Staff
Administrative
Environmental Education
Marine Laboratory
Native Plant Nursery
Natural Resource Policy
Wildlife Habitat Management
Staff Bios
Administrative
Erick Lindblad
Executive Director
elindblad@sccf.org
Erick Lindblad has served as the Executive Director of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation since 1986. He has been instrumental in the Foundation's acquisition of over 1,190 acres of Wildlife Preserve areas on and around Sanibel and Captiva. In 2002, he oversaw the establishment of SCCF's Marine Laboratory. During his tenure, SCCF has grown from a full-time staff of four to over 30 full-time employees, including grant-supported positions and interns.
Erick has coordinated and actively participated in land management activities including invasive non-native plant control, prescribed burning (Division of Forestry Burn Manager Certification), gopher tortoise management and surface water management projects. Land acquisition has been accomplished by a variety of means, including fee simple, bargain sale, development agreement and donation.
As part of his commitment to the sustainable development of Southwest Florida, Erick serves on Conservation 20/20, Lee County's Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Council and the Land Management Subcommittee. He also was appointed by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners to serve as the county's representative on the Babcock Ranch Inc. Board, which oversees the management of the state's 71,000-acre Babcock Ranch Preserve in Lee and Charlotte Counties.
He served on the Board of the International Osprey Foundation, the Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association and the Babcock Preservation Partnership, and also served on the Technical Advisory Committee of the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.
Erick has served on various City of Sanibel committees over the years including the Budget Review Committee, Wildlife Committee, Interior Wetlands Study Committee, and the Algae Task force. He serves as Treasurer of the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Trust Fund, and was awarded the Walter Klie Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sanibel-Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce (although he likes to think of it as 'mid-lifetime').
Prior to his tenure at the Conservation Foundation, he served as Director of Newfound Harbor Marine Institute at Seacamp on Big Pine Key, FL from 1979 to 1986. He graduated in 1974 from Millikin University in Illinois with a B.A. in Biology.
Wendy Cerdan
Business Manager
wcerdan@sccf.org
Wendy brings experience in the banking field and as an account clerk with a local governmental agency to her position as Business Manager of SCCF. She and her family have been Southwest Florida residents for over 25 years.
Marti Bryant
Development Coordinator
mbryant@sccf.org
Marti joined SCCF as Development Coordinator in 1995. She is the face of SCCF to many of its volunteers as she plans and schedules volunteer opportunities and organizes special events.
Marti began her career in the banking and insurance fields in her native Michigan, managing office staff and operations and working as an account executive. Upon relocating to Southwest Florida in the late 1980s, Marti was a community association manager and the assistant to the Director of Development at Canterbury School.
Cheryl Giattini
Legacy Programs
cgiattini@attglobal.net
Cheryl has more than 20 years' experience working on development and marketing strategies for business and non-profit organizations. Upon graduation from Georgetown University Law Center, she joined the National Public Radio General Counsel's Office as an attorney. In addition to the traditional legal duties, Cheryl worked directly with the board of directors on development issues facing a non-profit corporation. Her career evolved from the practice of law into the field of public relations and marketing. She founded an events management firm, Washington Affairs, which was later acquired by a public affairs and marketing firm. Cheryl remained as Senior Vice President until 1991 when she became an independent consultant.
Cheryl's work with SCCF began in a volunteer capacity as part of the leadership team that successfully undertook three land acquisition campaigns in two years. Now as a consultant, she works closely with the Board of Trustees and Development staff to coordinate SCCF's campaigns for additional land purchases and other capital needs. She also oversees the Annual Fund Drive and the growth of the Legacy Funds, SCCF's endowment program.
Karen Nelson
Communications Coordinator
knelson@sccf.org
A New York native, Karen moved to Sanibel in 2000. She spent 20 years in New York City, working for several major hotels before moving into direct marketing. After relocating to Sanibel, she edited and wrote for several weekly Sanibel and Captiva publications before joining SCCF in 2007.
Environmental Education
Kristie Anders
Education Director
kanders@sccf.org
SCCF Education Director since 1988, Kristie has been teaching people about our natural habitat and environmental stewardship for over 30 years. She has developed a unique knowledge of the greater Everglades ecosystem through her experience as a marine educator in the Florida Keys, a ranger in Everglades National Park, an outdoor recreation planner at the J.N.'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge and her position at SCCF. In addition, Kristie has been a park ranger in Acadia National Park, Independence National Historic Park and Salem Maritime Historic Site and is the former executive director of the 'Ding' Darling Foundation. She holds dual degrees from Penn State University in Marine Sciences and Environmental Education. Kristie resides on North Captiva Island, traveling to work daily by boat.
Melissa Upton
Nature Center Manager/Educator
mupton@sccf.org
Melissa has over 20 years of varied environmental experience. She began her career in the Asia ' Pacific region. She was a Peace Corps volunteer and marine fisheries extension agent working with Filipinos on mariculture projects. She was later invited to return to the Philippines to conduct a technical training course in community-based coastal resource management for Peace Corps trainees. Melissa also was a Sea Grant extension agent for the University of Hawaii and was based on the island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. During that time she worked as an information and educational specialist for a local government agency, the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Immediately prior to joining SCCF, Melissa was the Public Involvement Specialist with the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program; in that capacity she helped develop a comprehensive conservation and management plan for the greater Charlotte Harbor watershed.
Melissa holds a B.S. degree with a double major in Human Ecology and Anthropology from Connecticut College and a master's degree from the University of Rhode Island where she focused on the management of marine and coastal resources.
Richard Finkel
Environmental Educator
rfinkel@sccf.org
Richard first came to Sanibel in 1991 for an environmental education internship with SCCF after a stint with the Maine Audubon Society. His SCCF internship led to a position leading interpretive tram, canoe and kayak tours through the J. N. 'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge. He spent several summers as a park ranger in the Acadia National Park in Maine and then was a teaching assistant for a year in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Sanibel, however, lured him back. After leading natural and cultural history kayaking tours for a few years, Richard rejoined SCCF as a member of the environmental education staff in 2000. He has a B.S. in Environmental Science from Antioch College.
Dee Serage-Century
Landscaping for Wildlife
dserage@sccf.org
Dee is the 'Landscaping for Wildlife' educator for SCCF, teaching residents about the use of Florida's native plants to create habitat for birds and butterflies in their yards. Through monthly Native Plant Classes, garden tours, landscape designs, and house calls, homeowners get all the help they need to plant their native gardens. As part of this program, Dee teaches homeowners and neighborhood associations how to live safely with alligators in monthly 'Gator Tales' presentations.
For the education and enjoyment of residents and visitors, Dee raises Florida's native butterflies and their caterpillars in the Lolly Cohen memorial butterfly house and encourages people to plant for butterflies. Butterflies and caterpillars from the house are used in life cycle kits to educate local school children.
Always looking for new ways to educate Floridians about their native plants, Dee teaches 'The Cultural History of Florida's Native Plants' from the ethnobotany garden around the teaching shelter on Foundation trails. In the garden, Florida's native plants are labeled according to their uses as food, shelter, art, and medicine by peoples past and present.
Marine Laboratory
Dr. Loren Coen
Director
lcoen@sccf.org
Loren Coen CV
Loren Coen, Ph.D., joined the Marine Laboratory in October 2007 as the new Director. He has worked extensively with invertebrates (especially decapod crustaceans and bivalve molluscs) and plants (seagrasses, mangroves, saltmarshes and macroalgae) in temperate and tropical/subtropical habitats. His past research has included seagrass work in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as coral reef and mangrove projects at the Smithsonian Institution's Marine Station on Carrie Bow Cay in Belize. His research has also taken him to other Central and South American countries, China, Bermuda and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Loren grew up in New York City, developing an interest in the marine environment at an early age working summers on the south shore of Long Island. After pursuing an undergraduate degree, he went to Bermuda at what was at that time the Bermuda Biological Station, conducting research with staff there, which included extensive diving in both inshore and offshore habitats. Soon after, he went to FSU and worked on seagrasses and shrimp associated with red algal habitats along Florida's Panhandle. Loren worked afterwards at USF with Susan Bell, a seagrass and invertebrates expert in Florida and Chincoteague Island.
Loren received his doctorate from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he worked with Dr. Geerat Vermeij, now at the University of California, Davis. After Maryland he did a post-doc and a held a research faculty appointment at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) and University of South Alabama, where he worked on topics such as flow, food and predation on clams and its effects on their growth in seagrass beds in Florida and Alabama. There he worked with Drs. Pennock, Heck, and Valentine examining system-level questions related to how predation, nutrients, and herbivory may structure seagrass-dominated marine ("open") systems in St Joe Bay, Florida.
For the past 14 years, Dr. Coen was an Associate and then Senior Marine Scientist and Manager of the Shellfish Research Section in South Carolina Department of Natural Resource's (SCDNR) Marine Resources Research Institute, based in Charleston. His research group worked on seven interrelated research areas: restoration ecology of intertidal oyster reef habitats; interactions between oysters and fringing salt marsh and associated erosional impacts; the ecological value of estuarine habitats as nurseries; evaluation of the effects of hard clam mariculture on the surrounding inshore communities; non-native crabs; a state-wide remote sensing mapping effort related to intertidal habitats; and the disease dynamics of shellfish populations.
In 2001, Dr. Coen led a state-wide community restoration effort called SCORE (South Carolina Community Oyster Restoration Enhancement) Program involving the restoration and monitoring of intertidal oyster habitats. Three years later, SCORE won a Coastal America Partnership Award and with Nancy Hadley, the other primary investigator, they won the Theodore M. Sperry Award from the Society for Ecological Restoration's (SER) for this Program's achievements. In 2007, he received a NOAA Restoration Center Excellence in Restoration Award based on his restoration and related research achievements.
Dr. Coen has also been involved with issues related to the potential introduction of a non-native oyster from China and/or Japan into U.S. waters, sampling along China's coast with researchers from VIMS, FIT, and many Chinese research institutions.
Dr. Coen has organized two International Benthic Ecology Meetings in Mobile, AL; he has been on the Program Committee for numerous Biennial International Shellfish Restoration Conferences in South Carolina, and served on the Executive Board of the National Shellfisheries Association. He has been involved with graduate programs at the University of South Alabama, the College of Charleston, the University of South Carolina, and at Clemson University. He is also currently working with The Nature Conservancy on their worldwide marine initiative entitled 'Shellfish@Risk.'
In 2004, he helped organize a workshop whose aim was "to examine and evaluate oyster restoration metrics for assessing ecological function, sustainability and success." The outcome of this is now a dedicated website www.oyster-restoration.org, a soon-to-go-live Wiki collaborative area and the creation of a technical Oyster Restoration Working Group.
At SCCF, Dr. Coen is interested in tackling the diverse systems and associated problems of Southwest Florida, both of local and non-local origin, including studying the impacts of projects like CERP being proposed to remedy those problems.
Local water quality concerns will provide an opportunity for Dr. Coen to pursue his work on the potential for oysters to positively impact eutrophication in estuaries.
Dr. Richard Bartleson
Research Scientist
rbartleson@sccf.org
Richard Bartleson CV
After receiving a B.A. in Biology from the University of South Florida, Richard worked as a lab and field technician at Mote Marine Lab, the Rookery Bay Marine Lab, and Florida DER mainly doing water quality sampling and analyses. He received his M.S. from the Ecosystems Ecology division of the Environmental Engineering Sciences program at the University of Florida. For his master's thesis, he studied the effects of seagrass on sedimentation and constructed a simulation model of seagrass growth and its effect on currents and sedimentation. While at UF, Richard researched ecosystem effects of increased fresh water flow in Florida Bay. After graduating, he worked on a project showing effects of diverting fresh water flow on the Savanna River ecosystems. He then worked on a simulation model of the Chesapeake Bay as a Senior Faculty Research Assistant at the University of Maryland's Horn Point Environmental Lab. He received his Ph.D. from the Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Studies program at the University of Maryland, College Park, where his research was designed to increase the understanding of how water column nutrients affect seagrass health. After finishing his field and lab research, he started a postdoc with the Lake Okeechobee Research unit at the South Florida Water Management District, conducting microcosm research on the effects of submersed plants on nutrients and constructing a simulation model of submersed plant growth.
Research interests: Ecosystem role of seagrass beds, seagrass effects on water quality, sedimentation and nutrient cycling, sediment and water column effects on seagrass growth, correlation of seagrass bed size with ecosystem effects, effects of seagrass beds on water flow, enhancing nutrient removal ability of submersed plant beds.
Dr. Eric Milbrandt
Research Scientist
emilbran@sccf.org
Eric Milbrandt CV
Eric received his doctorate from the University of Oregon, where he studied under Dr. Lynda Shapiro. His dissertation focused on bacterial species distribution patterns in estuarine sediments. His research pioneered the application of DNA-based tools to study intertidal mudflats, where a majority of the decomposition and nutrient cycling is mediated by bacteria. Eric continues to work on the interactions between bacteria and submerged aquatic vegetation using the tools that he developed as a graduate student. He has recently completed a grant-funded experiment to examine the role of bacteria in moderating stress in recently transplanted seagrasses.
During his transition to Florida, Eric established several permanent mangrove forest plots to study the effects of human activities on mangrove reproduction, recruitment and forest structure. He has published several peer-reviewed journal articles on the recovery of mangroves after hurricane disturbance and the effect of sea level rise on black mangrove recruitment. Currently, he is developing molecular markers for mangroves to understand how populations adapt to local conditions at the genetic level.
At SCCF, Eric has been instrumental in the establishment of RECON (River Estuary Coastal Observing Network) which is providing new insights about the circulation and water optical properties of the Caloosahatchee watershed and estuary. He has used the optical properties to refine water quality targets for protecting seagrasses. The in-water capabilities of RECON provide greater temporal resolution not available previously to better predict whether seagrasses are meeting the minimum photosynthetic demands.
Dr. Olexandr (Alex) Rybak
Research Scientist / GIS / Database Manager
arybak@sccf.org
Alex Rybak CV
Alex received his doctorate in Landscape Ecology from the Simferopol State University in Ukraine. His dissertation focused on
landscape-ecological analysis of costal ecosystem dynamics. His research pioneered the application of multiple environmental gradients to classify landscapes. While working for the Ukrainian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, he designed and implemented long-term studies of land cover/land use within the Southern Coast of Crimea addressing conservation, ecological restoration, and ecosystem management issues.
Alex continued to work on coupling landscape structure with landscape processes in north Texas, where he applied Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing, and field monitoring techniques to study local thermal characteristics and their effect on grassland bird distribution. He has recently completed a grant-funded project to examine long-term landscape changes and landscape ecology of northern bobwhite in eastern Oklahoma. He utilized a 30-year quail occurrence data collected along permanent routes of Oklahoma Dept. of Wildlife Conservation and USGS Breeding Bird Survey. Alex’s research in Texas and Oklahoma will result into his another doctoral degree in Natural Resource Ecology & Management from Oklahoma State University.
In Florida, Alex played a key role in several task orders for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Center for Spatial Analysis. He managed the Florida Aquatic GAP project, leading the development of a statewide species-habitat database and contributing to the National Hydrography Dataset. He served as a Principal Investigator on multiple large-scale GIS projects, including statewide stream habitat classification, river network editing and field GPS ground-truthing, mapping threats to freshwater systems, and also producing statewide 5-meter Digital Elevation Model for the USGS.
At SCCF, Alex will work closely with the Marine Lab personnel and its collaborators to identify, advise, develop, and produce diverse GIS-related applications addressing multiple problems of coastal and marine ecosystems. He will analyze data collected from the Foundation’s River, Estuary and Coastal Observation Network (RECON). Alex will design and prepare cartographic products, geodatabases, and spatio-temporal models for interpretation of the RECON data.
Molly Dawson
Grant Administrator
mdawson@sccf.org
Molly and her family moved to Florida from central Indiana when she was six. Molly has worked in retail, banking, hospitality, and a touch of journalism. Her first two years of college were at Flagler College in St. Augustine, and she finished her final two years at Florida Gulf Coast University. After completion of her coursework, Molly received her accounting degree from the AACSB accredited Lutgert College of Business at FGCU. Within a month of graduation, she was hired as Grants Administrator for the marine laboratory at SCCF. Now, her time is spent tracking expenditures for grants and the core research at the lab, as well as billing granting agencies and helping on any special projects that come her way.
Brad Klement
Research Assistant
bklement@sccf.org
Brad developed his love of the water growing up on Lake Michigan in Southeastern Wisconsin. A week at a marine biology camp in Key Largo, Florida during the summer of 1995 sparked his interest in tropical marine ecology. He attended Long Island University in Southampton, New York for two years before transferring to Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. As a Galbraith Scholar, Brad spent the summer of 2002 working in the Benthic Ecology lab of the Bermuda Biological Station for Research. In addition to several other projects, he contributed primarily to a continuing study assessing the effectiveness of Bermuda's marine protected areas. Immediately following this fellowship, he moved on to Alabama's Dauphin Island Sea Lab to complete an internship funded by the National Science Foundation. As part of his work there, Brad designed and executed a research project examining the effects of overfishing on trophic structure in the Florida Keys. He later presented this research at a conference hosted by the American Fisheries Society in Brooksville, Florida.
After graduating in 2003 with a B.S. in Marine Biology, Brad took a job in Jacksonville, Florida with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. There he was part of the Fisheries Independent Monitoring program designed to monitor the status and trends of Florida's important commercial and recreational fisheries. Brad worked there for 14 months before joining SCCF in January of 2005 where he is largely involved with a project studying spotted sea trout growth as an indicator of estuarine conditions, including the effects of hurricane disturbance.
A. J. Martignette
Research Assistant
amartignette@sccf.org
A.J. received his B.S in Marine Biology from Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. While there he spent a semester studying abroad in Bermuda, at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc. He returned to Bermuda after graduation to work as an intern in the Benthic Ecology Research Programme laboratory. The primary research he conducted there was assessing the effect of Bermuda's marine protected areas on fish population dynamics. He also assisted with coral, seagrass, and algae research.
A.J. is an avid scuba diver and holds his research diver certification through the American Academy of Underwater Sciences. He is interested in all aspects of marine ecology with a special interest in fish population dynamics, fisheries enhancement, and protecting valuable marine habitats.
A.J.'s main area of focus at SCCF's Marine Lab is the RECON project. He has been responsible for the deployment, including the development of a custom mounting and retrieval system, of the RECON sensors. He is also responsible for the ongoing maintenance required to keep the network working, including data quality control.
Jeff Siwicke
Research Assistant
jsiwicke@sccf.org
Jeff received a B.A. in Geography from the University of South Florida. Upon graduation, he lived on Andros Island, Bahamas for nearly two years where he worked as an environmental educator at Forfar Field Station. It was there that he developed his interest in the marine world and was trained as a SCUBA dive master. Jeff then moved to the Florida Keys where he began working on a charter fishing boat eventually earning a Coast Guard masters license. From the Keys Jeff moved to Seattle and then Ithaca, NY, where he continued operating boats and worked for a small craft brewery. Two winters out of Florida was all it took for him to find his way to Sanibel and SCCF.
At the Marine Lab, Jeff's boating and diving skills are put to good use. Since late 2005, he has been studying the effects of large freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee by monitoring seagrass growth rates and the usable light they receive. Jeff has also been involved with the installation and servicing of the RECON sensors.
Art Weissbach, Ph.D.
Visiting Research Scientist
Art Weissbach is a member of SCCF's Board of Trustees and a visiting scientists at the Foundation's Marine Laboratory, where he is working with Dr. Eric Milbrandt, studying microbial ecology. He is also a scientist in the Biotechnical Division of Florida Gulf Coast University, where he is studying the Dengue virus.
He has headed SCCF's Marine Lab Committee and he also chaired the Environmental Affairs Committee. He lived on Sanibel for 17 years and chaired the City of Sanibel's Vegetation Committee. He moved to Fort Myers in 2005.
He has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Columbia University and was a Denior Biochemist at the National Institutes of Health from 1956-68. In 1968 he moved to the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology as Chair of the Department of Cell Biology and then became Associate Director.
His career includes research as a Visiting Scientist at the Institut Pasteur (Paris, 1959-60) and at the Institut de Biologie et Physico-Chimique (Paris, 1968-69). He has taught in a number of medical schools and was Adjunct Professor of Human Genetics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University (1969-85), and Adjunct Professor of Microbiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry, Rutgers University (1981-89).
His research interests have included photosynthesis and radioisotope tracing studies but the bulk of his work was centered on the molecular biology and biochemistry of DNA in higher organisms.
Outside interests involve traveling, jogging, exercise and reading, and he is delighted to join the staff at the SCCF Marine Laboratory.
Native Plant Nursery
Jenny Evans
Nursery Manager
jevans@sccf.org 
Jenny's love of nature began during her childhood in the foothills and farmlands of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. She earned a B.S. in Biology with a double major in Theatre from Mary Washington College. Despite the seemingly incompatible fields, Jenny has brought them together in the art and science of horticulture. An intensive summer program in Landscape Architecture at Harvard spawned her love of outdoor design. This led to a graduate degree in Public Garden Management from Cornell. Jenny has also held internships in nursery management and garden maintenance at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way, Washington and in exhibit development and design at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. In addition, she has been an environmental educator, working in subtropical marine ecology and leading students of all ages on educational snorkeling adventures. Jenny developed a strong appreciation for subtropical flora and plant ecology while living in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys for several years.
Lewis Fort
Assistant Manager
lfort@sccf.org
Having lived in Florida since he was one year old, Lew considers himself a native. He grew up in St. Petersburg before moving to Ontario, Canada, during high school. While in Canada, he became increasingly interested in the natural environment. Following high school graduation, Lew returned to Florida for college. He greatly enjoys working with plants and animals and hopes to continue his career in related fields.
Muffit Hayes
Part-Time Assistant
Muffit has always been an avid naturalist and artist. Born and raised in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, she majored in Modern Dance at the University of Wisconsin. After graduation she taught dance in Arkansas. In the late 1970s, Muffit and her family arrived on Sanibel where she continued to teach dance and yoga. Wanting to know more about the island's unique environment, she turned to the Native Plant Nursery where she is happy to be involved with native plants, wildlife and ecology.
Andrea Yacaginsky
Part-time Assistant/Sea Turtle Coordinator
ayacaginsky@sccf.org
Andrea joined SCCF in June, 2006 as the Native Plant Nursery's summer intern. While learning about South Florida's native plants, she also grew familiar with some of the other departments at SCCF, including the Sea Turtle Research and Monitoring Program. Her internship was extended through May 2007, at which time she was asked to hold a temporary joint position with the Native Plant Nursery and Sea Turtle Program. During sea turtle nesting season, Andrea is responsible for entering nest data, sending weekly press releases on this data and manning the sea turtle office. A graduate of SUNY Binghamton in New York, Andrea majored in Environmental Studies. She enjoys the South Florida climate and loves to be outdoors. Personal interests include hiking, running, reading, and bird watching.
Natural Resource Policy
Rae Ann Wessel
Director
rawessel@sccf.org 
Rae Ann is a limnologist and marine scientist with 23 years of experience working in the environmental field in South Florida. For 19 years, she managed her own environmental consulting firm, Ecosystem Specialists, dealing both in the field and with regulations on issues at the local, regional, state and federal levels. This work included habitat mapping and wetland system assessments, natural systems research and monitoring, protected species surveys, wildlife relocations and management plans and expert witness testimony. Her experience with local Land Development Codes and Comprehensive Plans is being tapped by Lee County as a member of the Lee County Local Planning Agency.
In 1995 Rae Ann assisted with coordination of a News-Press-sponsored community forum on issues related to the Caloosahatchee. The forum resulted in the creation of the non-profit Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association. Since that time, she has been involved with identifying critical Caloosahatchee issues and building support for sustainable solutions. In addition, she is involved in oxbow research, historical documentation, natural resource policy issues and education projects on the Caloosahatchee and its estuary. Rae Ann has developed and guides educational river cruises about the history, folklore, ecology and current issues related to this historic river.
Wildlife Habitat Management
Brad Smith
Director
bsmith@sccf.org 
Brad’s interest in the outdoors started young while growing up in rural southern Indiana. He spent much is his time outdoors exploring, fishing, and hunting. In important part of his experience growing up was working farm jobs where he gained an understanding and appreciation for land management.
After high school he attended Indiana University where he majored in biology. As an undergraduate he worked in the lab of Dr. Donald Whitehead conducting research on edge effects on nesting success in neo-tropical migratory songbirds. This experience led to the decision to pursue a career in field biology and wildlife conservation as well as a love for birds.
After graduating, Brad worked on several research projects across the US and Canada, including Bald Eagle research in Southeast Alaska, songbird research in New Hampshire and Alberta, Florida tree snail surveys in the western Everglades, and leading a field crew searching for rare forest birds in the Hawaiian Islands.
Brad started working for the SCCF in 1999 as a biologist and was later promoted to the Wildlife Habitat Management Director in 2002. Since that time he has returned to school to obtain a masters degree at Florida Gulf Coast University studying nesting success in Snowy Plovers. Under his supervision, the program has expanded its capabilities in GIS and native plant propagation. Using these and other tools to improve and continue to restore and manage the Island’s natural areas. He continues to direct research on the Snowy Plover, and various projects relating to ecological restoration and adaptive lands management.
Chris Lechowicz
Herpetologist/ I.T. Specialist
clechowicz@sccf.org 
Chris is native to Chicago, IL. He attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where he earned two B.S. degrees in Zoology and Computer Science. He has nearly completed his M.S. in Environmental Science from Florida Gulf Coast University. Chris was hired as the biologist/herpetologist in August of 2002 has been the technical coordinator (computer guy) since 2005.
Chris grew up with a love of nature, especially amphibians and reptiles. His interest in North American herpetofauna, especially freshwater turtles, has enabled him to assist with many herp-related research projects, surveys, and organizations. He has been studying map turtles (Graptemys) since he was a teenager and has been conducting in-situ research on this group of turtles since 1991. Chris maintains an educational website dedicated to the natural history of Graptemys turtles Graptemys.com. Recently, Chris has conducted research in Madagascar on its native tortoises. He is a board member of the Florida Turtle Conservation Trust (ftct.org) and an active member of the local herpetological society, the Calusa Herpetological Society (calusaherp.org).
At SCCF, Chris maintains the current herp list depicting which species are believed to be present or absent on Sanibel. Chris conducts various sampling protocols in order to keep tabs on the islands' fauna. Chris maintains a working relationship with the Florida Museum of Natural History in order to keep up to date with taxonomy, locality information and possible threats.
Amanda Bryant
Biologist
abryant@sccf.org
Ron Gestwicki
Field Biologist
After retiring from a career in teaching at the university level, Ron returned to graduate work at Antioch New England Graduate School where he earned a M.S. in Environmental Studies. A part-time resident of Sanibel, Ron spends his winters as a member of the Wildlife Habitat Management staff doing vegetation surveys.
Cara Faillace
Snowy Plover Technician
cfaillace@sccf.org
Cara Faillace is a native of New Jersey and graduated from Cornell University in May 2005 with a bachelors degree in biology. During college she volunteered with a bird rehabilitation center in NJ, and later worked as a technician in an invasive plants laboratory. Following graduation, she spent two months in Denali National Park, Alaska, working for the Denali Institute as a bird banding intern. This is Cara's first position working specifically with shore birds.
Toby Clark
Field Technician
tclark@sccf.org 
Toby is from Fort Myers. He is working for SCCF and the J.N. 'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge through a partnership agreement as a field technician and equipment operator. Prior to working at SCCF he was a fishing guide out of Tarpon Bay. He is also enrolled at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Victor Young
Field Technician
Victor was born and raised in North Fort Myers, Florida. He spent three summers with the J. N. 'Ding' Darling National Wildlife Refuge Youth Conservation Core helping to remove exotic vegetation as well as repairing and building infrastructure for the refuge. At SCCF, Victor assists in various land management activities. He is currently attending Edison College and has been admitted to the Coast Guard Reserve.
Heather Porter
Intern
hporter@sccf.org