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 in 2010. 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 senior associate 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. 

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. 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. 

 

A longtime Central Park birder, Chris can be seen and heard in the HBO Documentary Birders: The Central Park Effect, where he speaks eloquently and enthusiastically about the pleasures of birding. He is a vice president of the board of New York City Audubon and an alumnus of Harvard University. Chris is currently working on a TV series with National Geographic called Extraordinary Birder, in which he will take viewers into the "wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds," according to National Geographic. His memoir, Better Living Through Birding, is forthcoming from Random House.

Alan Steel is the CEO of the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation, which operates the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Alan is also a committed birder. As part of an extensive renovation of the facility, the Javits Center, previously known as one of the most lethal buildings for migrating birds in New York City, installed bird-safe glass that has reduced bird deaths by some 90 percent. 

 

The Center’s new seven-acre green roof, the biggest in the City and one of the largest of its kind in the country, is home to an increasing number of bird species. Alan and the Javits Center have partnered with NYC Audubon in both these ventures, engaging NYC Audubon to monitor effects of the renovations and joining with NYC Audubon to reach out to others considering similar projects. In recognition of its leadership in sustainability and partnership with NYC Audubon, the Javits Center is the honoree for the organization’s 2022 Fall Roost. 

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. 

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.

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.

Seth Ausubel has drawn inspiration from New York City’s natural resources throughout his life, leading him to a career of more than three decades at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During his time at the EPA, Seth worked on many conservation projects, including protecting New York's watershed ecosystems and managing water quality in New York Harbor. A very active birder, Seth has long been involved with the Queens County Bird Club. He was also an important member of the Jamaica Bay Birders Coalition that successfully advocated for the West Pond’s restoration after it was breached by Hurricane Sandy. 

 

In addition to serving on the board of New York City Audubon, Seth served on the New York State Ornithological Association (NYSOA)’s board for five years. He is currently on NYSOA’s Conservation Committee. He has written a number of articles for its journal, The Kingbird, and compiled NYSOA's regional bird reports for New York City and Long Island from 2009-2019. Seth holds a master's degree in marine environmental sciences from SUNY at Stony Brook. He is currently retired and pursuing numerous interests in nature and conservation.

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.

César A. Castillo is a biology instructor and lab technician at Queens College. A near-lifelong Queens resident, César’s family moved to the borough from Colombia when he was three years old. Passionate about the study and conservation of all flora and fauna, he helps broaden NYC Audubon’s understanding of Queens’ conservation needs. César strongly believes in reaching children at an early age, and is committed to increasing education and outreach efforts in traditionally underserved communities.

 

César received his BA and master’s degree in biology from Queens College, where he has worked for the past 13 years. He joined the board of NYC Audubon in 2018.

Note: César A. Castillo passed away unexpectedly in March 2023. His loss is a tremendous one for the New York City birding community, and for NYC Audubon. We extend heartfelt condolences to César's family and friends. 

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 tax law at Brooklyn Law School, where he was Vice-Dean, and currently serves as faculty director of the prestigious NYU Law School Graduate Tax Program. Before teaching, he practiced law for five years at two of the best firms in New York City, Debevoise & Plimpton and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He 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. He lives with his family in Brooklyn.

 

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.

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. 

Jennifer “Jenny” Maritz is a passionate environmentalist and outdoorswoman with years of experience in environmental education. She originally developed her love for nature during her childhood summers spent at the Jersey Shore and visits to see her grandparents in the Pocono Mountains. Jenny moved to New York a few years ago from Colorado, where she served for 10 years on the board of the Walking Mountains Science School in Avon, Colorado, a place-based environmental campus that operates programs for over 3,000 local schoolchildren as well as guided nature hikes, adult classes, and sustainability programs. She is particularly interested in New York City Audubon’s education and conservation work, including research on migration using nanotag transmitters.

 

A native of Pennsylvania, she graduated from the University of Virginia and worked in banking before leaving work to raise her children. Jenny has been an enthusiastic birder for 15 years. 

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. 

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. 

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.