Leadership

Karen Benfield is president of the board of directors of NYC Audubon.  As a veteran print and network television journalist and freelance video producer, her work has taken her all over the U.S. and abroad. Karen gravitates to stories with environmental themes. She produced a report for CBS News on the extinction of multiple bird species on the island of Guam due to predation by the invasive Brown Tree Snake, and remains deeply concerned about the impact that invasive species, climate change, and human beings have on the world’s avian biodiversity. 

Karen is a graduate of Middlebury College. She birds throughout NYC and joined NYC Audubon's board of directors in 2015. Her work for NYC Audubon is motivated by the need for preservation of critical bird habitats, and the protection of migratory birds from window collisions, rodenticides, and other urban challenges. 

Michael “Mike” Yuan is a corporate vice president in the Office of Governmental Affairs at New York Life Insurance Company. He works at the intersection of data and political advocacy, working in data analytics and database management in support of the company's public policy advocacy campaigns and political action committee. 

Mike serves as the executive vice president of the NYC Audubon board of directors. A resident of Brooklyn, Mike is an accomplished birder who also leads field trips for the Brooklyn Bird Club, writes for the club's newsletter, and is the co-compiler for the Brooklyn Christmas Bird Count circle. Mike graduated from the University of Maryland and lives in Brooklyn with his wife. 

Drianne Benner is a managing director for Appomattox Advisory, where she is responsible for business development and client service. Previously, she was global marketing director at Cadogan Management LLC, where she was responsible for overseeing firm-wide marketing and client communications. Prior to joining Cadogan, she spent ten years, most recently as a managing director, at U.S. Trust Company. There, she developed and led client and marketing initiatives focused on investment communications, initiated an institutional consultant relations program, and serviced large institutional clients. Earlier she worked at Paribas Asset Management, a global asset management firm, in a variety of roles, including institutional and consultant relations to various large U.S. pension funds and as a portfolio manager. 

 

Drianne serves as board treasurer of NYC Audubon and as board member of Peconic Green Growth, as well as on the Philanthropy Committee of the Peconic Land Trust. A CFA charterholder, she also serves on the executive committee of the board of the New York Society of Security Analysts. She earned a BA from Pennsylvania State University and attended graduate studies in regional planning in international development at Cornell University. 

Deborah Laurel, principal in the firm Prendergast Laurel Architects, was elected to the board of New York City Audubon in 2016, and now serves as board secretary. Deborah studied architecture at The University of Texas at Austin, earning a Bachelor of Architecture with honors. Deborah has designed both public and private projects including works for The New York Public Library, the Fire Department of New York, and PS1 MOMA. Deborah also serves on the Bird-Safe Building Alliance advising on bird-friendly glazing materials.

In addition to her work on NYC Audubon’s Project Safe Flight, she has contributed to the development of the U.S. Green Building Council LEED Pilot Credit 55: "Bird Collision Deterrence" and advised the City of San Francisco on its 2011 “Standards for Bird-Safe Buildings.” In 2014, Deborah’s article “Executive Perspective: Birds, Glass, and Sports Stadiums” was published in Thomson Reuters. Deborah has delivered presentations on bird-friendly building design at Greenbuild, the AIA, Pratt Institute, and other sustainable design seminars.

Jeffrey “Jeff” Kimball  has worked as a producer, cinematographer and editor on short films, documentaries and feature films. However, he is perhaps best known as a music supervisor, and for founding the music department at Miramax Films where he worked on the score and soundtrack for more than a hundred films. Before leaving the music world, he served as music supervisor for the Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting. Since then, he has co-run a real estate holding company, but has mostly been busy with environmental causes and making documentary films. His acclaimed film Birders: The Central Park Effect premiered at the South-By-Southwest Festival in 2012 before being shown on HBO. It features fellow board member Chris Cooper, along with many other NYC Audubon members.  

 

Jeff is the immediate past president of the board of NYC Audubon. He was born in San Francisco and graduated from Stanford University before getting his Master’s of Fine Arts in film from New York University.

Christian “Chris” Cooper is a writer, editor, and expert Central Park birder. Born in Manhattan, he grew up on Long Island, where his interest in birds first took flight, leading him to become a youth board member of the South Shore Audubon Society and president of the Harvard Ornithological Club, where he did his undergraduate work. He has been active in several initiatives to introduce New York City public school children to birding and the outdoors. He hopes to help NYC Audubon expand its mission to include a more robust educational program. 

 

In 2023, Chris premiered a TV series with National Geographic called Extraordinary Birder, in which he takes viewers into the "wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds," according to National Geographic. His memoir, Better Living Through Birding, was printed by Random House in 2023 as well. Chris can also be seen and heard in fellow NYC Audubon board member Jeff Kimball's HBO Documentary Birders: The Central Park Effect, where he speaks eloquently and enthusiastically about the pleasures of birding.

For media requests and speaking appearances by Chris, please contact Liz DeCesare at liz.decesare@authenticm.com

Michael Tannen has spent most of his career as a business advisor, consultant, and producer for such well-known artists as John Lennon, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Grace Jones, Stephen Stills, Lily Tomlin, The Rolling Stones, and Simon & Garfunkel. Trained as a lawyer, he is an experienced business negotiator and strategist as well as an advocate for the natural environment. Mike credits his wife, Mary, for his interest in birds, though his broad focus is in the preservation of natural habitat. 

 

A graduate of NYU School of Law, Mike serves or has served on boards at The Mohonk Preserve, NYC Audubon and The Upstream Alliance, and is a New York State park commissioner. He is particularly interested in engaging new, beginner birders, and he brings board expertise, media savvy, and enthusiasm to NYC Audubon as board vice president. 

Richard “Dick” Veit, PhD is a highly respected ornithologist who teaches at the College of Staten Island. He is actively involved in Staten Island conservation efforts, including endeavors to preserve parts of the former Fresh Kills landfill as grassland habitat. Dick has taken part in our organization’s conservation efforts for years, participating in our annual Harbor Heron meetings and serving as a member of our newly formed Grassland Bird working group with the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation. He is currently spearheading a joint project with NYC Audubon, the College of Staten Island, and Stony Brook University to put satellite-tracked transmitters on (European) Lesser-Black-backed Gulls to study vagrancy and colonization by these birds. 

 

A member of the Linnaean Society since the early 1970s, he has participated in many of its programs, including its campaign to block the proposed JFK International Airport runway expansion over Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge wetlands. Dick is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and holds a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of California, Irvine. 

Gina Argento is president and CEO of Broadway Stages and has over 30 years of experience in the film and television studio production industry. She joined the family business after earning her master’s degree from St. John’s University and is dedicated to building a sustainable, inclusive, and economically productive film and television culture in New York. A certified woman-owned business by the City of New York, Broadway Stages is among the largest growing film and television studio production companies in New York and boasts over 100,000 square feet of green roof infrastructure across its facilities. Through financial and in-kind resources, her company supports initiatives that bring equity, inclusion, and well-being across the City, including youth development, education, the arts, environmental sustainability, housing, food distribution, healthcare, and more.

 

Gina joined the board of New York City Audubon in 2022. Her passions for family, community, and the environment drive her to make a lasting, positive local impact across New York City’s five boroughs.

MaryJane Boland retired as senior director of the Executive MBA program at NYU Stern School of Business. She served on her co-op board for 25+ years. She has also served on the board of trustees for her Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Times Square, where she co-managed a $2 million capital campaign; co-chairs the church’s AIDS Walk Team, the #4 fundraiser in 2022; and co-chairs Neighbors in Need to provide clothing and toiletries to those in need. She was honored by NYC Audubon as Volunteer of the Year in 2017 for her work as an injured bird transporter.

A lifelong New Yorker who lived in California for 14 years, she completed her BA degree from the University of California at Riverside and MBA at the Claremont Graduate University. A resident of the Upper West Side, she is an active birder with her husband, also a birder and photographer. MaryJane currently serves on NYC Audubon’s Advisory Council and on the Special Events Committee.

Marsilia “Marcy” A. Boyle first served on the board of New York City Audubon from 2000 to 2016, including as board secretary. For her dedication, she was honored at the 2016 Fall Roost. She returned to the board in 2019 and now serves as chair of the Conservation Committee. In this role, she draws on her extensive professional experience in New York real estate and government, having recently retired as the senior managing director at LeFrak after thirty years. Marcy was instrumental in establishing NYC Audubon’s presence in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, through grants from the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund for work in McGolrick Park and our green roof project, Kingsland Wildflowers at Broadway Stages. 

 

Marcy also sits on the board of Audubon New York and also served for four years as chair of the New York State Audubon Chapter Council. A lifelong Brooklyn resident who recently moved to Queens, she is particularly interested in working to advance bird-safe glass legislation and to expand NYC Audubon's impact in the outer boroughs. Marcy also sings with Master Voices, which performs classical, opera and contemporary music. 

Shawn Cargil currently serves as director of operations at Little Island NYC and previously as administrator of Crotona Park in the Bronx, where he was responsible for all aspects of restoration, maintenance, operations, and programming at the 134-acre park. He brings not only an understanding of the workings of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, which is critically important to much of New York City Audubon's work, but also a deep knowledge of the Bronx and its natural areas, helpful to expanding our programmatic reach there. 

A dedicated birder, Shawn has lived in the Bronx since he immigrated to New York City from Jamaica at age eleven. He has long been focused on environmental education and building a culture of environmental stewardship in the local community, and he hopes to contribute to our work in these areas as well.

Angela “Angie” Co is an architect, designer, teacher, and birder. She is the founder of Studio Co Architecture and the co-founder of Bird Collective, a birding apparel company that supports the work of conservation groups. Her passion for birds and the natural world informs her approach to design in several ways, from products to environments.

Angie joined the board of NYC Audubon in 2021. She lives in Brooklyn and her local birding patches are Green-Wood Cemetery and Prospect Park. She has taught architecture at Syracuse University, the University of Kentucky, and Columbia University.

Steven A. Dean is a professor of law at Boston University School of Law. Prior to BU, he was a professor at Brooklyn Law School where he was also Vice Dean, and served as faculty director of the prestigious NYU Law School Graduate Tax Program.  Before teaching, Steven practiced law for five years at two of the best firms in New York City, Debevoise & Plimpton and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. 

Steven grew up loving nature in the Bahamas, a connection he regained through his son, an ardent birder whose passion Steven enables and supports. (Steven’s son was even a star witness at the New York City Council hearings supporting the bird-safe building legislation passed in 2019.)  A graduate of Williams College and Yale Law School, Steven is particularly enthusiastic about NYC Audubon’s inclusive education programs. 

 

Alexander “Sandy” Ewing is an attorney and an enthusiastic but far from expert birder. After clerking for a federal district court judge and practicing as a litigation associate at Debevoise & Plimpton, Sandy began working for the public interest as an environmental lawyer at the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago. He led campaigns to make interstate highways more environmentally responsible, reduce incinerator pollution, and promote clean energy. He subsequently has had an independent law practice focusing on environmental and zoning law, among other matters.

 

Sandy believes firmly in the need to engage New Yorkers of all backgrounds in environmentalism so that we can remain relevant and effective in the 21st century. A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Sandy has long been active in political campaigns and is an avid vegetable gardener and Mets fan.

Linda N. Freeman, MD is a child and adolescent psychiatrist who currently works in private practice after retiring from her position as associate clinical professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. 

 

Linda’s  interest in birding was sparked about five years ago when she treated a preadolescent patient whose affect and energy level were boosted whenever he talked about birding. She began attending NYC Audubon programs to learn enough about birds to be able to use birding as a therapeutic device to engage with this patient. But then she became hooked on birding herself. She has seen that birding and nature can improve mental health and is interested in passing on to future generations her beliefs about the importance of the preservation of birds and their habitats and of making them available to everyone. 

 

She joined the NYC Audubon board in 2022. She graduated with a BA from University of Pennsylvania and an MD from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. 

Tatiana Kaletsch, a lifelong lover of nature and New York City native, spent much of her career in Europe, where she worked in hotel sales and marketing and raised her children. Nine years ago, Tatiana moved back to New York City, where she is a self employed public health specialist focused on regional food systems and chronic disease prevention. Upon her return to the City, she sought out a nonprofit with which to become involved. Over the past several years, Tatiana has become increasingly involved with our organization. She was drawn to NYC Audubon because of our hands-on science-based work and our locally focused outreach efforts in the City’s five boroughs.

 

As a member of the board of New York City Audubon, she lends her expertise in event planning and fundraising. She is an alumna of Vassar College.

Simon Keyes is a Director at Silicon Valley Bank, where he works to provide banking services for venture-backed software companies. He hails from Concord, MA, graduated from Middlebury College, and has called New York City, and now Brooklyn, home for nearly a decade. Since 2021, he has also served as the chair of the NYC Audubon Young Conservationist Council, a group whose mission is to promote the beauty and importance of conserving the city’s natural habitats and species to the next generation of New Yorkers.

His interest in birding began at a young age when he would follow his father around Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge and the Estabrook Woods in Concord. En route to the various birding patches, they would practice their bird song recognition by playing Birding by Ear cassette tapes in the car. When he isn’t at work, you can find him running and/or birding in Prospect Park, golfing (with binoculars close at hand), playing racquet sports, taking advantage of performing arts in the city, and officiating friends’ weddings (now numbering seven weddings!).

Kyu Lee is director of communications at the Center on Global Energy Policy based out of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. There he helps lead public outreach, media relations, marketing and digital strategy. Prior, he was associate director of communications and marketing at the Earth Institute of Columbia University. He has worked on climate, development, and sustainability issues since 1992 when he traveled to the Rio Earth Summit as an intern for a newspaper. From there he participated in all the major UN global conferences during the 90s as a photographer, operations manager, editor and writer. He's written many articles on sustainable development issues around the world. 

 

Kyu joined the NYC Audubon board in 2021. He lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife and daughter. He is an avid birder and spends most early mornings during the spring and fall in Central Park. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in English literature. 

Patrick Markee was most recently the deputy executive director for advocacy at the Coalition for the Homeless, a premier New York City homeless advocacy organization, from 1995 to 2015. At the Coalition he directed and supervised their advocacy and public policy work, including community organizing and media and litigation strategy. He has authored numerous research studies and briefing papers on affordable housing and homeless policies in New York. Before joining the Coalition for the Homeless in 1995, he worked as a consultant on studies of affordable housing in Laredo, Texas, and Cleveland, Ohio, and as a researcher in Cuzco, Peru. Patrick was a member of the board of directors of the National Coalition for the Homeless from 2007 to 2016. Additionally, he has written articles and reviews for The Nation and The New York Times Book Review. 

 

Patrick joined the NYC Audubon board in 2021. He is a graduate of Harvard University and has master’s degrees in urban planning and Latin American studies from the University of Texas. 

Andre C. Meade is a partner and research analyst at The Capital Group, one of the world’s largest asset management firms. His primary areas of responsibilities include the U.S. utility, power generation, and energy infrastructure industries. He has widespread knowledge about the utility and energy industries including renewable power. Prior to joining Capital 20 years ago, Andre held several research, consulting, and regulatory positions. He also spent a summer working for the National Park Service. 

 

Andre holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University. Andre, who joined the NYC Audubon board in 2022, is a lifelong birder and lives in New York City with his wife and two young children. 

Elizabeth Norman is a Senior Director at the International Rescue Committee and has a wealth of experience in budgeting and administration. As a senior executive at one of the top-100 largest nonprofit organizations in the world, she has helped formulate and administer annual budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars. 

 

A resident of Brooklyn, Elizabeth is an active member of the LGBT community, an enthusiastic NYC Audubon volunteer, and a frequent participant in NYC Audubon walks and trips. She has a passion for community work and advocacy. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

 

In addition to serving on the board of NYC Audubon, she has co-chaired the NYC AIDS Housing Network board, and served for six years on the board of Brooklyn-based Neighbors Helping Neighbors. She is excited about involving more diverse groups of New Yorkers in birding, and increasing birding engagement in more geographically diverse NYC parks. 

Georgia Silvera Seamans, PhD lives and breathes city trees; with experience in New Haven, Boston, Oakland, and NYC. Georgia writes about urban nature with bylines in City Trees and PopSci.com. She is the founder of Local Nature Lab and directs Washington Square Park Eco Projects. She is also a founding member of #BlackBotanistsWeek.

Georgia currently serves on NYC Audubon’s Advisory Council and on the Education and Public Programs Committee.

Vivek Sriram has over 20 years of strategy and portfolio management experience across fixed income markets. He is a co-founder of KCVS Partners LLC, an investment management firm. For the last 11 years, he was Senior Vice President at PNC, focusing on the active management of the bank's $130 billion securities portfolio. He previously spent five years as an Institutional Investor magazine-rated Agency MBS strategist at JP Morgan, Bank of America, and RBC Capital Markets. Prior to his work in strategy, he spent several years as a portfolio manager at JP Morgan Asset Management and Freddie Mac. 

 

Vivek joined the NYC Audubon board in 2022. He actively nurtures his love for nature through birdwatching, reading about nature and conservation, and traveling to eco-hotspots around the world. Some of his favorite birding spots in and around the city include Prospect Park, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, Blackrock State Park, Croton Point Park, and Hempstead Lake Park. A native of Chennai, India, Vivek also enjoys birding in India. 

Lili Taylor is a stage and screen actress who has appeared in such films as Mystic Pizza, I Shot Andy Warhol, and The Conjuring. Most recently she can be seen in Amazon’s Outer Range starring Josh Brolin. Some other credits include: the Emmy-nominated American Crime, Perry Mason, and Six Feet Under with HBO and Fox’s The X-Files, both of which garnered her Emmy nominations. She is developing a TV show called Curious Birds with Silent Crow productions and is also in the process of writing a book about her encounters with birds. 

Lili currently serves on the board of the American Birding Association and National Audubon, and has volunteered with NYC Audubon as a bird monitor for the 9/11 Tribute in Light memorial for several years.

Sharon Weidberg has been at PricewaterhouseCoopers for over 25 years, focusing on the Asset & Wealth Management (AWM) industry. She is currently a Director in the Chief Auditor Network where she assists engagement teams with audit methodology. Sharon also leads content and quality initiatives including U.S. AWM webcasts.

Sharon is a registered Certified Public Accountant in New York and New Jersey. She graduated cum laude from NYU Stern School of Business, with a B.S. in Accounting. An avid nature enthusiast, Sharon frequently visits National Parks to observe nature and wildlife. To date, she has visited more than 25 parks across the United States and Canada. Sharon spends recreational time hiking, visiting nature centers, and photographing wildlife in the tri-state area.