Our People

Raised in Wisconsin with a canoe paddle in hand, Jen transformed her early love of the Northwoods into a B.Sc. in Biology and Wildlife Ecology from UW Stevens Point (’10). She brings to ARC fourteen years of ornithological field experience gleaned from a variety of projects in nine US states. While Jen’s early career focused largely on raptors, four years investigating the breeding ecology of the mysterious Marbled Murrelet ignited a budding passion for seabirds. Guiding for Oregon Pelagic Tours helped seal the deal: after a striking chance encounter with a Hawaiian Petrel, she followed these magnificent birds across the Pacific.

Jen is a dedicated birder who co-authors the quarterly Hawaii Region reports for the American Birding Association’s North American Birds publication. She also enjoys gardening, playing guitar/ piano/ ukulele, and learning everything she can from her hula ‘ohana.

Originally from Washington, Caitlin earned her B.S. in Biology at Whitman College. Growing up at the base of Mount Adams, she has always been very active outdoors and enjoys trail running, hiking, and mountain biking. She first started working on birds when she did her thesis research in Panama, studying the effects of human disturbance on bird populations in the Bocas del Toro Island Archipelago. She has held previous jobs working to restore beaver and fish populations in the Pacific North West.

Hannah was born and raised in Michigan but has since lived and worked in many states across the country. Attending Texas State University for her B.S. in Wildlife Biology, Hannah immediately realized her love of birds, quickly becoming involved as a technician for avian related studies under a doctoral student.

After college, Hannah worked with seabirds on a small island off the coast of Alaska and the following year came to Kaua’i to continue conservation for multiple seabird species. Hannah is honored to be a part of the ARC team and carry on with helping to preserve many of the endemic and threatened species that Hawaii has today.

Jaime comes to Kaua’i from North Carolina. She has a B.S. in environmental science and brings over a decade of experience in applied wildlife conservation projects. She has worked with a number of study species, including seals, sea turtles, and small mammals. On her off time, Jaime sews her own clothes, climbs rocks, goes snorkeling, and likes to read. Right now she’s listening to the Psychedelic Furs radio on Spotify.

Joey brings an extremely diverse skill set to ARC. For ten years Joey worked as a professional artist, multi-media designer, and web developer before being introduced to the world of conservation biology. He has over ten years of wildlife field research and management experience working with a diverse array of wildlife species including endangered forest birds of the Hawaiian Islands, Northern Spotted Owl, Black-backed Woodpecker, New World Warblers, Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Canada Goose, Pheasant species, and a variety of small mammals.

Joey is an active member and currently serves on the board of the Wild Lens Collective – a non-profit artist collective focused on the intersection of creative storytelling and environmental conservation. He has co-directed and edited several short films such as Aikhag – A Personal Journey, A New Message for Smokey, and Souls of the Vermilion Sea: Searching for the Vaquita.

Born and raised in Maine, Bobby is extremely passionate about working to conserve endangered species and graduated from University of Maine with a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology in the fall of 2019. He has worked with mammals, amphibians, reptiles, but has a soft spot for seabirds after working among tern and puffin colonies in his home state.

Before ARC, Bobby worked with Save Our Shearwaters on Kaua’i in a rehabilitation setting where he learned about the unique challenges faced by Hawaiian seabirds and other native species to Hawai’i. Bobby is thrilled to be a part of the ARC team and to continue working towards to conservation of the endangered Hawaiian seabirds that he has come to love.

Growing up on the coast of California, Vinny developed a strong bond and affinity for the ocean and the species which call it home. Graduating from Humboldt State University with a B.S. in conservation and management, his love and passion for seabirds took root in the Redwood Coast.

Vinny is stoked to be a part of the ARC team and continue conservation efforts for some of Kaua’i’s striking native seabirds.

Karim grew up in New Jersey enjoying urban life and coastal views. He attended Stony Brook University and received a B.A. in Ecosystems and Human Impact while studying and exploring New York’s coastline. As a Doris Duke Conservation Scholars, Karim is committed to making conservation more accessible for all.

Before joining ARC, Karim worked in neglected wetlands in Utah and found his passion for species conservation and habitat restoration. Now working with endangered seabirds on Kaua’i, Karim has happily returned to his coastal roots both educationally and in upbringing.

Originally from Texas, Skyler is thrilled to be working for a company that has such a direct and positive impact on Kauai’i’s endangered seabirds, and is excited about being able to apply his unique knowledge and experience to help these amazing animals.

Skyler received his B.S. in environmental biology from Tarleton State University and his M.S. at Texas State University studying the ecological impact of invasive species across Texas. After graduate school, Skyler researched the environmental impacts of a wastewater facility in Louisiana, presenting his findings at academic conferences and publishing a paper on the topic. Skyler has also assisted researchers along the Gulf Coast conducting tissue sampling of game fishes for trophic studies, conducting coastal marsh restoration assessments using drones, and monitoring seabird colonies on barrier islands.

Tlell was born and raised in central Oregon and researched the beautiful Oregon Spotted Frog while in high school. For her senior year of high school, she received a full scholarship from the Department of State to be an exchange student in Turkey. She graduated with a B.S. in Biology in 2020 from Portland State University.

Before coming to Kaua’i, she worked in Washington hunting invasive bullfrogs. She enjoys reading, hiking, baking pies, and painting.

Lindsey grew up in the beautiful Columbia Gorge at the base of Mt. Adams in Washington. After graduating from Whitman College with a B.S. in biology she has lived/worked all over the west coast. From guiding in Alaska to working with threatened frogs in southern California, Lindsey has made herself a sort of jack-of-all-trades. This is Lindsey’s first time working with seabirds and she is so excited to get to study these species in such an amazing place.

Trysen, a multimedia artist, joins ARC with Kaua’i’s Rise to Work program, and spent three months with ARC painting larger than life murals of our native waterbirds and seabirds as part of the ‘Cat Safe, Wildlife Safe Kaua’i Project’. The project uses street art to introduce Kaua‘i residents to the endangered birds that live here. 

You can see more of Trysen’s work here.