Julie Etra
Expedition Botanist
"...the dates at which particular plants put forth or lose their flowers, or leaf, times of appearance of particular birds, reptiles or insects..."
Julie Etra, CPESC is currently President of Western Botanical Services, Inc., a consulting firm founded in 1993. Ms. Etra has been a Certified Professional in Sediment and Erosion Control (CPESC) since 1993 and is a past president of the Western Chapter of the International Erosion Control Association (WCIECA). From 1985 until 1993, Ms. Etra operated Tahoe Native Plants (TNP) which provided landscape design and installation services, emphasizing the use of native plants. Ms. Etra has over 17 years experience in the fields of erosion control; revegetation; disturbed site restoration; botanical surveys; environmental documents; and wetland delineation, mitigation, and restoration.
Brian Forrest
Expedition Photographer
"... I beheld the Rocky Mountains for the first time... these... Mountains were covered with snow and the sun shone on it in such a manner as to give me the most plain and satisfactory view..."
Capt. Meriwether Lewis
Sunday May 26, 1805
Education
- M.F.A. 1978, Claremont Graduate University
- B.A. 1973, San Francisco State University
Experience
- Professional Photographer, 1982 to present
- Freelance Gallery Technician, Los Angeles Area 1975 to 1982
- Chief Preparator, Newport Harbor Art Museum 1973-1975
Clients
Partial List:
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
Creative Artists Agency
The Sam Francis Estate
Knoedler & Co.
Bank of America
Marlborough Gallery, Inc.
Time Magazine
Entertainment Weekly
New York Times Magazine
Roger Fraser
Airport Operations Director
Commercial Pilot
Airplane Single Engine Land Instrument
Airplane Multiengine Land Instrument
"Although your route will be along the channel of the Missouri, you will endeavor to inform yourself, by inquiry, of the character & extent of the country watered by its branches..."
Roger Fraser was born and raised next to an airport ’Äì Gillespie Field (SEE) - in San Diego, California. He started flying lessons at age twelve, working odd jobs to pay for them. Roger soloed on his sixteenth birthday and earned his private pilot license shortly thereafter and has been flying ever since.
After obtaining a degree in Mechanical Engineering from San Diego State University, Roger married, raising three children while working for his father's construction business. Ultimately, Roger started his own construction business while simultaneously running an aircraft charter and flight school with his father at Gillespie Field until his father's untimely death in 1967.
Roger worked for seven years as a Fireman/Paramedic and received a degree in Fire Science. He was employed for twenty years at the San Diego State University in its Physical Plant Construction Department. where he was a member of the team that designed and built the state-of-the-art SDSU Soil Erosion Research Laboratory. Since retirement from SDSU, he has been pursuing his passion, a career in flying, upgrading his private pilot ratings to Commercial ASEL and AMEL. Roger charters corporate and private parties in numerous types of aircraft and also flies Air Medicvac. He was employed as pilot for Richard Pellar Investments until 2002 and is currently retained as on-call pilot for Richard Pellar Estates.
Julian Granirer, R.G.
Expedition Geophysicist
Airplane Single Engine Land
"The mineral productions of every kind; but more particularly metals, limestone, pit coal & saltpeter; salines & mineral waters, noting the temperature of the last, & such circumstances as may indicate their character... Volcanic appearances."
Julian Granirer was born and raised in Manhattan, New York but spent his summers barefoot on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He lives in La Jolla, California with his wife and young daughter. Julian received a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Asian and Environmental Studies from Prescott College in Prescott, AZ, and both a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and a Master of Science degree in Geophysics from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. He is a California State-Registered Geologist and Registered Environmental Assessor. Julian's approach throughout life is to apply his skills and resourcefulness to explore, discover, re-discover and innovate.
Julian has a broad breadth of expertise in earth sciences including professional experience in tectonic research, metallic mineral exploration, geologic/hydrologic and environmental site characterization, oceanographic seafloor mapping, aerial photographic and geomorphologic interpretation, and teaching geologic field mapping near areas to be re-explored during the Flight of Discovery.
In addition to flying, Julian enjoys vintage motorcycling, sailing, surf kayaking, white water rafting, history, geography and cultural explorations. He has traveled around the world, including extensive journeys through the restricted hinterlands of Central Asia, remote regions of the South Pacific, and Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
Julian has applied his special background and zeal for exploration to a variety of remarkable opportunities, such as acting as Expedition Geologist on several rafting trips through the Grand Canyon and exploring many hundreds of miles across Tibet and the road-less wilderness of western China without benefit of maps (he proceeded beyond the edge of his charts and maps are made deliberately hard to find there). And in an era when the world seems to have already been well explored, he has derived great satisfaction from mapping extensive regions of previously uncharted sea-floor topography beneath the South Pacific.
Michael Mann
Expedition Caravan Pilot
Commercial Airplane Multi-Engine Land, Instrument
Commercial Airplane Single Engine Land, Instrument
"... The scenery already rich, pleasing, and beautiful was still further heightened by immense herds of buffalo, deer, elk and antelopes, which we saw in every direction feeding on the hills and plains... "
Meriwether Lewis, 1804
Michael Mann was born in Los Angeles and currently resides in Orange, California with his wife and three children and currently owns & operates an air charter company and a pilot supply store at John Wayne Airport in Southern California. Mike has had a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a couple of different careers in the service industry that has allowed him to use all his experience and education in his current occupation.
Graduating from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California as a Registered Respiratory Therapist he embraced the challenges of being on a trauma team in addition to a variety of critical care units ranging from adults, pediatrics to neonates at a tertiary hospital in Orange County. Continuing his education, he graduated with honors from CSU Dominguez Hills in Carson, California with a BS degree in Health Science and a minor in biology where he had the opportunity to participate in an ongoing study of the Desert Tortoise and satisfy his fascination in wildlife biology. He has held management and director positions in both sub-acute care facilities and home care companies.
While studying in his truck at night in the parking lot of Dominguez Hills, Mike caught the aviation bug while watching the airlines line up on final for LAX. He felt compelled to sell his motorcycle and put the money down on flying lessons during a summer session and carry on a passion in aviation that started with his Dad who flew in the Army Air Corps back in the early 1940's. He was able to utilize the pilot's license at work to help manage sub-acute care therapists in locations all over Southern California but the urge to run a small business and changes in his industry was all the excuse needed to branch out on his own and turn a hobby into a career. He is happily flying all over the Western United States and Baja, Mexico to adventurous destinations with Outback Flight Services, Inc., and taking care of the pilots and aviation enthusiasts at Windsock Pilot Supplies in between trips.
Rob McGann
Expedition Ground Support
"... light articles for barter, & presents among the Indians... for your attendants, boats, tents, & other traveling apparatus... medicine, surgical instruments & provisions... "
Rob McGann has had a life-long passion for the out-of-doors and considers gardening, fishing, camping, photography and campfire cooking as important activities for a recreational naturalist like himself. Rob has shared his experiences and love of nature by serving as a Boy Scout leader for over 15 years, conducting and participating in high adventure trek training and aquatic safety afloat programs.
Rob has been an estimator with Hydro-Plant, Inc. in San Marcos, CA for over 20 years. His experience includes hydroseeding, erosion control, revegetation, reclamation and he has participated in numerous wetland mitigation and habitat restoration projects. He is a co-field instructor for the Engineering and General Contractors Association of San Diego (EGCA) short course on storm water pollution prevention and currently serves on the San Diego Chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) as Resource Management Committee Chairman. For over 12 years, Rob has been involved in helping shape public policy and standards for potable water and stormwater runoff through his active involvement with various state and local agencies in the Greater San Diego, California area.
Kari Meadows
Weather Ops/ Aviation Education
Commercial Pilot/Instrument
L-29 Delfin Jet Type Rating, AGI, IGI, CFII
Kari's love of flying taildraggers in 1990 led to an avid pursuit in her aviation career. She
has flown many different types of aircraft, ranging from conventional gear to most of the common
types of Cessna & Piper tricycle gear aircraft, to military trainers; including the reciprocating
engine T34 and the L-29 Delfin Jet.
She consistently attends FAA and military safety training programs and has made presentations assisting instructing FAA CFI renewal training courses, annual
CFI workshops, and FAA safety meetings for the San Diego Jet Warbirds group. Some of the FAA programs she has attended included training in the following subjects: weather,
mountain flying, a new look at takeoffs and landings, and use of performance charts, avoiding
fuel starvation accidents, responses to engine failures, emergency procedures and survival training.
She is also a member of the International Chapter and the Palomar local Chapter of the Ninety-Nines, a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA),
Warbirds of America organization, Classic Jet Aircraft Association, and the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA).
Bob Scott, RG, CHg
Expedition Geologist/Hydrogeologist
"... vast walls of tolerable workmanship, so perfect that I should have thought that nature had attempted herre to rival the human art of masonry..."
- Captain Meriwether Lewis
describing the White Cliffs of the Upper Missouri in 1805
Bob Scott is a Principal Geologist with URS Corporation in San Diego, California. He is a Registered Geologist (RG) in CA and AZ and a Certified Hydrogeologist (CHg) in CA. He is a consultant in the field of hazardous waste management, conducting site assessments and remediation of soil, sediment and groundwater for all types of clients. During his childhood in the Hudson Valley of New York, Bob always had a keen interest in history and natural sciences. "Geology is history that depends on principles from other sciences to explain what is observed in the rock record," Bob says. "Geology is probably one of only a few professions that is everywhere you want to go."
Bob has a B.S. in Geological Sciences from the University at Albany, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1982. He is also a member of the Alpha Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. He received a M.S. from Penn State University in Geology in 1985. For his thesis he spent several months in the Death Valley area mapping and interpreting lake deposits of Miocene age. During the field season, he and his wife-to-be, Leslie visited San Diego. It made a long lasting impression as a great place to live’Äîthey moved there in 1988 when he started his consulting career with Woodward-Clyde Consultants. Prior to moving west, Bob worked as a research associate in the Civil Engineering Department at Syracuse University under a USEPA-funded program, where he investigated the affects of acid rain on soil and surface water chemistry for a watershed in Eastern Maine.
Bob and his wife Leslie have been married for 17 years. Their family includes three pets, terrier and two cats. They both enjoy traveling, alpine skiing, tennis, cooking and wine. Bob also likes to ice skate and bicycle. Languages also interest both of them, Bob has some understanding of Spanish, Italian, German and French. It always comes in handy traveling. Bob also enjoys gardening, particularly growing heirloom and unusual vegetables and fruits.
Chin Y. Tu
Chief Helicopter Pilot
ATP, CFI, CFII
"... from the top of the highest of those Mounds I had the an extensive view of the Surrounding Plains, which afforded one of the most pleasing prospects I ever beheld... "
William Clark, July 12, 1804
Chin Tu was born in an aviation oriented family. Mr. Tu received his private fixed wing certificate at 17 and went into US Army Aviation at age 21. After completing his tour in 173rd Assault Helicopter Company in Donha, Vietnam, he came home to work for Hughes Helicopters. For the first half of his 15-year tenure at Hughes, Mr. Tu was assigned to manufacturing operations. His final years at Hughes were in flight operations, conducting production flight tests and chase/rescue for the AH64A Apache developmental program.
During the transition from Hughes Helicopters to McDonnell Douglas Aircraft and then to Boeing Co., Mr. Tu served as Captain in the Boeing flight department for daily commuter runs in King Airs and Fairchild F27s.
In 1987 Mr. Tu left Boeing to start his own helicopter operation. For the last 15 years, he has been instructing at his helicopter flight school, Civic Helicopters at Palomar Airport (CRQ) in Carlsbad, California (www.civichelicopters.com). Mr. Tu also serves as test pilot for the helicopter industry and conducts a variety of research and development on helicopters.
Mr. Tu has been married to his wife for 33 years and has a girl and a boy, both are grown. After 18,000 hours of flying time he is still looking forward for more.
Randy Bozarth
Commercial Helicopter Pilot
Randy runs a production fabrication business in San Marcos, CA, producing everything from medical equipment to fitness equipment and point-of-purchase displays.
The company also produces recreational and racing vehicles and components, and helicopter landing pads.
He decided one day that he wanted to know how helicopters work, and he contacted Civic Helicopters, the company which
Chin Tu runs, to see if he could get a demo. Chin offered him lessons, and from that point forward, he has been infatuated with flying helicopters.
Randy received his private certification within the first year, and his commercial rating a couple years later.
He has been flying helicopters for over 10 years and has over 2000 hours of flying time.
Along with Chin, Randy tours the country in helicopters, flying into areas where no one would think about going, and seeing
many unique and wonderful areas of the country, from Alaska to the Bahamas.
Randy lives in San Marcos, CA, and has a 16-year-old daughter.
Leslie Scott
Website Design and Maintenance
Leslie has been a Computer Programmer Analyst for over 20 years, after receiving her BS in Computer Science at the
State University of New York @ Albany. Her background has mainly been working on large, mainframe computers, with some client server and web-based application
development. She has also received her Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) credential. As a self-employed, independent
consultant, she has travelled to different clients' sites, offering technical expertise, and helping non-technical
clients define their system requirements. Leslie has managed and performed many large-scale system conversion projects.
In addition, she has trained and educated many technical co-workers.
Leslie has many hobbies, including stained glass, needlepoint, sewing, cooking and baking, jewelry design, and ballet. She
loves travelling, and languages. After growing up in Central NY, she now lives in San Diego with her two cats, Tipperary and Liffey, her dog, Winston, and her
husband, Bob.
Jill Anne Baker
Aviation Education
Born in Australia, raised in Massachusettes and Oregon, Jill has been flying since 1988 with 1500 hours total flying time. She holds commercial, multi-engine, instrument, and certified flight instructor ratings.
Jill is a Ninety-nine International Women Pilot Organization member, and an Amelia Earhart Scholarship member. She currently is a flight instructor at Mongomery Field in San Diego, CA.
Jill was very excited and honored to join the Flight of Discovery team, because of the combination of aviation, history, and science that would be explored. She thought it would be a
wonderful way to experience and learn about what Lewis & Clark discovered, but in a much shorter time-- 2 weeks, instead of 2 years.
"I would love to be able to share my love of flying with the school children we meet along the way and to be a part of history."
Phyllis J. Steckel
Registered Geologist
Phyllis J. Steckel is Registered Geologist and is Chairman of the Missouri Seismic Safety Commission. She earned her BA in Physical Geography with a minor in Geology from the University of California, Davis and her MNS, Geology from Southeast Missouri State University; Cape Girardeau, Mo. Her thesis was: Relationship of Some Atypical Topographic and Drainage Features [New Madrid fault zone] to Tectonics in Southeast Missouri: A Methods Test.
Phyllis has conducted aerial reconnaissance and drainage analysis of the Paradox Basin region of the eastern Colorado Plateau, Colorado and Utah; included 20+ hours of regional aerial reconnaissance in fixed and rotary-wing aircraft to identify subtle geologic structure and its effects on site, location, and study area drainage. This work was in support of a seven-year-long, regional geologic characterization study for the US Department of Energy. She's also been involved in numerous geologic projects in Washington State, Utah, and California, including low-sun-angle and normal-view reconnaissance. Phyllis has conducted drainage analysis of southeast Missouri to identify surface effects of faulting and earthquakes within the natural and man-made drainage systems of the Little River drainage basin and has directed post-earthquake field studies in California after numerous moderate earthquakes to identify surface expression of faulting and ground-shaking.
Phyllis has been appointed by the Governor as Chairman of the Awareness & Outreach Committee of Missouri's Earthquake Awareness Week and annually leads the statewide EAW program annually. She serves on the Governor's Commission for Statewide Building Code and is Research Scientist for the Natural Hazards Mitigation Institute at the University of Missouri at Rolla and is the project coordinator for the St. Louis Earthquake Hazards Mapping Project for the US Geological Survey. She lives in Washington, Mo. with her Boeing-engineer husband, Rich; their two well-above-average kids, Nathan and Katie; and three cats. She and Rich built their family home, incorporating earthquake resistance and sustainable design.
John H. Egan, MPA, MS
Expedition Ecologist
Student Private Pilot
Air Traffic Controller USAF
Captain USAF Retired
Environmental Consultant
"…Bluff is a smoth even sheet of water falling over a precipice of at least eighty feet, the remaining part of about 200 yards on my right formes the grandest sight I ever beheld…"
- Meriwether Lewis, June 13, 1805, Great Falls of the Missouri
John and his wife Jeanette lived within a mile of what was once the Great Falls of the Missouri while he was stationed in Great Falls, Montana with the USAF. Capt. Egan is kin to Capt. Clark via his Great-grandmother Clark from Kentucky.
John has designed, performed and managed 100s of biological, environmental and hazardous waste projects and is a retired principal from URS Corporation. He was the Branch Manager of the Tucson offices for URS and managed the biology group for the Arizona operations. He has worked on projects throughout Mexico for a diverse group of clients. He has significant experience in wetland delineation and Corps of Engineers wetland and waters of the United States delineation. He has a degree in Botany with specialization in Forest Hydrology and an M.P.A. in Environmental Management and an M.S. in Environmental Planning.
He was appointed by former Arizona governors Fife Symington and Jane Hull as the Environmental Chair of the Arizona Mexico Commission where he assisted the governors on waste and other environmental issues between Arizona and Mexico. He served on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Mexico Commission for five years.
John and his wife Jeanette live in Tucson where John continues to do environmental consulting for a variety of clients. They have a hand-built log cabin near Sandpoint, Idaho where they go to escape the Tucson summer heat. John is interested in travel, history, restoring their vintage Airstream trailer and raised-bed gardening.
Jeanette Parsons Egan, MS, RD
Expedition Food Historian/Anthropologist
"The sunflower is in bloom and abundant in the river bottoms. The Indians of the Missouri particularly those who do not cultivate maze make great uce of the seed of this plant for bread, or use it in thickening their soope..."
- Meriwether Lewis, July 17, 1805
"…Great quantities of Grapes on the banks, I observe three different kinds at this time ripe, one of the no. is large & has the flaver of the Purple grape…"
- William Clark, August 5, 1804
Jeanette Egan has had her own publishing and nutrition consulting business for 15 years. Previously she worked in public health as director of the nutrition program for a county health department. She is the author of 12 cookbooks. Her most recent cookbook, The Book of Roasting contains recipe for poultry, fish, beef, pork, game, lamb, and vegetables, using both high and moderate temperatures. She edits cookbooks and technical material for a variety of clients. She is a consulting editor for HPBooks, an imprint of the Berkley Publishing Group (Penguin Group US) in New York.
She also develops recipes and teaches cooking classes. Recipe projects have included appetizers, Dutch oven cooking, cookies, soyfoods, candy, quick-and-easy meals and breakfast and brunch dishes. Jeanette often works with authors to develop their ideas into a manuscript that would be suitable for publication. One of her recent clients was Cary Neff, then Executive Chef at Miraval, now in Carlsbad, CA. She worked with him for almost three years on his book, which has been a bestseller on the New York Times list.
Jeanette has a M.S. in Nutrition and Food Science from Utah State. She completed the courses for a PhD in Nutritional Science with a minor in Anthropology at the University of Arizona.
Jeanette is interested in raised-bed gardening, travel, reading, and developing recipes for their self-built wood-fired outdoor oven, which is used for baking bread and pizzas and entertaining in their backyard. She lives in Tucson with her husband John and a 17-year-old Tonkinese cat named Koko, who is delighted not to be part of the expedition.
Helen Woods
Estruarine Scientist
Helen Woods is an estuarine scientist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) where she completed an M.S. in Marine Science with a specialty of Resource Management. Her thesis involved the management of subaqueous lands in the Commonwealth of Virginia as it pertains to the growth of submersed aquatic vegetation and the hardclam aquaculture industry. She is currently involved with a major study of the historic bathymetry of the oyster reefs of the Chesapeake Bay with Dr. William J. Hargis and the Center for Coastal Resources Management. As part of this study, she has helped create some of the only known images of natural Chesapeake Bay oyster reefs.
In her "other life" she is a pilot who enjoys flying the beautiful waters of the Chesapeake Bay. She earned her private license in 1999 and has recently completed instrument and commercial flight training. She serves as a search and rescue mission pilot for the Newport News Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (the folks wo search for missing planes and stranded hikers).
George Schreyer
Flight Support
George Schreyer was educated in Electro-Mechanical Engineering and Production Management and founded MULTEK of Irvine, CA and PHOTOCHEMIE A.G. in Switzerland.
George came to America in 1959 from Germany and became a United States citizen while serving in the U.S. Army. He is a Member Founder of the Orange County Performing Arts Center and serves on the Board of Directors of the Pacific Opera. He is retired but maintains a passion for the outdoors and aviation, enjoying nature by flying low and slow in his WACO biplane.
Michael Alberson
Lead Zoologist
Private Pilot
Airplane Single-Engine Land
Michael Alberson was born in Sikeston, Missouri but has resided in California for over 50 years. He currently lives in Escondido, California with his wife Su and his four kids: Lorin (18), Alexis (18), Tyler (15), and Erik (16).
Michael graduated from Humboldt State University with degrees in Oceanography and Zoology. His master's work was in environmental science and business. Michael is an Environmental Scientist with over 30 years of experience in a wide variety of areas that include air quality, water quality, and biological sciences. He conducted stream and lake habitat surveys and stream flow analysis with the California Fish and Game in Northern California. Michael spent five years as an Environmental Management Specialist evaluating land development projects and developing computer simulation models with the San Diego Air Pollution Control District. Michael is currently the director of the Environmental & Water Quality Division for Eilar Associates. As a private environmental consultant, he has been involved with hundreds of biological and habitat surveys, water quality analyses, as well as stormwater quality planning and management.
Michael has been a private pilot and SCUBA diver since the early 1970's.
Michael grew up in a family where hunting and fishing was a way of life. He has walked large segments of the Sierra Nevadas, Trinity Alps, and Rocky Mountains. He is an experienced tracker and is able to find animals even when others can't see them. Michael is a true outdoorsman.
Rich Steckel
Airline Transport Pilot; Airplane, Multi-Engine, Land
Commercial Privileges, Airplane, Single-Engine, Land
Certificated Flight Instructor, Instrument, Airplane; Single-, Multi-Engine, Land
Licensed Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic
Certified Quality Engineer, American Society for Quality
Rich Steckel joined the Flight of Discovery for three reasons: to fly his Expedition Geologist wife, Phyllis, on the trip; to get his pilot's licenses recurrent after a 14-year hiatus; and, to take advantage of the Trunk of Discovery.
One of the Trunks of Discovery was delivered to Washington High School, in Washington, Mo. Rich used the aviation-related materials from that Trunk to conduct a weekly, evening "ground school" for the Washington High Flyers from February to May of 2004. Using materials from the Trunk, such as Microsoft Flight Simulator software, Rod Machado's "Private Pilot Handbook," and other aviation and navigation goodies in the Trunk, Rich taught five students and their Physics teacher to "fly" in the high-school computer lab.
Since the software had features such as "pause" and "instant replay," Rich was able to "fly" with all the students simultaneously - impossible in the real world! The students learned about aircraft systems and operations, airport operations, weather, regulations, navigation, and weight and balance. They also were able to simulate emergencies, bad weather, crosswinds, and high density altitudes. During their ground school, the students "flew" a Bell Jet Ranger and Cessna Caravan on the simulator. Thanks to the generosity of the Flight of Discovery pilots, those students were able to get a "real world" flight in both aircraft when Flight of Discovery visited Washington, Mo in early June 2004.
Rich graduated from San Jose State University with a B.S in Aeronautics, and worked throughout the San Francisco Bay Area as a mechanic, pilot, and flight instructor. He has spent the last 20 years with The Boeing Company, formerly McDonnell Douglas, and is currently a Quality Engineer at Boeing's Phantom Works, an internal research and development group, in St. Louis, Mo. There he is helping to develop and introduce new technology for the assembly of aerospace products throughout the corporation.
Rich's other hobbies include playing in a local hand bell choir and virtual air traffic controlling and flying on-line (www.vatsim.net).
Kevin Pack
Wildlife Photographer
Kevin Pack started his art career because of an industrial accident. In 1992, Kevin was involved in a debilitating accident that left him house bound for a year, and bed ridden for six months. With no formal art education, Kevin began dabbling in watercolors as mental therapy, he continued learning, until a close friend and professional artist suggested that Kevin should explore a professional career. That was late 1995, Kevin entered his first show in 1996 and that was the beginning of a new direction in his life.
Kevin conveys his dedication to nature and conservation through his paintings. He believes that through art he can help build awareness, and hopes to educate the public about the necessity to preserve our natural environment.
Kevin's main subjects are wildlife and sporting art, but he has accurately painted portraits of dogs, professional athletes, and many other subjects that have been requested of him.
Kevin is known for his use of vibrant color, his accuracy, and attention to detail in all of his paintings. In a very short time, Kevin has gained a reputation among sportsmen, and collectors of sporting art for his lifelike representations of angling scenes, hunting scenes, birds and game fish and their environment. His art can be found hanging in private as well as corporate collections.
Awards:
Best of Show, at the 39th Annual Catalina Art Festival
Best of Show at the National Wildlife Art Show
1st place in the Ramona Olde Hotel and Gallery open show
1st place in Foothills Art Association Wildlife in Art show
1st and 3rd in the 5th annual Small Image Show at the Offtrack Gallery
Selected as one of the artists in the Wyoming Conservation Stamp traveling top 40
Companion Artist of the Year for California Ducks Unlimited '98-'99 and 2000,2001, 2001-02, 2002-03
Selected as Featured Artist at the Pacific Wildlife Art Show and the Pacific Flyway Decoy Show's 33rd Annual Art Show
Selected as sole Juror for the, "Wildlife in Art 2004", wildlife art show
Selected as artist for the Flight of Discovery Bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark journey
Selected as the cover artist for Arizona Fish & Game's Western Wildlife Magazine with multiple covers and multiple years
Cover artist for Arizona Game & Fish 2002, regulations
Cover artist with 12 covers for Arizona Hunter & Angler Magazine
As artist for the Arizona Apache trout recovery program
Recognized by The International Game Fish Association for his accurate depiction's of early historical fishing scenes, has also been selected for a solo show at the International Game Fish Associations new World Fishing Center's Gallery of Excellence
Has had artwork published in, and had articles written about him in Wildlife Art Magazine (98,00,01 and 02), InformArt Art Magazine, (00, 01, 02, 03 and 2004) and Redbone Magazine
Reserve/Support
Dave Eby
Flight Operations, Flight of Discovery
Certified Flight Instructor/Instrument
Commercial Pilot
Airplane Single Engine Land Instrument
Airplane Multiengine Land Instrument
"... in the loss of yourselves, we should lose also the information you will have acquired... to your own discretion therefore must be left the degree of danger you may risk, & the point at which you should decline, only saying we wish you to err on the side of your safety, & bring back your party safe, even if it be with less information."
Dave Eby is a full-time flight instructor, teaching in all types of aircraft from tail draggers to multi-engine, and provides training for all types of ratings, from private pilot to initial flight instructors. He is the Plus One Flyers Operations Manager for Brown Field (SDM) in San Diego, CA. Dave is married to Tara Gilley from Lafayette, Indiana and has one daughter, Rachel age three. Dave earned his B.A. in English from San Diego State University.
Dave Eby knew he wanted to be a pilot at an early age. "I remember getting on board a PSA jet in Burbank that was bound for my grandparents' house in San Diego. I was five years old and they let me sit in the pilot's seat. When I stared at all the instruments and controls, I knew then that I had to fly." Sixteen years later in 1988 he soloed in an Aeronca Champion.
Dave grew up in a family with deep roots in aviation. "My grandpa, B. Plez Nance, was a civilian instructor during World War II. He flew all sorts of planes, including PT-22's, Stearmans (PT-17's) and AT-6's at Hemet-Ryan Airfield in San Bernardino, CA. He moved to San Diego just before the war ended. There he opened a flight school with his flight squadron leader from Hemet-Ryan." In 1952 Nance's school closed but in the years that followed he passed his love for aviation on to his children: John, Bill and Mary Margaret, Dave's mother. "My Uncle John became a private pilot in the mid-70's. If I was lucky, I would get to fly with him on my summer vacations." Fifteen years after his first flight from Brown Field, Dave is now an instructor at the same hanger and teaching students in the same Champ he soloed in 1988. "Being at the airport is like being at home," Dave says.
Lorraine Evernham
Communications Director
Private Pilot
Airplane Single-Engine Land
"In all your intercourse with the natives treat them in the most friendly & conciliatory manner which their own conduct will admit; allay all jealousies as to the object of your journey, satisfy them with it's innocence..."
Lorraine Evernham was born in San Diego, California where she currently resides after several years of working and living in the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, Africa and Europe. Lorraine is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelors degree in Medical Anthropology. She pursued her interests in international public health and obtained a Masters degree in Public Health from the University of Hawaii. She has worked as a health educator, program developer, development officer and administrator throughout the San Diego area. She participated in multicultural health programs locally, statewide, nationally and internationally. Recently, she joined the world of philanthropy, promoting public health statewide for several years until she renewed her long-time interest in aviation.
As the daughter of a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP), the aviation bug was in Lorraine's blood. She had flown occasionally over the years and finally decided it was time to pursue her aviation dreams. Lorraine bought her own Cessna 170B for her basic training. Her mother insisted she learn to fly in a tailwheel airplane telling her, "If you learn how to fly a taildragger, you can fly anything!"
While Lorraine planned to take a hiatus from the career track to work on her flight training, an opportunity to work with the San Diego Aerospace Museum presented itself. She became the Director of Development and Community Relations for the Museum in 2001 and worked there until December of 2002. She now has her own consulting business, Evernham & Associates, providing expertise to non-profit organizations in the fields of aviation and health. Lorraine is continuing her flight training, pursuing her instrument and commercial certification.
Craig Mitckes, RLA
Historic Landscape Coordinator
"... I assended to the top of the cutt bluff this morning, from whence I had a most delightful view of the country, the whole of which except for the valley formed by the Missouri is void of timber and underbrush... one common and boundless pasture... "
Meriwether Lewis, April 22, 1805
Craig Mitckes is a Registered Landscape Architect and was born and raised in Illinois. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Craig has spent the majority of his professional career working in the public sector and has 23 years experience in the field of Landscape Architecture. Craig is presently employed by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) as their Chief Landscape Architect in the position of Roadside Maintenance Manager. He is highly involved in the area of Erosion and Sediment Control and is Chairman of IDOT's Erosion and Sediment Control Committee and Lead Instructor for Erosion Control Classes. Craig is also IDOT's representative for the Mississippi River Parkway Commission that is comprised of the 10 states bordering the Mississippi River. He grows hot peppers as a hobby and is considered to be one of the Midwest leading experts on hot peppers. His goal is to find a pepper too hot to eat. He has not found it yet and to date he has a personal hot pepper collection of nearing 300 different varieties. Craig's other interest include historic landscapes, gardening, cooking, photography and music. Craig is married and has 2 children.
Charles Kerber, MD
Expedition Flight Surgeon
Commercial Pilot, single-engine land
Commercial Pilot, sailplane
Instrument rating
Type rating: L39 c Albatros
"...Capt. Lewis still very unwell, Several men taken Sick on the way down, I administered Salts Pils Galip, Tater emetic & c, I feel unwell this evening..."
William Clark
September 26, 1805
"...Our men nearly all Complaining of their bowels, a heaviness of the Stomach & Lax...3/4 of the party Sick..."
William Clark
September 28, 1805
Charles Kerber was born in the Appalachian Hills of western Pennsylvania and currently lives and works in San Diego. His early interest in flight developed while shoveling manure on the family farm and seeing the United State's first jet aircraft, a P-80, streak overhead. "The contrast between the two activities left an indelible impression and provided a powerful motivation for me to study," Chuck says.
Chuck received a B.S. in chemistry with honors from the University of Pittsburgh, then graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Following his surgical internship, Dr. Kerber joined the Navy, but found the life of a junior officer constricting and less than challenging. "Find a dumpster, paint it gray, then live in it," he says. "There was one group on the boat however that had its act completely together: the Marines." After considerable negotiation, Dr. Kerber was given over to a kindly Marine drill instructor and an even more gentle and soft-spoken Marine flight instructor. He graduated from the naval school of aerospace medicine and then had the privilege of serving Marine attack squadron 533.
After active duty, Dr. Kerber began basic research to develop a new medical specialty, Interventional Neuroradiology. He is the author of more than 120 scientific articles, 10 medical textbook chapters and has also written for the flying press. He combines this research with teaching young doctors to perform brain therapy procedures at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. Since coming to San Diego in 1980, he has flown the T 34 b Mentor at the Navy North Island flying club, and during the last two years, has owned and flown an L 39 C Albatros.
Joe Leone
Weather Operations Director
FAA Designated Pilot Examiner
Certified Flight Instructor/Instrument
ATP-SEL/MEL, Commercial MES
"... climate as characterized by the thermometer, by the proportion of rainy, cloudy & clear days, by lightening, hail, snow, ice, by the access & recess of frost, by the winds prevailing..."
Joe Leone is a FAA Designated Pilot Examiner and a Certified Flight Instructor for single and multi-engine aircraft and instruments. A former adjunct professor at Miramar College, Joe has flown international (Part 121) and corporate Part 135 operations, accumulating over 16,000 total flight hours, including in excess of 6,000 hours giving instruction.
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois Joe served four years in the Marine Corps and has lived at various times in his life in Alabama, North Carolina, Wyoming and currently resides in San Diego, California where he owns and operates SoCal Aviation with locations at Gillespie (SEE) and Montgomery (MYF) airfields. Joe is a former Plus One Flyers board member and operations officer, where he was responsible for overseeing the activities of the club's 1,000+ members.
Joe's life has always centered around outdoor activities and instruction. He operated a retail and ski instruction business in Jackson, Wyoming. He and his wife Carol managed scuba diving stores and operations in Long Beach and National City, CA. Joe is an instructor for the National Association of Diving Instructors (NAUI) and the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) and has published articles in Skin Diver magazine. Joe taught at the PADI College, certified the first scuba class in Costa Rica and was named NAUI Instructor of the Year. Joe is also a Licensed U.S. Coast Guard Master 100’Äìton, delivery Captain for the West Coast and Caribbean and drove production and formula race cars for seven years.
When he's not flying or floating somewhere, Joe and his wife Carol like to hang out with their friends on the north shore of Kau'ai.
John McCullah
Expedition Fluvial Geomorphologist
"... all remarkable points on the river, & especially at the mouths of rivers, at rapids, at islands and other places and objects distinguished by such natural marks & characters of a durable kind, as that they may with certainty by recognized hereafter."
John McCullah, CPESC received a BS degree in Watershed Management from Humboldt State University in 1984, and became a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control in 1988. John is currently the president of Salix Applied Earthcare, a natural resource consulting firm in California, and he is also the founder and director of the Sacramento Watersheds Action Group (SWAG), a non-profit watershed restoration organization. John is the author of the Erosion Draw 4.0 and Bio Draw 2.0 CDs, and is the instructor for the Watershed Restoration class at Shasta College. He currently teaches courses across the country, on topics ranging from NPDES Phase II Compliance to Biotechnical Streambank Stabilization.
William W. McFee, Ph.D
Expedition Agronomist
Commercial Pilot
ASEL, Instrument
Military HEL. Instr.
"Other object worthy of notice will be the soil & face of the country, its growth & vegetable productions; especially those not of the U.S. ..."
William McFee is a Professor of Soil Science at Purdue University's School of Agriculture in West Lafayette, Indiana. Bill received his B.S. in Agronomy from the University of Tennessee in 1957 and his M.S. and Ph.D in Soil Science from Cornell University in 1963 and 1966. At Purdue, Dr. McFee teaches numerous soil science courses and is the co-developer of computer-aided soils instruction. For over sixteen years, Dr. McFee was the Director of an interdepartmental program in Natural Resources and Environmental Science (NRES), leading the development of the curriculum and research programs for the NRES track. He was also Head of the Department of Agronomy for ten years.
Dr. McFee has conducted research programs in tree nutrition, metals in soils, mineland reclamation and acid precipitation. He has served as President of the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy. Bill was also Chairman of the CAST task force on acid rain, and Chair (twice) of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program.
Dr. McFee is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Sigma Xi,, Alpha Zeta, Gamma Sigma Delta honorary societies and was named Outstanding Teacher in Agriculture at Purdue in 1972. He was named Fellow, Soil Science Society of America in 1981 and Fellow, American Society of Agronomy in 1981. In addition to numerous other awards and recognition, Dr. McFee was placed in Purdue's Book of Great Teachers in 1999 and was elected to the Teaching Academy at Purdue University in 2001. Dr. McFee has published 39 Journal articles and book chapters, presented 54 papers and abstracts and published 17 technical papers.
After obtaining his Bachelor or Science degree from the University of Tennessee in 1957, Bill joined the U.S. Army, serving three years on active duty flying "Birddogs" and "Beavers" as an artillery observer from 1958-1961. Following active service, he served twenty years in the Army Reserve and is rated in both helicopter and fixed wing aircraft. Bill owns and operates a Mooney 201 out of the Purdue University Airport (LAF).
J. Eric Scherer
Expedition Resource Conservationist
"Other object worthy of notice will be the soil & face of the country, its growth & vegetable productions; especially those not of the U.S. ... the animals of the country generally, & especially those not known in the U.S. ...the dates at which particular plants put forth or lose their flowers, or leaf, times of appearance of particular birds, reptiles or insects..."
Eric Scherer graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1975 with a BS in Soil and Crop Science and obtained a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Hartford in 1996. He is a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control, a Certified Professional in Storm Water Quality, and a Certified Soil Scientist.
Eric.was recently selected as the State Resource Conservationist for the State of Rhode Island for the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Prior to his selection for the position in Rhode Island he served as the River Navigator for the American Heritage River Initiative for the Hudson River in New York. His 25-year career with the NRCS has included positions Virginia, Vermont, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and now Rhode Island. He has held the positions of soil conservationist, resource conservationist, district conservationist, water quality coordinator and national plant materials center manager. He also served a tour of duty with the Peace Corps in Belize, CA as a pasture research officer from 1995 to 1997.
John Trotti
Anthropologist, Flight of Discovery
Commercial Pilot
Airplane Single Engine Land Instrument
Airplane Multiengine Land Instrument
Type DC-3S
"... you will therefore endeavor to make yourself acquainted, as far a diligent pursuit of your journey shall admit, with the names of the nations and their numbers... their language, traditions and monuments; their ordinary occupations in agriculture, fishing hunting, war, arts & implements for these; their food, clothing & domestic accommodations; peculiarities in their laws, customs & dispositions; and articles of commerce they may need or furnish, & to what extent."
John Trotti was born in Los Angeles and currently lives in Santa Barbara, California. He received his BA in Anthropology from Stanford University in 1959. John earned his private pilot's certificate in 1956 flying an Aeronca Champ. His other ratings "came as a gift from the U.S. Marine Corps, which allowed me to fly a wide array of wonderful stuff" including the F-6A Skyray, F-4 Phantom and the A-4 Skyhawk. John served as a Marine fighter pilot for 12 years, serving two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he flew over 600 missions.
In the late 1970s and early 80s, John was employed by HDR Sciences in Santa Barbara, CA to work on the U.S. Air Force's MX Basing Mode Environmental Impact assessments and reports as Senior Anthropologist.
John has owned a T34A, MiG-15-bis and MiG-21-U and flown "a gaggle of neat civilian birds". He is the author of Marine Air: First to Fight (Presidio Press 1985) and the much acclaimed Phantom Over Vietnam (Presidio Press (1984). He currently works for Forrester Communications of Santa Barbara, CA as its Group Editor overseeing its four trade publications, Erosion Control, Grading & Excavation Contractor, MSW Management and Stormwater.
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Carol L. Forrest, P.E.
Carol has authored many articles and guidance manuals, and provides training and continuing education courses for a variety of agencies and organizations across the country. Carol earned URS' Innovative Practice Award and Project Manager of the Year Award for watershed stabilization projects, including work following the 1991 and 1993 wildfires in Oakland and Southern California, and was Alumna of the Year for the SDSU College of Engineering in 1995. In 2003, she was awarded the Sustained Contributor Award by the International Erosion Control Association.
