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Board
Officers
Doug Shaw, President
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Board Members
Diane Albert,
Jo Fairbanks,
Yolanda Homann, J. Dave Hutton,
Don Parker, Sondra Williamson
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Doug Shaw
President |
FRGNC Board President Doug Shaw
retired from the U. S. Forest Service in l999 after a 30-year
career, five in the Southeastern Region followed by 25 years in
the Southwestern Region as a forest hydrologist, planner,
monitor, and budget director. He has Bachelor’s of Science in
Forestry and Forestry Hydrology, both from the University of
Georgia. Doug served as a platoon leader in the U.S. Marine
Corp. Currently, Doug heads up the Nature Center's Preservation,
Protection, & Research Committee and volunteers with the New
Mexico Riparian Council, Campfire USA, and Cuidando Los Ninos.
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Board Members
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Diane Albert
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As an
attorney with Peacock Myers, P.C., Diane’s legal expertise is a
much-needed asset to the Friends’ Board. Diane’s experience
with other environmental Boards and connections in the community
will help the Friends to reach two of our goals: raise
visibility of the nature center in the community and establish
partnerships. Diane has a B.S. degree in both Mathematics
Education and Metallurgical Engineering from The Ohio State
University and M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and
Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Diane received her
J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law. Diane was
appointed by Governor Richardson to the Board of Commissioners,
NM Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, NM in 2003, where she
currently serves as Legislative Committee Chair and Vice-Chair.
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Jo Fairbanks
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Director of the Public Health Outreach Education Program, UNM Health
Sciences Center, and public health teacher in the university's Family
and Community Medicine Department, Jo has co-authored two textbooks in
the field along with several articles on rural health and health
disparities in Native American communities. From l990 to 2006, she
managed the Area Health Education Center, supervising staff and working
closely with community boards at the three AHEC centers. |
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Yolanda Homann
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A computer operator employed at
GTECH, Yolanda has been with the Friends of the Rio Grande
Nature Center since its inception is 1984. She volunteers
selflessly “behind the scenes.” Yolanda is a self-proclaimed
neighborhood activist who provides balance to the Board by
voicing neighborhood concerns.
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J. David Hutton |
A physicist with extensive experience in nuclear physics and high speed
electronics development for measuring fast transient phenomena, Dave
Hutton has managed the science and engineering departments of several
companies in support of various research and development programs.
Currently, he is manager of Honeywell FM &T in Albuquerque. A birder, a
supporter of KNME, and commodore/board member of the New Mexico Sailing
Club, Dave is a strong supporter of the Nature Center, predicting that
his science background will be useful in "assessing, monitoring,
preservation, and development efforts."
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Don Parker |
An industrial toxicologist at Sandia National Laboratories for 28 years,
Senior Engineer Don Parker headed up the lab's Industrial Hygiene
Division for 13 of those years, evaluating hazards associated with
construction of the underground nuclear repository at the WIPP site.
Since retirement in l993, Don has metamorphosed into an amateur
entomologist, cataloging the insect and spider collection of some 7,600
specimens at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. At
the Nature Center, Don has served as president of the Friends and head
of its research committee; he continues as a valued interpreter,
entomology lecturer, and resource person.
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Sondra Williamson |
Sondra marks her 17th year with the Rio Grande Nature Center in 2007, an
association that has included five years as volunteer coordinator and
every year as expert birder and guide, botanist and garden developer,
interpreter and volunteer training teacher. Sondra's career as a nature
enthusiast began in the l970s while she held down the six to midnight
shift as a telephone operator for A T & T in Houston. After discovering
the city's Armand
Bayou Nature Center nearby, she soon was there every
daylight minute, serving as a volunteer teacher in bird and plant
classes, a digger in the garden, and a paid employee in the nursery and
gift shop. On weekends, Sondra hired on as a pontoon boat guide on a
lake near Galveston Bay, pointing out wildlife to foreign visitors. In
Albuquerque and at the Rio Grande Nature Center since l990, Sondra
served as a board member for Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
and continues to work at the Festival of the Cranes.
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