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 that conducts ongoing fieldwork and annually leads a new generation of Whooping cranes on their1200+ mile migration from the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin to the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge 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 2007. Duff has developed a keen interest in the science of migration and crane behaviour, 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 now bend steel to his own will, fashioning it the way you or I would 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. Helping to create sculptures used in the making of the IMAX films the Last Buffalo and Titanica is just one of his achievements. Richard built the lifelike metal figures of athletes and dancers that adorn the Sculpture Garden at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada   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 flying scenes, built Aircrafts 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 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 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.  Currently, Richard is working on five life-like Whooping crane sculptures commissioned by the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin. Chris Gullikson Chris joined Operation Migration as a pilot in 2005, although his ‘affiliation’ with OM began during the 2003 fall migration. A hobbyist ultralight pilot, Chris accidentally stumbled upon the migration team while flying his trike one beautiful fall morning. An apologetic e-mail from Chris to OM led to an invitation to watch the next morning’s departure. This eventually led to him joining us as our fourth pilot. A Wisconsin native, Chris is the team member closest to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge where our summer training activities take place. An electrical engineer by trade, Chris worked in the telecommunications industry for 18 years. He now works part-time with his father in a saddle business. They design English riding saddles that are custom fitted for both horse and rider. Chris is also an experienced Storm Chaser and runs chase tours in the springtime. His severe weather video and photography have appeared on network TV, and in magazines and training presentations. An avid naturalist, Chris enjoys many outdoor activities. His quick wit and dry sense of humor compliment his many talents making him a welcome member to our diverse team. Field & Migration Team Beverly Paulan - Supervisor of Field Operations Bev was born and raised in Chicago's western suburbs. She graduated from Elmhurst College with a BS in Biology and earned her Private Pilot's Certificate in 1982. While obtaining her other pilot ratings and certificates, Bev honed her business skills at a Sports Medicine Clinic where she worked as business manager for 10 years. Bev's five years of experience as a volunteer Raptor Education at a Wildlife Rehab Center was a perfect prelude to her outreach responsibilities with OM. In 1994 Bev started flying professionally. She ran her own charter service, flight instructed, and did contract flying for the Illinois DNR. Just prior to joining the Operation Migration team, Bev was the general manager and chief pilot for one of the oldest and largest not-for-profit flying clubs in the USA. Bev has two cats Izzy and Doger. Her favorite interests and activities are birding, canoeing, camping, climbing, and in-line skating. Paula and Don Lounsbury - Volunteers Paula and Don Lounsbury are long time volunteers with OM and have participated in every migration from the very beginning. They not only volunteer their time, they also volunteer their motorhome and aircraft to the cause. Both Paula and Don began flying in the early seventies. Paula pursued a flying career, first instructing and then flying for a small airline in Northern Ontario , Canada until 1980 when she started working as a Flight Services Specialist, both as a radio operator, and an aviation weather briefer. Until he retired in 1990, Don, an electonics technician, had a cable television business in Ontario . Then he then began to devote as much time as he could to his passion of flying. They now fly their Cessna 182 off their own farm airstip in Southern Ontario. When things along the migration are moving smoothly we hardly hear a word from them. They quietly conduct their business and clear the path for our ultralights and birds dealing with the pitfalls of air traffic control. But when things don’t go as planned, and our resources are spread thin, they are the calming voice from above. They spot lost birds and convey coordinates to the ground crew. They relay messages to team members and landowners and keep us all together. They find secure places to land when we need to be on the ground, and talk all the pilots down into the same field. They are quietly efficient, politely professional, and responsible in no small way for the safe and successful migrations we have enjoyed. Don and Paula say that they feel privileged to be part of OM 's aircrew. It is we who are privileged. After over a decade migrating with us, they are as much a part of this project as anyone and it is our good fortune to have them. After so many years of migrating with the birds, Don and Paula came to the conclusion that the birds had the right idea. They too now spend their winters in Florida. 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. 2007 was the third year Jack donated his time, piloting skills, and his Cessna aircraft to OM. 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. Despite Jack's expectation of a two week stint as a Top Cover volunteer stretching into nine, he is raring to hit the migration trail again in the fall of 2008. And we are raring to have his skills and affable personality as part of the OM Team. Walter Sturgeon - Volunteer 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 Seabook 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. 2006 is Walt’s third year as a member of OM’s migration crew, and he is looking forward to the continued success of this and other Whooping crane conservation projects. He is doing what he can to ensure that this living dinosaur is never again threatened with extinction. Gerald Murphy - Volunteer Now retired, Gerald has been an OM volunteer since 2004. On migration, he drives the diesel truck pulling our Nomad travel trailer that is home for the bulk of the migration crew. He traces his interest in Whooping cranes back to his elementary school days when he read, “The Yearling” by Marjorie Rawlings. We’ll let Gerald tell you the story of how he came to us. “My first retirement project was building a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina , and once that was finished, I sent off an email to OM offering my services as a volunteer. I got a very polite reply thanking me for my interest and my offer, but that I thought was basically saying……don’t call us, we'll call you. That was April 2004. Then, in August, I got another email from OM. It said, “Are you still interested and available?” The rest as they say is history, and I have volunteered for at least a part of every migration since.” Gerald’s professional career included 20 plus years working as a civilian education specialist writing training manuals and advancement exams for the Navy; 3 years with the U.S. Forest Service; 1 year with Gulf Power Co.; and he taught in the public school system for two years. Gerald also spent 5 years as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and did 2 tours to Viet Nam . Retirement hasn’t slowed Gerald down. An outdoor enthusiast, he has hiked the southern 675 miles of the Appalachian Trail; ridden a bicycle cross-country from Jacksonville, FL to La Jolla, CA, and continues to kayak, walk and bike. He also does volunteer trail maintenance on a 10 mile stretch of the Florida Scenic Trail. 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 ultralight with Joe. A memory she will not soon forget. 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 and, now that they have left the nest, has moved on to her fourth project - Maggie the Golden Doodle. 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. James Popham - Office & Fundraising Assistant James joined OM in January 2007, and brings with him experience in zookeeping, marketing, fundraising, and office coordination. Like everyone else at OM, he will wear many hats, but his primary responsibility is providing office and fundraising support. An Oshawa, Ontario native, James holds an MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice. He started studying Criminal Justice and Public Policy at the University of Guelph, and went on to continue his studies at Griffith University in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Through his studies, he learned of the importance of community involvement; gaining an appreciation for the dedication and work put into non-profit charitable organizations. When not worrying about the cranes and 6am update calls, James pursues an active outdoor life with his new wife Cara. Together they have spent many days exploring the wilderness of Ontario by car, foot, and canoe. When weather is not permitting, they can often be found sitting around the fireplace sharing memories of their seperate visits to Australia. George McCubbin - Volunteer George’s interest in environmental conservation started at age 12. As a Boy Scout he went around his neighborhood collecting papers to raise funds for the troupe. From this small lesson in recycling sprang a lifetime of environmental action. There was a hiatus during WWII when George served in the Canadian merchant-marine and wounded in the line duty, but wherever George has lived, he always involved himself in environmental causes. While living in Toronto he took part in the preservation of the Bruce Trail, a 500 mile project conserving Canada’s natural diversity in its most developed urban centers. On retiring, George purchased a farm in rural Ontario. He operated it in as eco-friendly a way as possible, avoiding the use of pesticides and chemicals, and preventing run-off from his livestock from reaching local water sources. George also planted more than 5,000 seedlings. It was during this time that George first heard about Operation Migration. His farm was located adjacent to the property used in the filming of the 1995 movie, “Fly Away Home.” During filming he was regularly treated to the sight of the ultralight leading the geese, and if this wasn’t enough of a connection, George worked for the production company as a night watchman. In 2002 George and his wife Shirley moved into their present condominium in Lindsay, Ontario, a small town just north of their farm. Once again he saw the opportunity for environmental action. He has been leading his fellow tenants in a number of campaigns to reduce, reuse and recycle. George initiated battery and cell phone collections, fluorescent CFL bulb and ink cartridge recycling, soda-can tab and liquor bottle return projects, and eco-friendly toxic material disposal programs. Within 5 years, George’s efforts resulted in his condominium complex reducing waste by 50% and increasing the tenants’ recycling by 125%! George is most proud of his achievements in protecting our environment. In June 2007 he won a Silver award for Sustainable Living in the Canadian Environmental Awards program. George continues to inspire people near and far with his presentations on how to make multi-unit complexes more environmentally friendly. And speaking of friendly, the OM team couldn’t have asked for a friendlier or cheerier person to work with. 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 - Operating Officer and 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 Downunder. (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 the way. 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