft, amassing some 20,000 flight hours. He served as a Lead Line Check Airman on the Boeing 727, 767 and 777, training pilots as they checked out on each new aircraft. John continue to fly, although now, in a Cirrus 22 single engine general aviation aircraft. Although John’s wife Jane was a Flight Attendant for Delta, they actually met at a ski outing in Snowmass, CO. Since their retirement, they have traveled to Europe extensively, and they spend time with their 4 children and 4 grandchildren. John’s enjoys golf, tennis and backpacking. He volunteers each year at the Tour Championship golf tournament in Atlanta where he works as a troubleshooter for the Shotlink laser operators. John will be joining the migration as a vehicle driver once we reach Carroll County, TN. Jack Wrighter - Volunteer Originally from Northeast Pennsylvania, Jack spent most of his adult and working life in and around Atlanta, GA. He attended Georgia State University in Atlanta, and Shorter College in Rome, Georgia where he earned Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. One of Jack’s early jobs was as a back up pilot for the 'Eye in the Sky' traffic reporter over Atlanta in the late 1960s. Beginning in 1965 and until its demise in 1990, Jack worked in Atlanta for Eastern Airlines in several areas of operations and administration. It was while with Eastern that he met Judi, his wife of 38 years who was working for rival airline, Delta. With the benefits available through the couple's employment, they traveled the world extensively for over 30 years. Leaving aviation for a career in education, Jack spent 14 years with the Cobb County School System in Marietta, Georgia as Assistant Director of Operations. He retired at the end of 2004, and he and Judi spent the next year building a log home on a mountain top in eastern Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest. Jack and Judi still enjoy flying recreationally, and make several trips a year to visit family and friends, or to attend air shows and other aviation events. Jack says, "We seize just about any old excuse to get into the airplane and go flying." Testament to this, is the fact that he has flown over 400 volunteer missions under the Experimental Aircraft Association's 'Young Eagles' program. This program provides free introductory flights to youngsters, aged 8 to 17 years, who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the thrill and wonder of flight. In fact, Jack holds the record for the most number of Young Eagle missions in the EAA's Marietta Chapter. In 2005, Jack was recruited as a Top Cover pilot for OM by his friend and fellow pilot, Dave Mattingly, President of the organization 'Touch Our Planet'. Dave also recruited retired commercial pilots John Cooper and Tom Miller, who in turn, assist Jack with his top cover duties. A quiet and unassuming type of fellow, he continually impresses the team with his cheerful, can/will-do attitude. Jack has a great sense of humor, and you can often be alerted that he's about to hit you with a zinger by the twinkle in his eye. Jack is once again hitting the migration trail with us, this time as a vehicle driver, and he will rotate in and out with volunteer John Cooper. We are delighted to have his skills and affable personality as part of the OM Migration crew. 2011 Interns Caleb Fairfax Caleb was born in Concord, New Hampshire, but moved with his family to Poulsbo, Washington at the age of two where he grew up in a log cabin. By the time Caleb was six, his family headed back east and settled in Frederick, Maryland. There he attended local schools, graduating with honors from Walkersville High School in 2006. He continued his education at the University of Maryland at College Park. Initially Caleb studied geology, world food shortages, and sustainable agriculture, before finding his true calling in the biological and wildlife sciences. During his undergrad year at the University of Maryland he worked as a laborer at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge Crane Facilities. It was there, he said, that he gained a deep appreciation and understanding of the plight of the Whooping Crane, the multiple projects aimed at their conservation, and the importance of what OM was doing. In May of 2010 Caleb graduated with a degree in Environmental Science and a concentration in Wildlife Ecology and Management. He was originally going to be a member of the OM team in 2010, but when the timing didn't work out, he took an internship in Oregon working at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River with a salmon/sea lion conservation program. After finishing the Internship on the west coast, he made his way back to Maryland and jumped right back into the Whooping Crane project as an intern with OM. On a personal level, Caleb loves hiking and beautiful views, fishing, music, campfires, his family, and a good conversation with friends. He is a great and welcome addition to the OM Team. Geoffrey Tarbox Born and raised in New Hampshire, Geoffrey took interest in conservation at an early age. While in 4-H, he was an active part of its conservation group through elementary school to high school, and also compiled a wildflower journal containing several hundred New England flora species. In 2002 Geoffrey followed in his big sister’s footsteps to attend Texas A&M where he majored in Wildlife and Fishery Sciences, specializing in conservation biology. During the course of his education, he took several study-abroad courses in Dominica, New Zealand, and Fiji. After graduating in 2007, Geoff spent six months interning with the Northeast Exotic Plant Management Team at the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania, poisoning and exterminating some of the very plants he cataloged ten years ago; namely, the invasive exotic ones. During his internship, he traveled to national parks along the eastern seaboard clearing out various invasive plants using herbicides, chainsaws, and his bare hands. Until signing on with Operation Migration, Geoff continued being the scourge of invasive plants everywhere as part of an exotic plant strike team based in the Florida Keys. Geoff continues to take his unbridled wrath out on unsuspecting invasive plants such as Brazilian pepper, Australian pine, oyster plant, and air potato on public and private properties using his ever-trusty herbicides and pocket saws. When he’s not maniacally poisoning or hacking up defenseless plants, Geoff spends his time hiking, keeping a sharp eye out for unique wildflowers, fly fishing, bike riding, and occasionally kayaking. Back in his college days, he was a swash-buckling saber fencer, and holds the title of Saber Fencer of the Year for 2007. 2011 will mark Geoff's third season with OM. He began working at the Patuxent's chick rearing facility in early May and will continue with us through to the end of the migration season.   The Office Team Chris Danilko - Office Manager/Bookkeeper Chris Danilko joined Operation Migration in 2001 and quickly became the mainstay of our busy office. A nature-lover who had avidly followed the accomplishments of Bill and Joe, she was a natural fit in the office. Though Chris grew up in rural Ontario, her parents encouraged travel, and as a result she has had the opportunity to see many parts of the world. Her favorite destinations - Holland and Florida. In 2005 Chris finally had the chance to visit Necedah and to not only meet the many people that make the annual migration happen. It also gave her a chance to put faces to the name people she exchanges emails with, or speaks to on the phone. She was taken by the beauty of the refuge and the majesty of the birds; something she says simply cannot be adequately captured on film. Adding to her first time experience was a spin in an ultralight with Joe. An experience she has not forgotten. Throughout her life Chris has filled many roles but she believes her most important one has been as a mother. She has raised three smart, successful children before moving to a fourth 'project' - Maggie the Golden Doodle. Chris took on a fifth 'project' when she became the proud grandmother of Abby, daughter of son Jeff and his wife Tanya. In her spare time (as much as working at OM allows), Chris loves to ski at the many small resorts scattered around southern Ontario. In summer she enjoys swimming in her backyard pool. Her friendly nature, sense of humor, and juggling skills make Chris an integral and indispensable member of the OM team. Nan Rudd - Volunteer Nan is another of Operation Migration’s indispensable and highly valued volunteers. A long time supporter and Whooping crane enthusiast, we don’t know how we’d manage without the many assistances that she provides OM. Along with doing the layout and graphic design of OM’s semi-annual magazine, INformation, Nan donates her time, creativity and skills to the production of a variety of other print communication materials – all of which without fail, produce rave reviews. Her graphic design background includes positions in corporate communication, educational publishing, and advertising. Nan is a 'yes man' in the very best sense. Cheerful and unflappable, she is always willing to take on whatever is thrown at her. And to our constant amazement, she continually raises the unbelievably high bar that she herself has set. In 1994, after many years of living and working in the Chicago region, she and her husband Bob moved to a former dairy farm near New Glarus, Wisconsin. Since then they have renovated their farmstead and restored the land as wildlife habitat. Nan operates Rudd Design from a home office, focusing on providing graphic design services to not-for-profit conservation organizations. An animal lover, Nan dotes on her menagerie of horses, miniature donkeys, cats, chickens, parakeets, African grey parrot, and beloved Labrador. In her spare time, she enjoys birding, travel, gardening, cooking, and the study of nature. Liz Condie - Chief Operating & Financial Officer, Director of Communications and Fund Development Liz gets around. She was born in eastern Ontario, raised in northern Ontario, worked in southern Ontario, and left to spend a decade living abroad when she threw over a lengthy and successful career as a non-profit association manager to move to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. There she turned entrepreneurial, starting up a several businesses including partnering with a Brit and a Dutchman to charter a 51 foot Beneteau sailboat up and down the Windward Islands. Then, an opportunity presented itself to live and work in Australia, and away she went Down Under. (She says she tried and tried to play the diggery-do and couldn't. It still irks her.) Taking advantage of proximity, Liz visited as much of that side of the world as could she could until family health issues called her back to Canada.   But it wasn't long before she was off again, this time to Europe where she worked her way through England, France, Spain, the Czech Republic and several others countries before returning to live in St. Lucia. When her Mom's failing health drew her back home, she founded her own company, Solid Solutions, contracting as a consultant to non-profit charitable and trade organizations. Liz has a Masters in Business, degrees in Communications and Journalism, and holds Marketing, Public Relations, and Fundraising certifications. All of which, combined with her many years of experience in the non-profit sector, come in handy at OM. Her likes include: golf, reading, Hagen Daas chocolate ice cream, a glass of good wine, black licorice, and cheese – which she says is her 'favorite vegetable'. Liz likes to putter at doing her own repairs and renovations around the house, and spending time learning to obey her dog Teddy's commands. Liz isn't kidding it when she says, "I don’t do 'nothing' very well", so we've gotten used to her 4:00am emails and field journal postings on weekends and at all hours of the day and night. She always gives us two choices though; keep up - or get out of her way. Heather Ray - Associate Director, Development Heather’s passion for science and love of nature drove her to contact us in 1998 when Sandhill cranes were the test species and the Whooping crane reintroduction was still three years off. Prior to her departure in early 2005, she served as OM’s Administrative and Development Director, and co-chaired the WCEP Communications and Outreach Team. She was also OM’s Education and Outreach contact for four migrations. A fortunate confluence of circumstances – for both Heather and OM – allowed us to bring her back and take advantage of her years of experience with the organization, and her vast knowledge of the project. We are confident that this background, which allows her to ‘hit the ground running,’ combined with her graduate certificate in Marketing and Communications and in Development for the Charitable Sector, will help OM to renew connections as well as open new doors. In addition to her proven dedication and many talents, her advanced technological proficiency is a welcome addition to the team’s skill set. Incredibly determined and persistent (some would say stubborn), Heather is no stranger to the strange schedule and long hours involved in working for OM. A self-admitted tree-hugger, Heather is both a conservationist and an environmentalist and has been recycling, reducing, and reusing well before it was popular. She proudly admits to being a birder and each summer, she raises and tags Monarch butterflies to help researchers learn more about their migration habits. In her spare time she likes to cook, garden, create stained glass works of art, and indulge her hobby of photography.       Home | Our Work | Get Involved | In the Field Merchandise | Links | Contact Us ©1994-2012 Operation Migration Inc.™ & Operation Migration - USA.™ Not to be reproduced for purposes, public or private without written consent. 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