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Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership Task Force Chairs

Biodiversity Informatics Task Force
Ken Klemow, Ph.D., Professor
Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA
[email protected]
Dr. Ken Klemow serves as the Chair of the Biodiversity Informatics Task Force. He is a Professor of Biology and GeoEnvironmental Science at Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, where he teaches courses in Ecology, Field Botany, Plant Diversity, and Medical Botany. He serves as the Curator of Wilkes’s Rosenthal Herbarium, and Director of its Wetland and Restoration Ecology Laboratory. In his 23 years at Wilkes, Ken has involved over 50 undergraduate students in a variety of biodiversity-related projects, including wetland ecology and mapping; creating online taxonomic keys for vascular plants; restoring lands and waterways impacted by anthracite mining; and inventorying street trees in the Wyoming Valley. Ken organized the Ecological Society of America’s Education Section, currently serves on the ESA’s Education and Human Resources Committee, and spearheads its digital library for ecology education effort (EcoEd.net). Ken is a Certified Senior Ecologist and is listed in the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Registry of Wetland Consultants and Professional Botanists. He is an active practitioner of science, being the owner of a private consulting company that conducts wetland delineations and botanical assessments. Ken received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Miami and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Plant Ecology from the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

Education Task Force
Paulette Johnson, Professor
Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA
[email protected]
Dr. Paulette Johnson serves as chair of the PBP board of directors and chair of the Education Task Force. She is a Professor of Environmental Education and Resource Management at Slippery Rock University, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in ecology and environmental education. She has recently chosen to re-enter the classroom after serving nine years as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Environmental Education. Current other appointments include chair of the North American Association for Environmental Education Higher Education Commission, chair of the education committee for the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, member and past chair of the Conservation and Natural Resource Advisory Council, and member of the Pennsylvania Department of Education Environmental Education Advisory Council. Past appointments include Governor Ridge’s 21st Century Environmental Commission, EPA’s national Environmental Education Advisory Council, and Governor Ridge’s Environmental Transition Team. Research activity includes studies in human dimensions related to the environment and in environmental education inclusion in teacher preparation.

Funding Task Force
Jacqui Bonomo, Vice President
Western PA Conservancy, Pittsburgh, PA
[email protected]
Jacqui Bonomo serves as chair of the Funding Task Force. She joined the staff of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in March 1999 as the vice president for Natural Resource Conservation. Before joining WPC, Jacqui worked at National Wildlife Federation (NWF) for 13 years. In her last position at NWF as western vice president, she had oversight for offices in Portland, OR, and Anchorage, AK, and focused on public lands management, endangered species, and wetland protection issues. Her career at NWF began in 1985 when she worked out of the Washington, DC office as a regional representative to grassroot groups and agencies in the mid-Atlantic states, the Virginias, Carolinas, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Before working in conservation, she held various positions with non-profit organizations and has experience in financial development, membership, public relations, and communications. Jacqui currently sits on several boards and advisory committees for the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, Penn State School of Forest Resources, Sustainable Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon’s Three Rivers Second Nature Project, and DEP’s Water Resources Program. She is a graduate of Penn State and a certified paralegal.

Policy Task Force
Paul Lyskava, Executive Director
Pennsylvania Forest Products Association, Hershey, PA
[email protected]
Paul Lyskava serves as chair of the Stewardship Task Force. Since 2002, Paul has been the Executive Director the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association (PFPA). PFPA is the state’s largest trade association for the forest products industry, representing approximately 220 companies and organizations engaged in or serving the various sectors of the forest products industry. Prior to joining PFPA, Paul served as the Executive Director of the Hardwoods Development Council, a bureau of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, for nearly four years. His previous professional experience also includes working in various economic development and governmental affairs positions for the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, a Harrisburg-based trade association. Paul is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Penn State. Paul, his wife Kathleen, and son Sean, reside in Camp Hill.

Public Relations Task Force
Frank Felbaum
Harrisburg, PA
[email protected]
Frank Felbaum serves as chair of the Public Relations Task Force. Presently a freelance consultant on natural resource issues, Frank was the Executive Director of the Wild Resource Conservation Fund from 1984 to 2004. Prior to that, Frank was co-owner and outdoor editor of The Sportsman’s Diary magazine for five years as well as the host of a weekly radio show, Sportsmen’s Chatter. His articles have appeared in the Greensburg Tribune-Review, Deer Sportsmen, The Pennsylvania Sportsman, and the Federation Life Line. Frank has served on the Board of Directors for the Loyalhanna Watershed Association, Westmoreland County League of Sportsmen’s Clubs, and Pennsylvania Forestry Association. He also served as Fish and Wildlife Chairman of the Federal Resource Conservation Development Project and was the first Executive Secretary for the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs. Frank is past president of the Ned Smith Center of Nature and Art in Millersburg, PA and also serves on the steering committee for the Pennsylvania Biological Survey. Frank earned his B.S. in education from California University, PA, and taught at the Greater Latrobe High School.

Science Task Force
Charles Bier, Director/Zoologist, Natural Heritage Program
Western PA Conservancy, Pittsburgh, PA
[email protected]
Charles Bier serves as Chair of the Science Task Force. Charles obtained a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with an emphasis on plant and animal ecology. He was first employed as a teacher/naturalist with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Since 1981 he has worked for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in a number of roles involving science and stewardship, and in 1996 he was appointed Director of the Natural Heritage Program. Charles is a Research Associate at the Section of Invertebrate Zoology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History. He serves on several state and regional committees, including Chair of the Arachnid Technical Committee of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey. His areas of interest are broad and include a wide range of fauna and flora, and their conservation.

Stewardship Task Force
Scott R. Klinger, Director
Bureau of Land Management, Pennsylvania Game Commission
[email protected]
Scott Klinger serves as chair of the Stewardship Task Force. Scott received his B.S. in Forest Biology from The Pennsylvania State University and his M.S. in Wildlife Ecology from Kansas State University. Scott was a Wildlife Biologist and Forest Administrator with the Department of the Army in Kansas and Georgia. In 1991, he transferred to the Southern Region of the US Forest Service and served as the Neotropical Migratory Bird Coordinator and Wildlife Planner for the Southern Region of the US Forest Service and as the Forest Wildlife Biologist on the George Washington National Forest in Virginia and West Virginia. After transferring to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, he became the Private Lands Biologist and Farm Bill Coordinator. In 2004, he was promoted to Director of PGC’s Bureau of Land Management and currently directs the management of over 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands. Scott serves on numerous International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Committees. In 2002, he received the Wildlife Management Institute’s highest conservation award, the International Touchstone Award, for his farsighted creativity and tireless efforts to help frame, expand, and implement Pennsylvania’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. He is a member of the Society of American Foresters and is past President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Wildlife Society. Scott is a native Pennsylvanian and grew up on a farm in eastern Snyder County. He and his wife Jan reside outside Kreamer, Pennsylvania.