Speakers

Dr. Robert Michael Pyle grew up studying seashells (a bad choice in Colorado) and butterflies (a better one). After graduating the University of Washington, he studied butterfly conservation in England on a Fulbright Scholarship, eventually earning a PhD in butterfly ecology at Yale University. He worked in Conservation Biology jobs in Papua New Guinea (with the biggest butterflies in the world), Cambridge, U.K., and throughout the Pacific Northwest.

For many years he has been an independent scholar studying butterflies and other life along the Columbia River tributary where he lives. Also a poet, essayist, and novelist, Bob has written thirty books, including Wintergreen, Where Bigfoot Walks, and Butterflies of the Pacific Northwest. 

Bob founded the international Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, the biggest pollinator protection team in the world, fifty-five years ago. For his work in insect conservation and education, he has been made an honorary Life Fellow of both the American and Royal Entomological Societies.

He loves sharing stories of the beautiful, fascinating, and utterly essential pollinators with whom we live, especially the butterflies and moths.

Andony Melathopoulos is an Associate Professor of Pollinator Health Extension and was instrumental in the creation of the Oregon Bee Project, a multi-agency initiative aimed at protecting bees from pesticide exposure, increasing habitat, reducing impacts of diseases and pests on bees, and expanding understanding of the bees of Oregon. Out of this initiative, came the Master Melittologist program, which is the first program in the U.S. to train citizen scientists to both collect and curate specimens for university-led studies. In just a few short years, the program has created one of the largest data sets on native bees and their floral associations in the world, and has led to countless new discoveries for the Pacific Northwest. In Washington, volunteers go through this training program and then survey for bees as a Washington Bee Atlas volunteer.

In 2018 he received the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign Pollinator Advocate Award for the United States. In addition, he is the host of the weekly podcast PolliNation that tells the stories of researchers, land managers and community members who are making bold strides to improve the health of pollinators. 

Josephine Woolington is a writer and musician living in her hometown of Portland.

Her book, "Where We Call Home: Lands, Seas, and Skies of the Pacific Northwest," won a 2024 Oregon Book Award. She writes stories about the environment and Indigenous affairs for High Country News and other publications.

Michael O’Loughlin is the Environmental Sustainability Manager at Clark Public Utilities where he works with a team of specialists on riparian restoration and pollinator habitat creation.

In his spare time, he can be found working on habitat enhancement projects and pollinator seed trials on his farm in McMinnville, OR. The farm is a flagship farm where he teaches other landowners how to be better land stewards.

He is an instructor for Oregon State University’s Master Melittologist program and a member of both the Oregon Bee Atlas and the Washington Bee Atlas as well as serving on the Washington State Pollinator Health Task Force. He is also an instructor for the OSU Master Gardener program. And in 2021 he and his brother were awarded the NAPPC Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Award for the US.

Jane Tesner Kleiner loves to connect people, of all ages, to nature. As a landscape architect and ecologist, she loves to help people add pockets of nature into their everyday lives.

She works on a wide range of projects, but adding nature to school campuses ranks at the top of the list. Adding shade trees to playgrounds, healthy habitat for hands-on learning and learning gardens, all add healthy landscapes for learning, play and wellness. 

Steven Clark is a biology professor emeritus at Clark College.  He is currently serving as the Bee Campus Project Manager at Clark College.  Steven has done research on the Western Pond Turtle, the American Pika, Sage Grouse  and dozens of species of rare plants as part of the University of Washington’s Rare Plant Conservation. 

Among several nature memberships, he is a long-time member of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the Vancouver Audubon Society. 

Steven serves as a board member for the Washington Native Plant Society and is on the science staff for Cascade Pika Watch.

Bella Padgett is a Biologist for Ducks Unlimited and works to restore and conserve land in Western Oregon and Washington. They received their B.S. in Biology with a focus in ecology from Oregon State University, where they were introduced to the wonderful world of wild bees through their research at the Forest Animal Ecology Lab.

The importance of public lands to people and wildlife has been a pillar of their career. They were the Habitat Restoration Specialist for the Tualatin River NWRC, working with the USFWS, partners and volunteers to restore and steward our public land. They also served as an AmeriCorps member with the City of Vancouver's Urban Forestry and Naturespaces Programs, working with volunteers to restore wildlife habitat in Vancouver’s public spaces. In addition to their research on wild bee community ecology, they worked as a research assistant and field technician on the Oregon Marbled Murrelet Project. 

They have held positions on the board of the Vancouver Bee Project and was a founding member of the City of Vancouver Pollinator Subcommittee.

In their spare time, they enjoy hiking, fishing, and observing the many bees in their backyard.

Whimsical artworks by local mother and hat enthusiast Hill Kent instill wonder, joy, and celebrate the beauty of the natural world. Hill is a creative badass who paints murals, teaches workshops and makes art part of her every day. Favorite things: family, mythic creatures, flowers, laughter, tea and croissants. Hill Kent creates with upcycled and natural materials for her business Hill Yeah! Eco Arts. She is enraptured by the full and slow process of making color - collecting supplies like leaves and clay, processing into paint and finally seeing the playful forms the colors take on wood and paper, and walls! Her bright and playful work explores dreams, balance, and cycle of life.