Revised September 2024
This is an amazing group of dedicated volunteers! We are so very fortunate to have the privilege of their commitment of time, talent, intelligence, responsibility and passion.
Becky Gretton – Co-President, Program Chairperson
A lifetime interest in birding has led me to the DOAS Board of Directors. Over the years, activities such as the Breeding Bird Atlas, Christmas Bird Count, Franklin Mountain Hawk Watch, and area bird walks and paddles have familiarized me with the organization. As a resident of Otsego County for 47 years, my respect for and admiration of our uniquely beautiful environment is renewed on a daily basis.
Andy Mason – Co-President,Conservation, Membership and Sanctuary Chairman, Hawkwatch Co-Chairman
I live in Oneonta with my wife, Gray, and work as a self-employed housepainter, carpenter and landlord. My interest in the environment and more specifically birds dates to the late 1970s when we traveled the country camping and hiking.
On my return, I discovered DOAS and became an active member. My first direct participation was with the then newly-acquired Sanctuary, and I have stayed involved ever since.
I feel strongly that those of us who appreciate nature have a responsibility to take action to protect it in return. I have served as DOAS President, Vice-President, and Conservation Chair, as well as holding executive positions on the Audubon Council of NY State, and the NY State Ornithological Association.
VACANT – Secretary
Charlie Scheim – Treasurer
I grew up in Holbrook, Massachusetts and moved to Oneonta in 1980 to teach at Hartwick College, where I was a mathematics professor from 1980 to 2018. I began birding while in college. After I had learned to recognize some birds by sight, a physics professor who had become a birding friend taught me to recognize song sparrows and towhees by their song, for which I have been grateful ever since.
Besides being the Treasurer and Field Trip Coordinator for DOAS, I also coordinate the Fort Plain Christmas Bird Count. On the state-wide level,
I have been a Regional Coordinator for eastern central NY in the 2020-24 NYS Breeding Bird Atlas III and a member of the Board of the NYS Ornithological Association.
My wife Sandy Bright and I enjoy birding and other outdoor activities together. We lead a number of bird walks each year, and speak to a variety of groups about birds and birding.
Jane Bachman
I’ve had an interest in birds since childhood, and have pursued my interest wherever I’ve lived, seeking out Audubon-led field trips in Connecticut, Colorado and Wisconsin. I did the same when my family and I moved to Oneonta in 1996. Through DOAS-led field trips I became aware of the organization, and of course, met lots of fellow birders. I joined the DOAS Board in 2018, and have really enjoyed working with the other dedicated board members. I spend a day each week at the Franklin Mountain Hawkwatch during the season, sell bird-friendly coffee from my front porch, and currently edit the DOAS newsletter, The Belted Kingfisher.
Kathryn Davino – Hospitality Chair
Since I was a child, I have raised animals of all kinds, including a few birds such as Budgies and Cockatiels, but what really clinched my fascination for birds was a SUNY Albany course in Ornithology. My beloved Professor Hudson Winn took my college class all around upstate New York to learn how to identify local birds and I became hooked for life! I moved to this area in 1980, and while teaching science at South Kortright Central School, I met my husband, Alan. Since 1986, Al and I have lived in the same country house, outside of the village of Delhi in the Town of Meredith. In 2012, I retired from teaching after 30 years of service collectively to SKCS and Delaware Academy in Delhi. My service to bird science includes assisting with the data gathering for the NYS Breeding Bird Atlases II and III, and since 2013 I have participated in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project Feeder Watch. As a retiree, I’m an avid gardener, birder, weather watcher, and amateur astronomer, and Al and I love to travel during the winter. I have been a member of DOAS since 2016 and feel honored to be a part of this energetic Board of Directors. Currently, I help administer the DOAS Facebook page and oversee Hospitality needs for our programs and the annual Charter Dinner, and I assist with some fundraising, like the Charter Raffle.
Chris DeCesare
Like many on the board, I’ve had a lifelong love of nature and being outdoors. This led me to study wildlife biology in college and environmental education in graduate school. It was my ornithology professor who introduced me to the interesting world of birds from nesting bald eagles to the mating ritual of the woodcock and the songs of backyard birds. My favorite memory is sneaking up on woodcocks at dusk in a scrub field with my classmates and throwing ourselves to the ground as a bird twittered to earth from its sky dance.
My work experience includes being a seasonal park ranger at a US Fish and Wildlife Refuge, a seasonal Biological Technician for the US Forest Service and an environmental educator for the NYSDEC. The latter was my career for over 20 years. I currently manage a grant for afterschool program as the Program Director for the Creating Rural Opportunities Partnership (CROP) program.
I have been a part of DOAS as a camp director, a program leader for adults and families, and a Christmas Bird Counter. I’m excited to be on the board to help further the mission. My interests include paddling, hiking, gardening, and spending time with my dog Koa participating in sports such as Scentwork and Dock Diving. Though I love birds, I also have a fondness for insects…Shh!
Pam Lea
Growing up one of five in the North Country on the edge of the Adirondacks with summers on Trout Lake meant lots of time exploring nature, often with my brother and always with my dog. I first came to live in Otsego County when I took my first job as a mixed practice veterinarian for Dr. John Leahy in 1978. Subsequently, I operated my own Exeter Veterinary Clinic outside of Schuyler Lake for 37 years. During that time, I raised two children, bred 40-plus Morgan horse babies, traveled extensively when I could and enjoyed photo journaling it all. I put my property in a conservation easement with the Otsego County Land Trust in 2017 and in my retirement, I enjoy nothing better than mowing and walking my trails, landscaping my new house and continuing to study the natural world – plants and birds especially. My friends on the DOAS board have a wealth of knowledge that they are always willing to share. I’m not sure yet what my niche will be on the board but I am very honored to be a part of it.
Nancy New
Susan O’Handley — Education Chair, Media and Publicity
I am a career environmental educator with over 25 years experience teaching a variety of natural history topics for all ages and audiences. I have worked as an educator, administrator and wildlife rehabilitator with Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary, the first National Audubon Sanctuary in Oyster Bay, NY, and supervised extended overnight field study programs for inner city youth with Queens College Center for Environmental Teaching and Research at Caumsett State Historic Park, Lloyd Harbor, NY. In addition, my experience includes raptor and songbird banding, censusing projects and marine ecology studies through work with Save the Sound in Stamford, CT. I hold certifications as a facilitator for national environmental education curriculums including Project Wild, Aquatic Project Wild, Project WET and Flying Wild.
In recent years, my husband Jeff and I founded Wildlife Learning Company to bring environmental education opportunities and programming to Central NY. I continue to work with Otsego County Conservation Association to help coordinate the collaborative annual Earth Festival event in Milford, NY. I held the Executive Director position with Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce from 2009 to 2011 and currently work in website development, technology training and marketing support through Central NY Mobile Marketing, an independent, home-based business in Hartwick, NY.
Landa Palmer – Accessibility Committee Chair
As long as I can remember I have loved birds. My folks always had a window feeder and we all learned many different birds in our southern Pennsylvania home, where I grew up. My college life found me at Keuka College and then I started my nursing career in Oneonta. I presently am teaching nursing at SUNY Delhi.
I have lived in Delaware County for 35 years. I am a farmer’s wife, mother of two grown children, and a grandmother to sweet grand babes! I love being outside with my grands and teaching them the sounds and pleasure that birds bring to the world. I also have a passion for nature photography. I spend as much time as I can in the woods and fields of our farm with my camera. I also have had the opportunity to join Hawk Migration of North America on a birding and photo trip and ended up with 13 new lifers! It was amazing.
I am excited to be on the DOAS board. I am anxious to learn from all of the expert birders in this organization.
Tom Salo – Hawkwatch Co-Chair
In the late 80′s I joined the board of the DOAS. I have held numerous positions on the board. Raptors are a special interest of mine. I’ve been involved with the Franklin Mountain Hawk Watch since 1989. I led the DOAS projects to tag 8 winter resident Golden Eagles with GPS devices, and to place camera traps around the region. I have been a Regional Editor for NYSOA’s journal The Kingbird, a Regional Co-coordinator of the 2000 NYS Breeding Bird Atlas, conducted a Breeding Bird Survey Route for many years, and surveyed wilderness areas in the Adirondacks for two Breeding Bird Atlases. My wife Jo and I live in a passive solar house in Burlington.
