GBBO Board Members
Keiba Crear is the Manager of the Environmental Monitoring and Management Division for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). Ms. Crear has been working with SNWA for 19 years and manages a team of biologists responsible for native restoration and biological monitoring in the Las Vegas Wash. She also responsible for SNWA’s Sustainability initiatives.
While employed for SNWA, she has helped facilitate the formation of the 31-member Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee and has been instrumental in the creation and implementation of the Las Vegas Wash Comprehensive Adaptive Management Plan. She developed the Las Vegas Wash Mainstream Water Quality Monitoring Plan, Wetland and Riparian Restoration and Enhancement Program, Las Vegas Wash Community Outreach Programs, and is involved in numerous other research projects.
She graduated from Howard University in Washington, DC, with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences. Keiba also believes in supporting her community as she serves as a Trustee on the Clark County Library District and the Library Foundation.
She is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and is married to Cedric Crear. They reside in West Las Vegas and have two beautiful daughters, Hagan and Kennedy.
Dana Hartley is a former employee of the Great Basin Bird Observatory who is currently servingas the Treasurer of the organization. He has a BS Degree in Business Management, BS in Computer Science, and is currently completing a MS in Geospatial Information Science and Technology.
Genny received her Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State and moved to Reno in 1986. Very soon after that she started working for the U.S. Forest Service as a wildlife biologist. She spent many years surveying for California spotted owls, northern goshawks, willow flycatchers, and other birds throughout the northern Sierra. She was a member of the California Partners in Flight Committee and Intermountain Joint Venture. In 2000, she transferred to the Humboldt-Toiyabe NF serving as the Forest Biologist for many years where she continued to be involved in bird conservation. Genny was an original member of the Nevada Sage Grouse Conservation Team and did extensive work to inventory for flammulated owls and goshawks throughout Nevada. Upon moving to the Humboldt-Toiyabe NF, she was introduced to Great Basin Bird Observatory and, began working with GBBO to finish the Nevada Breeding Bird Atlas and start the all bird monitoring program. She worked for nearly 30 years for the U.S. Forest Service holding positions as a biologist, District Ranger and then Deputy Forest Supervisor. Genny recently left the Forest Service to spend more time on conservation issues and thus accepted a Board position with GBBO. Genny has two daughters, who live in Reno and most recently a granddaughter. Genny enjoys hiking, especially in the many remote wilderness areas in Nevada. And when she is not outside she loves sewing and trying to make a nice quilt!
In addition to being an avid birder and father of three, Paul is a faculty member at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) in the department of Mathematics & Statistics. He is also a faculty member of the Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology (EECB) graduate program at UNR. Paul has a B.S. degree in Mathematics and another B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, both from the University of Southern Colorado (now Colorado State University – Pueblo), and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Cornell University. Prior to moving to Reno in 2015, Paul was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute at The Ohio State University. Paul’s interest in birds has its roots in a childhood spent exploring the diverse habitats surrounding his hometown of Pueblo, CO. During his late teens, Paul’s birding interests continued to grow while he served on the board of the Arkansas Valley Audubon Society, and this trend continued through graduate school thanks to the strong birding community in Ithaca, NY. Paul has helped lead field trips for various organizations, and in May 2016 Paul was part of a team of four Reno-area birders who set a new state “Big Day” record of 171 species. Paul also currently serves on the Nevada Bird Records Committee.
Jeri acquired her love of birds and other wildlife growing up in her hometown of Jamestown, North Dakota. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University, Fort Collins in 1993, and her Master of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1998. She was a contractor for the Bureau of Land Management in Las Vegas while conducting research for her Master’s thesis on the use of mesquite woodlands in southern Nevada by phainopeplas and other avian species. Jeri worked as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Las Vegas from 1999 until 2012, serving as the lead for Endangered Species Act related bird conservation, regulatory, and recovery actions in southern Nevada. She relocated to the Reno Fish and Wildlife Office in 2012, where she worked until she retired in 2019. Jeri was a member of the pioneer crew of the Nevada Statewide Bird Monitoring Program in 2002, and assisted with the Nevada Breeding Bird Survey and the development of the Nevada Comprehensive Bird Conservation Plan. She is a member of The Wildlife Society and Western Field Ornithologists. Her interests include hiking, gardening, nature and bird sketching, and sourdough bread baking, and she and her husband Jon enjoy traveling abroad to explore the fascinating cultures, history, and wildlife of other countries.
Willie is a native of Nevada and has a BS degree in Wildlife Management from Utah State University. He was employed by the Nevada Department of Wildlife for thirty years and was director of that agency for over sixteen years. He is a past president of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. He was an original member of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Board and a long serving member of the Intermountain West Joint Venture Board. He makes his home in Reno, Nevada, and continues to pursue his passion for productive and sustainable lands and wildlife.