Staff and Board

Denver Audubon Staff

Board of Directors

Curt Frankenfeld, President (Director, Access Strategy and Development at CenturyLink – retired)

Shelley Conger, Vice President (Realtor, Compass)

Elvira Kozhevnikova, Secretary (Attorney)

Diane RaPue, Treasurer (Canva Credit Union – Town Center Branch Leader )

Carl Norbeck (Former Denver Audubon Executive Director)

Don Hall (Healthcare Consultant and Podcaster, Delta Sigma)

Pilar Hoyos (Retired)

Yelana Love (Senior Attorney, Office of Legislative Legal Services)

Committee Chairs

Audubon Master Birder: Pam Zimmer

Children’s Hospital: Julia Gwinn

Colorado Bluebird Project: Kevin Corwin

Conservation: Polly Reetz

Field Trip: Mary Geder

Finance: Diane RaPue

Lois Webster Fund: Margot Wynkoop

Spring Benefit: Allison Hammer, Karl Brummert, and Shelley Conger

Karl Brummert

Executive Director

Karl has over twenty-five years of experience in non-profit management, program development, and fundraising. He worked with inner city teens and managed a variety of public programs at The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. He was the Education Director at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center on Long Island. He worked for a season at Mount Rainier National Park developing ecology programs for children, editing and field testing a geology curriculum for teachers, and leading old growth forest and alpine ecology interpretive hikes for all ages. He was a documentary film production coordinator in Los Angeles, before moving back to Denver in 2008. Karl is also a board member of the Colorado Environmental Film Festival. He is a Colorado native, and enjoys hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, cooking, and gardening and is an Audubon Master Birder. Karl has been to 44 states – just six more to go!! – as well as British Columbia, Nova Scotia/New Brunswick, Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad, New Zealand, Iceland, Ecuador, and Galapagos.

Rhonda Shank

Rhonda Shank

Office Manager

Rhonda has been the “Director of First Impressions” for over 17 years at Denver Audubon. She manages all office operations, including database management, bookkeeping, program registration, assisting with special events, and customer service. If you’ve called the Denver Audubon offices, you’ve likely heard her friendly voice on the other end of the line. She hails from the beautiful Amish country in Pennsylvania. She enjoys cooking, gardening, genealogy, and searching for unique finds at local thrift stores and estate sales. She currently lives with Charles, two cats, and two dogs.

Kate Hogan

Kate Hogan

Community Outreach Manager

Kate is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, but her love for the ocean took her to the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. There, Kate interned with  Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, where she learnd, “You haven’t lived until you’ve bleached an ENTIRE puffin exhibit and shoveled polar bear poop! Kate has a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Science-Biology and a Master’s in Nonprofit Business Management. In 2012, she joined Denver Audubon and loves getting our message out into the community. She currently lives in Parker with her husband Bryan, daughter Caitlyn, and son Luke.

Emily Hertz

Emily B. Hertz

School Programs Manager

Emily moved to Colorado from Seattle where she graduated from the University of Washington with a Master’s of Education. Previously, she worked as a resource management and conservation project coordinator for the Tucson Bureau of Land Management Student Conservation Association. She was also involved with the Tucson Audubon Society, where she took naturalist classes and created interactive education booths for their annual Ironwood Festival. Emily enjoys rock climbing, photography, trail running, camping, gardening, eating chips & salsa, and hiking with her fluffy tuxedo cat Murphy and her husband Steven.

Megan Schulz

Denver Audubon Center Naturalist

Born and raised in Colorado, Megan graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelors in wildlife biology and is perusing a masters in biology at Miami University. Megan’s previous experience includes working with The Wild Animal Sanctuary, Butterfly Pavilion, Denver Zoo, and even interned for the Denver Audubon as an environmental educator where she fell in love and decided to stay forever. In her free time Megan is often found at local coffee shops, doing wildlife photography, or doing everything in her power to score a piece of pizza. She is so excited to get started at her new position as the center naturalist and wants to leave you with a part of her favorite quote, “…never regret anything that makes you smile.”  – Mark Twain

Delaney Bensler

Communications Coordinator

Delaney grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where her love for the outdoors was born. She attended the University of Denver, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Legal Studies and Spanish. After college, she pursued a career in wine, becoming a certified specialist of wine and establishing her own wine tasting business. However, her passion for nature and conservation led her to Denver Audubon, where she took our Naturalist training and decided to join us full time. In her free time, Delaney enjoys exploring the Colorado wilderness with her two dogs, cooking, perusing local farmers markets, traveling, and settling in with a good book.

Raia Lichen

School Programs Educator

An active member of the naturalist and land steward community in Iowa, Raia moved to Colorado last year to fulfill her dream of living near the mountains. Raia has monitored bluebird boxes, organized local community events, performed trail repair, and advocated for the restoration of prairielands and the development of non-chemically treated habitats for our pollinators.  Raia received her Masters in Teaching from the University of Iowa and is fluent in Spanish.   When Raia is not teaching she enjoys hiking, daydreaming, and inventing yummy vegetarian recipes to share with friends and family.

Raia Lichen

Educator

An active member of the naturalist and land steward community in Iowa, Raia moved to Colorado last year to fulfill her dream of living near the mountains. Raia has monitored bluebird boxes, organized local community events, performed trail repair, and advocated for the restoration of prairielands and the development of non-chemically treated habitats for our pollinators.  Raia received her Masters in Teaching from the University of Iowa and is fluent in Spanish.   When Raia is not teaching she enjoys hiking, daydreaming, and inventing yummy vegetarian recipes to share with friends and family.