OBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Peter Olsoy
Peter is an Ecologist in Burns where he researches how remote sensing technologies can help conservation and management of rangelands. He grew up across the Pacific Northwest, living in Washington (Seattle, Pullman), Idaho (Nampa, Boise), and now Oregon (Burns). Birding became an interest while working on his PhD at Washington State University, when he saw a Mandarin Duck at a local park. Now each year seems to have expanding goals (often unplanned) from county to state big years and filling in the eBird map by birding in every county. In 2024, he co-led two back-to-back Big Day Tours for the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival, and is interested in contributing more to the Oregon birding community, particularly in the southeastern corner of the state. Outside of birding, he is active on iNaturalist looking for plants, insects, and anything else he can find, and enjoys playing chess, hiking, camping and going on roadtrips.
Secretary
Rey Snyder
(they/them)
Rey is an Autistic/ADHD educator and passionate bird nerd who grew up in NW and Central Oregon, where they found belonging and solace in the outdoors. Their fascination with birds ignited as a young child when a Red-winged Blackbird mobbed them at a pond during breeding season, but up-close encounters with a Western Grebe and a Common Poorwill at Bird Alliance of Oregon’s Wildlife Care Center in 2016 inspired them to explore birds beyond the backyard. During the pandemic, birding evolved into an obsession, and they discovered invaluable support from and connection with the local birding community.
Rey is an early childhood educator and runs the Portland chapter of the Feminist Bird Club (International), which focuses on providing opportunities for historically marginalized folks to learn and find community. They teach classes and lead trips for Bird Alliance of Oregon, OBA, and more. They are passionate about conservation efforts and believe birds can tell us much about what’s going on in the world around us, if we are only willing to listen and pay attention. They are committed to ethical birding and to creating safe, inclusive spaces for all humans and all birds. Outside of bird activities, Rey loves to study nature, write poetry, read, play piano, create art, and nurture a household that includes their two teen children, an indoor cat, and a snake.
Treasurer
Katie Sorenson
(she/her)
Katie grew up in the Seattle area and has always been interested in birds. She has taught K-8 and always finds a way to include birds in the classroom. Katie moved to Burns in July 2023 and teaches 7th and 8th grade science at Hines Middle School. Her favorite thing to teach is a project-based learning unit that culminates in the creation of bird trading cards. One of Katie’s favorite parts about birding is the way it fosters connections among people and deepens their bond with nature. It’s always a joy to hear personal stories and favorite moments, whether it’s an encounter with a majestic bald eagle or another memorable sighting of wildlife. If you ever see her out and about (usually wagoning her dog Charlie around) be sure to share a story with her.
Director
Brodie Cass Talbott
(he/him)
Brodie grew up in Portland, turning over every rock in Balch Creek. After graduating from Portland State University with a degree in Applied Linguistics and working summers as a wildland firefighter, he began six years of birding and working across Asia, from teaching English in Taiwan, teaching at a monastery in Bhutan, and photographing waste picker communities in Pune, India. To escape the monsoons he spent summers working as a raft guide and managing a rafting company in Maupin, which gave him a particular love of birding Wasco county.
He now resides in Portland with his wife, and combines his love of natural history and his passion for teaching as an educator with Bird Alliance of Oregon, where he also leads bird walks and ecotours. In his free time, he goes birding.
Director
Clara Oliverson
(she/her)
Clara is a third-year Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation student studying ornithology and marine systems at Oregon State University. Her mom introduced her to birding when she was in middle school, and she’s been birding (and photographing birds) ever since. She’s from Seattle, but loves exploring Oregon and it’s quickly becoming her home. In 2023, Clara set out to do an Oregon Big Year and ended with a total of 356 species. She also loves going herping, tidepooling, and wildflower-searching.
Clara has been an officer for the Bird Nerds Club at OSU for two years and will serve as club president this school year. For the Bird Nerds, she’s led trips such as the 2023 spring break trip to Arizona, trip to Cannon Beach, Newport pelagic, and more. She resides in Corvallis, but is always traveling to chase rare birds and other exciting creatures.
Director
Spencer Parsons
(he/him)
Spencer started dragging his kids outside to go birding during the pandemic in an attempt to get them away from their computers. Although success in that regard was limited, he got himself hooked on birds. He spent his childhood in Southern California, Southwest Colorado and Central New Mexico before moving to Oregon in the winter of 1995-96 (every winter since that first one has seemed pretty mild). He earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Oregon, and has spent over twenty years practicing local government law. He lives in Northeast Portland with his wife, two children, two dogs and a now-indoor-but-once-feral Greek cat. In addition to birding, Spencer enjoys outdoor pursuits like hiking and backpacking, camping, skiing and casual bike riding.
Grants Coordinator
JJ Furuno
(he/him)
JJ Furuno was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and grew up just outside of New Haven, Connecticut. He has a BS in zoology from the University of Rhode Island and MS and PhD degrees in epidemiology from the University of Maryland. He has called Oregon home since August 2011 and works as a professor in the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy.
JJ began birding about 5 years ago with his daughters where they tracked their sightings in a notebook kept next to the refrigerator. His interest in birding grew after learning to use eBird, meeting local birders, joining OBA, and attending an OBA field trip to Wasco and Sherman Counties. He has since birded in 31 of Oregon’s 36 counties and enjoys all types of birding including patch birding, chasing rarities, pelagic trips, and everything in between. JJ is grateful for the knowledge and experience shared by his fellow birders and hopes to pay that forward through his work with OBA. He lives with his family in southwest Portland.
Field Notes Editor
Lorin Wilkerson
(he/him)
Lorin Wilkerson grew up in Central Oregon, rambling through the woods, hills, and fields surrounding Terrebonne and Redmond. He attended college in Bend and Portland, studying music, journalism and foreign languages, and received his B.A. in Russian Language and Literature from Portland State University. A career civil servant by trade, he has also been active in Portland’s arts community for over a decade as a musician, writer and non-profit board member. He currently lives in Gladstone with his wife Kristin Sterling and their rescue pup Django (aka The Bird).
While he birds the Portland Metro counties extensively, he loves getting further afield to see birds, wildflowers, butterflies, landscapes and clouds. He volunteers for Bird Alliance of Oregon in several capacities, runs BBS routes that go through Wheeler, Crook, Clackamas and Marion Counties, and serves as Field Notes Editor for the OBA Journal Oregon Birds. As an active citizen scientist primarily focused on birds, he looks forward to serving the OBA, and heartily appreciates the examples set by the many dedicated volunteers in Oregon’s birding community.
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