Candidates to serve as Executive Committee Officers
President: Jonathan Manley
Jonathan was elected to the board in 2017, to the office of Vice President in 2022 and is the current chair of the Fundraising Committee. He fell in love with Bosque del Apache on his first visit nearly 20 years ago, and has been a regular visitor since then. Jonathan, and his wife Tina, split their time between the UK and the USA, where their 3 sons (and first grandchild) reside; he is experienced and well able to participate with the Friends via Zoom. He is a Life Fellow of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the UK. Jonathan has created transatlantic links between Friends of Bosque del Apache and other organizations that protect wetlands, sharing best practices and collaborating wherever possible. Jonathan is also a long-time supporter of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Ithaca, NY) and is leading our efforts to maximize the value of that relationship. In Jonathan’s professional career, he has held a number of global IT leadership positions, both as a consultant (partner at Ernst & Young and at Gemini Consulting) and in corporate roles (Universal Music, Lufthansa, Estee Lauder, the John Lewis Partnership, and most recently at Harrods). Currently, he is chair of a digital transformation start-up.
Vice-President: Will McMullan
Will was elected to the board in 2021. He is a retired consultant with 40+ years of experience in organizational development and environmental services. He shared his considerable skills in the past year to help Friends craft their strategy. Will first visited Bosque del Apache in 1984 and kept coming back over the next 35 years. He hopes to continue serving on the Board, given the unique, critical and significantly at-risk nature of the Bosque’s habitat and wildlife refuge. He’s interested in applying diverse skills to support the organization in ways that sustain and improve the refuge through greater mission impact. Will’s original technical background is in geology/hydrology/geomorphology, with broad experience in environmental investigations, monitoring, impact analysis and multidisciplinary site evaluations. He’s also a veteran management consultant and group process facilitator who has worked with global businesses in the US and overseas. Will brings skills in strategic planning, organizational change management, training, and business process improvement. He previously served as Board Chair for Wildlands Restoration Volunteers in Colorado and is a Board member/Secretary for the Taos Land Trust. Will now lives most of the time in Taos, NM. He’s a happy hiker and cross-country skier who’s thankful for any opportunity to get outside. Will is also a perennial student of birding and keeps tinkering with western landscape and wildlife photography in hopes of getting pictures worthy of gracing his refrigerator door.
Treasurer: Jon d’Alessio
Jon was elected to the board in 2020 and to the office of Treasurer in 2021. He has served as its Finance Committee Chair. Jon has over 30 years of financial management experience with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and has a passion for protecting wildlife, inspired by his photography hobby. Jon spent 24 years with McKesson Corporation in various financial roles, including stints as Corporate Treasurer and Group CFO. He has served as Treasurer on several nonprofit boards, including Slide Ranch, Angel Island Conservancy, and Friends of Midway Atoll NWR. His education includes a BS from University of California and MBA and JD degrees from Stanford University. Since retiring in 2008, Jon has taken up wildlife photography and has traveled the world trying to get that perfect photo. During his travels, he first visited Bosque in 2010 and has come back almost yearly ever since. “Can’t get too much of those birds,” he says. Jon wants to continue bringing his financial and business expertise to help Friends better support Bosque del Apache NWR.
Candidates to serve as At-Large Directors
Janet Annelli, Ph.D.
Janet is passionate about wildlife and Bosque del Apache, where she has enjoyed the opportunity to participate in events, classes and meetings for over a decade. She’s attended birding and photography classes at Festival of the Cranes over many years. From her home in White Rock, NM, she sees the cranes fly over each spring and fall. Now that she is on the verge of retiring, she wants to pursue her art and also volunteer to support the Friends and the refuge with her many skills. Janet is a training professional with over 30 years experience in a range of instructional and educational settings. She has been skilled at developing effective working relationships with clients and staff even during times of change and uncertainty. She has managed work groups in a variety of organizations performing a range of activities/projects including programs with instructional analysis, design, development, and evaluation components. Skills include business planning, budgeting, scheduling, staffing, developing client and staff relations, development and improvement of processes, ensuring work quality, managing overall and day-to-day work, and project and program activities. Janet is also very experienced in program development and planning as well as instruction design and development. She is a skilled communicator: writing proposals, strategic training plans and training materials, and research reports; and designing and delivering presentations. Since 2005, Janet has served as the Group Leader of Training Services at Los Alamos National Labs. Previously, she was an education administrator in the New Mexico Public Education Department, supporting professional development activities for NM teachers.
Cathy Eells
Cathy was first elected to the Friends board in 2020 and has served on Friends Nature Store Advisory Committee. She is a native of Idaho where she graduated from Caldwell High School and then studied and graduated from the business and accounting program at Link’s School of Business. Cathy has more than 35 years of business experience. She worked for Intermountain Gas Company for ten years and then Simplot Soilbuilders in the Mineral and Chemical Division of JR Simplot Company for six years. While working for Simplot, Cathy and her husband opened and began operating an independent fast food drive-in, where she served as bookkeeper. Then, she left Simplot and for almost twenty years, Cathy and her husband Rick were “hands-on partners and co-owners” of their fast food drive-in, finally selling it in 2018 and retiring. They were recognized as entrepreneurs in the drive-in business for nearly 30 years. Cathy considers herself a “professional volunteer” now. She volunteers at local elementary schools, plays in a community band (where she also serves as the Treasurer), is a 20-year member of her local Audubon chapter, and is a long-time board member and now Vice President and on the Community Outreach Committee of Friends of Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Nampa, Idaho. At Deer Flat NWR, she is also co-chair of their nature store, Grebe’s Nest. Cathy loves Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, and in the last few years has come here to volunteer at our Holiday Open House, Annual Meeting, and for the full week of Festival of the Cranes. Cathy is a “people person” and enjoys working with visitors to raise awareness, encourage membership and volunteerism, and share her passion for nature. She says, “I realize the importance of protecting and preserving our public lands for the flora and fauna living there, but also for humans to nurture their souls with the music of the birds and beauty of the land.” Cathy loves working with children as well and raising their awareness of the natural world and the importance of getting outside. Cathy is excited to continue bringing her skill set, passion, and work ethic to Friends of Bosque del Apache.
Ellen Goldberg, Ph. D.
Ellen received her B.S. degree in biology from Russell Sage College in Troy, New York and her doctorate degree from Cornell University in genetics with an emphasis in immunogenetics. This was followed by an appointment in the Department of Microbiology at the University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Medicine where she was the recipient of numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health for her basic research in the field of immunology. She remained in the Department of Microbiology for 24 years where she was Chair of the Department for four years. Ellen was appointed Associate Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies for UNM overseeing research programs, research centers and graduate programs. During her tenure at UNM she served on advisory boards for the National Science Foundation as well as serving on advisory committees and study sections for the National Institutes of Health. Among various local awards, including the UNM Annual Research Lectureship Award, she was recognized nationally as a recipient of an NIH Research Career Development Award and was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cornell University School of Graduate Sciences at the School of Medicine. In 1996 she became President of the Santa Fe Institute overseeing the overall operation of SFI including financial and scholarly activities in the area of complex adaptive systems. In 2003 she, along with her colleague, Dr. George Cowan at SFI, led a consortium on early childhood learning involving universities throughout the US and Canada. As President of SFI, she was asked to serve on the Advisory Board for the Investment Company of America providing scientific insights to the board and also served on the Board of HopeLab Foundation which at the time provided gaming strategies for young people struggling with cancer and chemotherapy. Since her retirement from the Santa Fe Institute, Dr. Goldberg was appointed Research Professor in the Department of Biology at UNM where she participates in various activities including a journal club with students and faculty. She lives with her husband, two dogs, a donkey and horse in Edgewood, NM where she is involved in online bird activities and backyard bird watching.
Mostafa Hassanalian, Ph.D.
Mostafa Hassanalian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the director of the Autonomous Flight and Aquatic Systems Laboratory (AFASL) at New Mexico Tech. He earned his Ph.D. and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from New Mexico State University in July 2018 and December 2016, respectively. Dr. Hassanalian taught three well-attended and popular workshops at Festival of the Cranes 2022 and loves birds and the outdoors, especially Bosque del Apache nearby. His main research interests are in the fields of unmanned aerial and aquatic systems, bioinspiration and biomimetics, swarm and formation flight, novel mechanisms for space exploration, heated boundary layer and drag reduction mechanisms. Hassanalian serves as PI and Co-PI of ~$5M from NSF, NASA, NIOSH-CDC and Alpha Foundation. He has authored over 180 peer-reviewed journal and conference publications. In October 2021 and 2022, he was recognized as one of the Top 2% of Cited Scientists Worldwide. In October 2021, he also received United Nation-USA SDG Advocate Award from UNA Project Rocky Mountain Region. Some parts of his research have been featured by Media worldwide, such as NBC, New Scientist, Popular Science, Independent, Telegraph, Forbes, Discover Magazine, WOWScience, etc. He is currently serving as the advisor of 14 graduate students (6 Ph.D. and 8 MS) and, in the past, has graduated 14 graduates (1 Ph.D. and 13 MS) and about 50 undergraduate students. Hassanalian is the faculty advisor of the New Mexico Tech American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and Society of Allied Weight Engineers (SAWE) student chapters, and he runs the K-12 Drone Program at New Mexico Tech.
Sarah McLain, Esq.
Born and raised in Socorro, New Mexico, Sarah McLain began visiting Bosque del Apache NWR at a young age. These early visits to the Refuge established her love for the natural world, public lands, and wildlife. Sarah graduated from New Mexico Tech with Bachelor of Science degrees in Environmental Science and Biology. She recently acquired her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she focused on Natural Resources and Environmental Law, and is now a licensed attorney in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While not in school, Sarah has volunteered with Socorro youth and served on the Amigos de la Sevilleta Board of Directors. Sarah looks forward to utilizing her experience and education in the law and environmental sciences to help Friends better support Bosque del Apache NWR.
Beth Wells
Beth was a public school teacher for over 20 years, encompassing elementary, middle school, and high school science, math, language arts, social studies, history and theater. She then taught community college classes in English as a Second Language and English in Albuquerque, San Bernardino, and Reno. Upon retirement as a teacher, she went to work in the nonprofit arena with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Reno Philharmonic Youth Orchestra manager. She was one of the founding members of Gathering Genius, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to supporting science fairs in Nevada, and she helped this organization morph into the Nevada STEM Coalition that advocated statewide for STEM education in public schools and higher education. One of our achievements was gaining the governor’s support to invest $5m in STEM grants. Beth served as executive director of this organization until she moved to Socorro with her husband, who is president of New Mexico Tech. Upon moving to Socorro, Beth helped to found Diamond in the Desert, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to beautifying Socorro through public art. The group has sponsored or co-sponsored five public murals and has at least three in the works. In 2022 she joined the New Mexico Children’s Foundation and as of 2023 is secretary of the organization.