Audubon Pennsylvania Executive Director Dr. Timothy Schaeffer will be moving to the Fish and Boat Commission as the Director of Policy, Planning and Communications starting April 21.

Dr. Schaeffer came to Audubon in March 2005 and has worked to put important bird area coordinator staff in the field, held the first two chapter meetings bringing together members from across the state in a long time, initiated major fund raising efforts for Mill Grove, the home of John James Audubon in Pennsylvania, Waggoner’s Gap Hawk Watch and Fairmount Park Important Bird Area educational programs in Philadelphia and worked to diversified the funding base for Audubon in Pennsylvania.

He has been the primary spokesman for Audubon Pennsylvania on the critical issues of deer management, wind power and feral swine habitat destruction and improved the ability of Audubon to have an impact on legislation moving in the General Assembly.

Dr. Schaeffer has also served as regional director for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Central Pennsylvania Regional Office and was the Science and Policy Director for the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers.

He has been a member of a number of state and regional boards, including the Governor’s Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing, and Conservation, the Department of Environmental Protection’s Water Resources Advisory Committee and the Potomac Water Resource Regional Committee.

He also coordinated a number of statewide coalitions and facilitated the Pennsylvania Habitat Alliance. He is a founding board member of the Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education, is an active member of the Susquehanna River Trail Association and participated on the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Wind Farms and Wildlife Collaborative.

Dr. Schaeffer holds a Ph.D. from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a J.D. from Syracuse University, an M.S. from Carnegie Mellon University, and a B.A. from Gettysburg College.

Audubon Pennsylvania’s Interim Executive Director will be Jean Bochnowski, Director of the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove.

4/18/2008