Staff and Board

Denver Audubon Staff

Board of Directors

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

Don Hall, Co-Vice President (Healthcare Consultant and Podcaster, Delta Sigma)

Yelana Love, Co-Vice President(Senior Attorney, Office of Legislative Legal Services)

Elvira Kozhevnikova, Secretary (Attorney)

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

Dale Campau (Former PhD Chemist)

Dina Baker, (Arapahoe County Extension Director, Colorado State University Extension)

Pilar Hoyos (Retired)

Committee Chairs

Audubon Master Birder: Pam Zimmer

Children’s Hospital: Susan Sass

Colorado Bluebird Project: Kevin Corwin

Conservation: Polly Reetz

Field Trip: Deb Bogar

Finance: Diane RaPue

Lois Webster Fund: Margot Wynkoop

Spring Benefit: Shelley Conger & Patricia Marnette

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.

Kieran Fish

Nature Center Naturalist

Kieran’s background is in conservation and science education, including ornithological research in the Florida Everglades and habitat restoration in the Sierra Nevada. Kieran has a Bachelor’s degree in biology and a Master’s degree in education. As a teacher, he shared his love of nature and science with children from pre-K to high school through hands on, real-life experiences. He believes that nature has endless lessons to teach us, and strives to create opportunities for all people to participate in the outdoors.

Delaney Bensler

Communications and Development 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.