Executive Director - Caroline Goldman, M.P.A.

Caroline joined HWI in 2007 after spending several years in Central America working for The Nature Conservancy’s Belize Country Program and as a Management Consultant and Freelance Writer based in Argentina.  In 2001, she received her Masters of Public Administration with a focus on Nonprofit Management and Environmental Policy, as well as a Masters of International Relations, from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.  She graduated from Brown University in 1994 with a B.A. in American Civilization & Race Relations.

Caroline brings with her a wide range of management experience in conservation, including organization management, project management, conservation policy, and team building. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA).  In 2009, Caroline was awarded the Utah Nonprofits Society/Qwest Emerging Leader Award for her dedication to and creative leadership in the nonprofit sector.

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Phone: (801) 484-6808 ext. 102

Development and Marketing Director - Joseph Dane

Joseph is a native Texan and graduate from Texas State University where he holds a BA in Mass Communication and Business Marketing.  He produced an award-winning public affairs radio program for CBS Radio in Austin, Texas for five years where he became active in non-profits and community engagement. 

Joseph moved to Utah in 2007 after visiting and falling in love with the mountains. An avid outdoors enthusiast, he spends most of his free time running, hiking, camping, and just about anything else outside. Before joining HawkWatch, Joseph managed development and community outreach for Fourth Street Clinic. He has several years of non-profit experience and enjoys connecting people with their community.

Quoting the words of Ralph Emerson, Joseph tries to live each day remembering that “life is a journey, not a destination.”

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Phone: (801) 484-6808 ext. 103

Conservation Biologist - Kylan (Ky) Frye Christensen, M.E.M

Ky was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.  Her passion for wild landscapes, the outdoors and adventure cultivated by summers in Colorado and Northern Michigan led her to become a conservation field biologist.  As a student assistant and later, student leader, for Round River Conservation Studies, she contributed to conservation projects in Namibia and Ecuador.  Between her travels overseas, she worked on field science projects in Montana, California, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona, focusing on researching ecosystem health, songbird ecology and Mexican Spotted Owl behavior.  Prior to starting at HWI in 2011, she worked as a contractor for the US Army in Utah, studying raptor biology, ecology and management.

Ky received her B.S in Zoology from The Ohio State University in 2003, and completed a Master’s of Environmental Management from The Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in 2009.  At Duke, she studied landscape ecology, GIS and statistics and completed a master’s project in which she evaluated the effectiveness of the NRCS rangeland ecosystem health indicators and created a rapid field assessment technique for the Navajo Nation.

In her free time, Ky enjoys cycling, hanging out with her dogs Ruby and Everett, fly-fishing, river running, skiing and landscape photography.  She is also looking forward to a new hobby--wooden boat building--as she and her fiancé start to build a white-water dory.

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Phone: (801) 484-6808 ext. 106

Research Biologist - Senior Monitoring Coordinator - Shawn Hawks, M.S.

Shawn received an M.S. in Zoology from North Dakota State University in Fargo.  His thesis work investigated the use of stable hydrogen isotopes for tracing origins and movement patterns of Northern Goshawks passing through Hawk Ridge in Duluth, Minnesota during fall migration.  Shawn has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in both Alaska (at Alaska Penninsula/Becharof NWR) and Kansas.

In his free time, Shawn enjoys exploring, hiking, SCUBA diving, attending cultural events of most kinds but especially pertaining to live acoustic music, and having a good conversation about ecology, science, current events....you name it!  Shawn truly likes an adventure and is looking forward to learning to downhill ski, exploring the mountains and deserts, learning the local flora and fauna, and meeting new people!

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Phone: 801-484-6808 ext. 110

Science Director - Markus Mika, Ph.D

Markus joins HWI after over 15 years of work and study in wildlife conservation science in the US West.  He is originally from Switzerland and immigrated to the United States in 1993. Markus received his bachelor's degree in Conservation Biology from Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1995 and added an MS in Zoology in 2003, also from BYU, where he studied the breeding and foraging ecology of the Flammulated Owl in two Utah populations. For his doctoral dissertation from the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), Markus continued working on this small owl species across its entire distribution, investigating landscape genetics and phylogeographic population histories in recent geologic time.

Last fall, Markus and his wife Teresa celebrated the arrival of their son Samuel, who will join them on many adventures across the western landscapes.

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Phone: 801-484-6808 ext. 109

NM Office Administrator - Bobbie Posey

Bobbie Posey is the New Mexico Office Manager.  She has worked for HWI in New Mexico since February of 1993 and enjoys working with the New Mexico education and field volunteers.  Before HWI, she was a bookkeeper for a plumbing company, was in the printing business for seven years, and during the filming of a TV series filmed on location in Albuquerque, she worked in the production office of Columbia Television.  She attended the College of William and Mary and is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley where she majored in physical education.  Birding, of course, is high among her interests today, and she enjoys baking goodies for HWI events. 

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Phone: (505) 255-7622

Conservation Director - Steven Slater, Ph.D

Steve joined HawkWatch International (HWI) in June 2006 as the organization’s Conservation Scientist. His initial responsibilities included oversight, data analyses, and report writing for two major research projects investigating the potential impacts of oil and gas development on nesting raptors in Utah and Wyoming and the ability of perch-deterrent devices to exclude raptor power line perch use in Southwestern Wyoming.  Steve has also participated in HWI’s Great Basin Raptor Nest Surveys in Utah and Nevada and recently co-authored a 10-year report summarizing the relationships between nesting raptors and vegetation, landscape, and climatic conditions in Northwestern Utah.  He was promoted to Conservation Director in 2009 and his current work focus is on identifying current and emerging threats to raptors, information needs, potential future research projects, and translating HWI’s science into conservation action

Steve is originally from Michigan and received his bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University in 1999.  Before joining the HWI staff, he spent 6 years in Wyoming, where he obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees in Zoology and Physiology from the University of Wyoming.  His master’s thesis was on greater sage-grouse use of prescribed and wild burns and was completed in 2003.  Steve obtained his doctoral degree in 2006 and wrote his dissertation on issues of scale and bird community responses to riparian cottonwood declines, Russian-olive invasion, and landscape alteration. 

Steve has had a life-long interest in birds of all kinds and enjoys being outdoors with his wife and newborn son while engaging in such activities as hiking, backpacking, camping, bird watching, digital photography, snowshoeing, and snowboarding.

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Phone: 801-484-6808 ext. 108

Education and Outreach Director - Nikki Wayment

Nikki received a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife from Utah State University. Her non-profit experience comes from her tenure at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, Ga, where she served as Curator of Science and Education.  She is thrilled to be a part of HawkWatch International and the important work that they do.

In her free time, Nikki enjoys hiking, swimming, reading, and spending time with her family.

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Phone: (801) 484-6808 ext. 107

Membership & Development Coordinator - Quinn Morgan

Quinn is originally from California and a graduate from University of California Davis where he obtained a BS in Wildlife, Fisheries, & Conservation Biology with a specialization in Communication of Conservation Biology. He won a number of leadership awards at UC Davis for his involvement as founder of a wildlife conservation student group called Wild Campus as well as his role as a founding member of We Are Aggie Pride, a group focused on student-to-student philanthropy.

Quinn has been enthralled with all forms of wildlife since childhood and hopes to apply his natural aptitude for communication and sales to help ensure the wildlife that had such an impact on him growing up will be conserved for future generations. He is especially fond of raptors and is easily distracted from almost anything if he sees one.

In his free time, Quinn loves any activity that gets him outside, with a particular passion for camping, hiking, and wildlife photography. He also loves cooking, gardening, woodworking, and anything else that allows him to work with his hands.

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Phone: (801) 484-6808 ext. 101