Staff

Management

David Borneman, Boss

Phone: 734/794.6627x4FIRE (43473)

After a couple years volunteering on the burn crew I started working at NAP in 2001. It's been a wonderful place to cultivate my skills as an environmentalist, citizen advocate, and community organizer. A life-long resident of Ann Arbor, I graduated from Huron High School, and then with a BS in facilitating tree hugging from MSU. My favorite quote: "Decisions are made by those who show up." Lesson: GET INVOLVED.
Phone: 734/794.6627x43472

Lara Treemore-Spears,
Natural Areas Technician

I'm NAP's second Technician, helping to manage the parks and keep track of the data generated during our efforts, as well as providing input on engineering and development projects in the City. Prior to joining NAP in 2005, I was an environmental consultant at a local engineering and landscape architecture firm. My Master's degree from the UM School of Natural Resources focused on insect diversity in fire-managed grassland. I enjoy getting to know the volunteers and working to inventory and restore our parks.
Phone: 734/794.6627x43476

Jason Tallant,
Natural Areas Technician

Jason Tallant has a B.S. in Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies from Western Michigan University and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Geographic Information Systems from Eastern Michigan University. As a Natural Areas Technician, he directs the implementation of ecological restoration efforts in city parks and natural areas.
Phone: 734/794.6627x43478

Inventory Staff

Our inventory staff is usually out in the field- if you want to contact them, give us a call at 734/794-6627 and we'll pass the message along!

Dea Armstrong, Ornithologist

Dea Armstrong joined NAP in 1998 while still in graduate school at SNRE at the University of Michigan, but served as a volunteer on NAP's Breeding Bird Survey before that. She is active with the Washtenaw Audubon Society and enjoys both local and international birding. She loves working at NAP!

David A. Mifsud, Herpetologist

David A. Mifsud, herpetologist, certified professional wetland scientist and certified professional ecologist, has been the herpetologist for the City of Ann Arbor since 2000, and is the owner/founder of Herpetological Resource and Management (HRM). He has been working for over ten years in wildlife biology, wetland ecology, and habitat conservation and management. David has developed Michigan’s first salamander monitoring program as well as a mudpuppy monitoring program. He's also overseen numerous projects for non-profit and governmental agencies, including wetland mitigation design and monitoring, herpetofaunal inventories and habitat design, wildlife and habitat management, large scale ecosystem mapping, amphibian and reptile rescue and translocation, and educational outreach. His primary research interest is the effect of urbanization, habitat loss, and habitat fragmentation on amphibian and reptile species diversity and distribution within the Great Lakes Region. Although his work includes conservation of all amphibians and reptiles, he specializes on turtles which he has been working with for over 25 years. Mifsud holds an MS in Environmental Science from the University of Michigan as well as degrees in Biology, Geography and Environmental Studies from Aquinas College.

Sean Zera, Assistant Herpetologist
As NAP's Assistant Herpetologist, I'm helping to survey for reptiles and amphibians around Skyline High School. I volunteered during the initial animal rescue before construction and am interested to see how well these species cope with the changes to their habitat. I have a B.S. in biology from the University of Michigan. Besides reptiles, my interests include wildlife photography, animal skulls and growing native and unusual plants.

Outreach Crew

All of our outreach staff can be reached at 734/794.6627!

Christine Chessler
Christine is our new Outreach Assistant in charge of private workdays (amongst other fabulous things)- look for her bio in the upcoming Winter NAP Newsletter!
Phone: 734/794.6627x43471

Tina Roselle
Tina is very excited about her new role as the Adopt-A-Park Coordinator! She has spent the last few years doing a variety of outdoor and environmental education jobs in Michigan, Taiwan, and Japan. She says, "it's great to be settling in back home in the Ann Arbor area and working to conserve the green spaces so close to my heart. I’m looking forward to getting to know all the park adopters as well as our other fantastic volunteers."
Phone: 734/794.6627x43475

Nancy

Nancy works in the NAP office, answering the phone and replying to emails. She coordinates some publications like the newsletter and brochures. She helps with various outreach projects like tabling events, coordinating our community service volunteers, NAP's Fourth of July parade entry, or a NAP display in the public library. She leads an occasional workday. You will find her in the office most mornings from 9:00 to 1:00.
Phone: 734/794.6627x43474

Sara

Sara primarily assists with coordinating the publicly advertised volunteer events and leads many of them. She currently works part-time for NAP, as well as part-time for National Wildlife Federation. Prior to moving to Ann Arbor, she bounced around the country for several years working environmental education and outdoor adventure jobs, including a summer spent as a volunteer backcountry ranger for Guadalupe Mountains National Park in west Texas. She has a B.S. in Environmental Communication, Education and Interpretation from The Ohio State University.
Phone: 734/794.6627x43479

Dana Novak

I studied Environmental Science and Wildlife at The Ohio State University, then wandered around the states from the east coast to the rockies as a semi-professional volunteer before settling in Boise, Idaho, working in the realms of stormwater and environmental consulting. In 2005, my husband and I transplanted ourselves back to the Midwest and are enjoying getting to know Ann Arbor's natural areas and the volunteers who work hard to keep them ecologically diverse. The births of our two beautiful boys in 2008 gave us a new definition of "tired" and a renewed sense of our collective ability to make a positive impact. I challenge you all to get out there and join us at a workday, if you haven't before - or attend one more workday than usual. If you're like me, it will invigorate your body and refresh your spirit. See you soon!
Phone: 734/794.6627x43474

Bonnie Wessler
Bonnie's been working with NAP since late 2006, when she came aboard to work with our maps and databases. Since then, she's gotten her Master's in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan, made a lot of maps, scheduled and led quite a few workdays, redesigned the look of our inventory programs, overhauled our databases, whitten a TON of factsheets, and even written a few articles and webpages. She's also the one to blame for getting us started with all that Facebook and Twitter stuff.
Phone: 734/794.6627x43479

Field Crew

Field crew can be reached at nap@a2gov.org, or call them at 734/794.6627!

Robb Johnston
Robb has been living in Ann Arbor since May 2009 and is happy to be the newest member of the NAP crew. He worked as a research assistant at Michigan State University on a project studying biological control of Garlic Mustard and graduated in 2006 with a degree in International Relations. Robb plans to attend graduate school at the University Centre of the Westfjords in Iceland starting in Fall 2010.

Amanda
I started volunteering with NAP two years ago, and now work with the crew part-time. Working outdoors, managing our natural areas is a wonderful change from my office schedule. I have been practicing massage therapy for ten years, and currently live in Chelsea. I recently completed my advanced Master Gardener certification, and am studying hypnotherapy and organic gardening. Beyond my work schedule, activities I enjoy are hiking, gardening, cooking, and writing.

Laura
After spending a few years as a photographer, I switched gears and joined an AmeriCorps program which focused on environmental education and stewardship. The next years led to field crew positions with The Nature Conservancy throughout Indiana and Minnesota. I’ve recently returned to Michigan to help care for the Natural Areas of Ann Arbor. It’s wonderful to have a chance to be a part of conservation efforts close to home!

Steven Parrish

Twelve years ago I took part in a NAP frog survey. During this time my thirst for knowledge and concern for the health of our planet also began to germinate. Hence, I hung up my carpenter’s tool belt and began my endeavor as a naturalist. Earning a Natural Resources degree from U of M, I began to put my rootlets down to taste the rich communities we’re all a part of. I am quite happy to be a part of the NAP family.

Billy
Good day fellow NAPpers. I am very happy to have been accepted into the wonderful world of Ann Arbor’s Natural Area Preservation. By the grace of universal goodness I was transported to this wonderful city last August and have loved every moment of living here: especially since joining NAP. I hail from Chicago, via the cornfields of central Illinois where I earned a BS in Plant Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I was also lucky enough to spend a year studying ecosystem and plant ecology in Perth, Australia. You may find me romping around at Argo and Bandemer parks with my lovely partner Nell and our two wild dogs, Havana and Ramona. Look forward to seeing y’all around town!