Pelican Island Audubon Society

Staff
Executive Director Donna Halleran
Office Administrator Bob Montanaro
Environmental Educator Jennifer Satterly

The Board of Directors is composed of elected Officers and Directors and a number of appointed Board Members.

Officers

Getting a Ph.D. in Zoology & Genetics from the University of Illinois working with mosquitoes led me to the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore.  They sent me and my family to Lahore, Pakistan to do research on mosquito borne diseases like Malaria and viruses at their Pakistan Medical Research Center, (9 years as Director), and administrating other projects 1966-1979. Returning to Baltimore as  Professor and Director of U. of Maryland’s International Health Program, the World Health Organization and the U.S. National Institute of Health sent me on numerous trips to speak to nations around the world.  The world-renown  Florida Medical Entomology Lab, University of Florida/IFAS lured me to Vero Beach to become Professor and Director (1982-98).  Loving canoeing and getting out in nature in Florida, I’ve worked to educate and advocate for a healthy environment, joining  the Indian River County Land Acquisition Committee (1990-2010, Chair 2003-05, 07-09), and still on the Indian River County Environmental Control Hearing Board  (1994-2004, 2009-Present) and Pelican Island Audubon Society President and Board Chair (2003-present).

1st Vice-Chair Open

My mother, father and I moved to Florida in 1948 when I was nine months old, so I’m almost a native Floridian. After graduating from Florida State University in 1970, I pursued a career as an actuary that lasted for 42 years. I’ve lived in Vero Beach since 1995. It has been an honor for me to serve as a volunteer and Board member of PIAS. Our Chapter has many programs that greatly benefit Indian River County, and we hope to continue this success.

Recording Secretary Open

Corresponding Secretary Open

Treasurer Steve Goff

Elected Directors, term expires

Nancy Irvin, 2025
Back in the 1980s I rescued an injured pelican on the bridge, then I called the Pelican Island Audubon Society to see if I should give him freshwater or saltwater to drink. I was told that pelicans don’t drink water. I have been a member and on the board ever since and continue to learn something new about a bird every day.

Dr. William F. Loftus is an Aquatic Ecologist, now retired from the U. S. National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey after 32 years of service. He served as program manager for Everglades freshwater ecology studies and was the south Florida Biology lead for USGS. Dr. Loftus received a B. S. in Biology from King’s College in Pennsylvania, and an M. S. from Central Michigan University where he studied food partition by Alaskan salmon smolts.  He received a Ph.D. from Florida International University for his dissertation on mercury transfer in the Everglades aquatic food web. His career has focused on the composition and ecology of freshwater communities in southern Florida and the Caribbean basin to develop restoration alternatives and monitoring for the Everglades. He has more than 70 publications on fishes, butterflies, reptiles and aquatic plants. International research locations included Mexico, Belize, US Virgin Islands, the Galapagos Islands and Malawi. His work includes inventories of fishes for Everglades, Big Cypress, Biscayne and Virgin Islands national parks, and Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Yucatan, a long-term research and monitoring program for Everglades fishes and invertebrates that continues, experiments to resolve predator-prey and native/non-native fish interactions, and the conservation of rare fishes and crayfish. Though retired from federal service, Dr. Loftus continues to work towards the conservation of fishes and aquatic habitats in Florida.  He is a board member of Pelican Island Audubon Society and a volunteer for several environmental groups in Florida, California and Pennsylvania.

Bonnie Swanson, 2026
I am a graduate of Western Illinois University with a BS,MS and an EdS in Education and Administration.  About 40 years I relocated to Vero Beach with my family and began work in the Indian River County Schools.  I have served as Principal in four of the schools here, but one of those Principalships offered me the opportunity to work with Pelican Island Audubon Society.  With their support, the students of Pelican Island Elementary School carried out a project to save pristine scrub habit, the home of their beloved scrub jays and gopher tortoises.  I am so glad to be part of this action oriented organization as coordinator of the Audubon Advocate Program serving 5th grade under-resourced students!!

Appointed Board Members

Albert Alley, M.D.Dr. Albert Alley is a board-certified ophthalmic surgeon who retired from active practice several years ago.  He is the founder of the organization, World Blindness Outreach (WBO), that is dedicated to alleviating preventable and treatable blindness at home and around the world. WBO has done programs in 26 countries around the world and has performed over 10,000 eye operations on indigent patients.  Dr. Alley continues to serve as president of this organization.  Since taking Juanita Baker’s basic birding class several years ago, he has become an avid birding enthusiast and is always ready to become involved in a birding mission or program.

Susan Lovelace
Susan Lovelace started teaching at Sebastian River High School in 1997, and she began coordinating the SRHS International Baccalaureate Program in 2010. After earning a Master’s Degree in English at the University of Central Florida, she served as an adjunct English professor at Indian River State College and online at the Florida Institute of Technology. For several summers, Susan was a tutor for the Florida Consortium of Universities, traveling with students to England for summer school studies at Cambridge University. A National Board Certified Teacher in Adolescent and Young Adult Language Arts and passionate about anything outdoors, Susan created a nature journaling curriculum for students that she presented at the National Council of Teachers of English Conventions in Austin, TX, and Baltimore, MD, as well as several teacher in-services throughout Maryland and Florida. Some of her favorite nature journaling experiences have been supervising Holy Trinity High School students journaling in the Galapagos and Costa Rica as well as our local Pelican Island Audubon Advocates program for fifth grade students.

Nick Polge

I received a Ph.D. in Plant Sciences from the University of Bath (UK) and then pursued a 30+-year career as a research scientist in Agricultural Sciences living in France, Kentucky, northern California, and finally relocating to Vero Beach in 2001.  Raising a family here I came to enjoy kayaking, hiking and other activities in our local environment together. Having recently retired I have been able to engage more fully with my childhood love for and fascination of nature, taking up birding and volunteering with Pelican Island Audubon primarily supporting the Native Plants program. I have enjoyed helping to install and maintain several of the native plant demonstration gardens around Vero and learning about Florida native plants from fellow volunteers. It is very fulfilling to be involved in promoting the benefits of native plant gardening with our community, particularly with the growing number of enthusiastic native plant customers we receive at Audubon House and those we meet at Pelican Island Audubon outreach events. I also greatly enjoy participating in and helping to lead the Pelican Island Audubon’s guided birding trips. These are a great way to get to know fellow naturalists and to explore the wonders of our native habitats together. I look forward to meeting you out there!

In 1970, when I was in 10^th grade I started with Tropical Audubon society. I always liked birds, as far back as fifth grade.  I was in the electrical business as a lineman for 44 years.  I like working at Pelican Island Audubon society leading hikes and volunteering. I like taking pictures of birds and nature and traveling out of the country on bird watching/sight-seeing trips.  I enjoy entertaining while playing my guitar and singing.  

Hadi Shalhoub, D.O.

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PAST PRESIDENTS (1964 – present)
March 20, 1964 – Merritt C. Farrar, Temporary Chairman
April 14, 1964 – Merritt C. Farrar elected President
March 16, 1965 – Maggy Bowman elected President
March 2, 1966 – Mrs. Mabel Michael elected President
March 11, 1971 – Dr. Herbert W Kale, II, elected President
March 13, 1975 – Mike Ziegler elected President
May 6, 1976 – Maggy Bowman elected
Sept. 20, 1976 – Herb Kale elected President.
Oct. 8, 1976 – Barbara Burr elected President
March, 1977 – Maggy Bowman elected President
March 2, 1981 – Ray Fernald, elected President
March 18, 1985 – Stuart Miner elected President
October 6, 1986 – Judy Orcutt elected President
August 31, 1987 – Maggy Bowman elected President
March 19, 1991 – Donna Anderson elected President
March 15, 1993 – Jens Tripson elected President
March 17, 2003 – Richard H Baker elected President