BOARD MEMBER PROFILES
Don Bauman, Board Chair, Conservation Committee Chair
Don Bauman has a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Toledo, and is retired after having had a 40-year career in the plastics industry in manufacturing, technical, quality control, and R&D positions. He has served on various professional committees in the past, such as a U.S. committee to the International Standards Organization to develop plastics test methods, and the Society of Plastics Engineers committees for Annual Technical Conferences.
He is the author of many technical papers on subjects related to plastics material science and technology. He has been
volunteer at the BSBO bird banding operation at Navarre Marsh for over six years, and currently serves as chairman of the BSBO Conservation Committee. He and his wife Pat have been avid bird watching partners for about eight years.
He is the author of many technical papers on subjects related to plastics material science and technology. He has been
volunteer at the BSBO bird banding operation at Navarre Marsh for over six years, and currently serves as chairman of the BSBO Conservation Committee. He and his wife Pat have been avid bird watching partners for about eight years.
Margy Trumbull, Vice Chairman
As well as being an avid birder and nature enthusiast, Margaret “Margy” Trumbull has had extensive non-profit board experience, serving on many community, regional and international organizations in the arts, education and human services areas. Upon graduating from Lawrence University in 1972 with a major in Studio Art she was employed by The Toledo Museum of Art, worked as a studio jeweler and as a community volunteer. In 2013 she helped establish Good Grief of Northwest Ohio, Inc. that provides support for children, teens and their families who have experienced the death of someone significant in their lives. She continues to serve on committees at the Arts Commission and the Toledo Museum of Art. She married her husband Scott in 1973 and is a proud mother of three sons and six grandchildren. Scott and Margy enjoy living in Ottawa Hills, Ohio, Saint Joseph, Michigan and Runaway Bay, Jamaica. She joined the BSBO board in 2018.
Michelle Klement, Treasurer
Michelle Klement, CPA, is a tax partner at William Vaughan Company, providing expertise in federal and state tax compliance, tax planning, employee benefit/retirement plan administration, and consulting. Her focus is with the firm's professional service businesses niche. Prior to joining the firm in 1990, Michelle was named valedictorian of her Maumee High School senior class and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bowling Green State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Rob Ripma, Secretary, Biggest Week Field Trip Coordinator
Rob Ripma, a lifelong Indiana resident, is co-owner of Sabrewing Nature Tours, leading birding and photography trips in the US and Central and South America. He is also the owner and creator of www.NuttyBirder.com, “the place to go to find birds”. Rob is currently the President of the board of directors of the Amos Butler Audubon Society in Indianapolis, IN and is on the board for Ohio's Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO). He is co-founder of the Indiana Young Birders Club and speaks at a variety of organizations and schools about birds and birding to share his knowledge and experiences in the field.
Rob loves working with new and experienced birders of all ages, and believes that teaching people about birds will not only increase interest in birding but also help them better understand why we must work to protect birds and their habitats. He has become the primary bird blogger for Birds & Blooms Magazine. Rob graduated from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in 2008 with a degree in Marketing and lives with his wife Stephanie in Carmel, Indiana.
Rob loves working with new and experienced birders of all ages, and believes that teaching people about birds will not only increase interest in birding but also help them better understand why we must work to protect birds and their habitats. He has become the primary bird blogger for Birds & Blooms Magazine. Rob graduated from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in 2008 with a degree in Marketing and lives with his wife Stephanie in Carmel, Indiana.
Craig Caldwell, Research & Governance Committees
Craig Caldwell was in succession an analytical chemist and real estate investor, now retired. Over the years he has served as an officer, board member, committee chair, or field trip leader for environmental and birding organizations including the Sierra Club, the Ohio Ornithological Society (OOS), local Audubon chapters, and the Kirtland Bird Club. Currently he is the editor of The Ohio Cardinal, the quarterly journal of the OOS. A nature enjoyer since childhood, he became a birdwatcher in the early 1970s who had morphed into an obsessed birder by the mid-1990s. He holds a B.A. in chemistry, an M.S. in soil and water science, and an M.B.A. in management.
Karen Fraker, Development Committee
A “non-traditional” student at the University of Toledo, Karen received a Bachelor of Science in Business Services in 1984 with a major in marketing and communications. She joined First National Bank of Toledo in November 1984 and established the first Public Relations Department at that institution. The bank was acquired in 1989 by Fifth Third Bank and Karen became Marketing Director in 1990. She was promoted to Vice President in 1992 and to Senior Vice President in 2002. She is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America.
She currently serves on the Toledo Lucas County Public Library Foundation board, BSBO board, YMCA Foundation Board and Trustee for Life, 20 Under 40 Awards Program committee; is a member of Epworth United Methodist Church, Friends of the Library, Press Club of Toledo.
Her previous community involvement includes: Secretary of the Mercy Health Partners Board of Directors, Board Chairman of the Toledo Botanical Garden Board; member of the UT College of Business Sales and Marketing Advisory Committee; Chairman of the YMCA/JCC Financial Development Committee; Chairman of the MHP Business Development Committee; President of the University of Toledo Alumni Association; Chairman of the YMCA of Greater Toledo; President of the Press Club of Toledo and the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
She is married to Carlton Fraker. They have two sons, Greg and Doug and two grand-daughters.
She currently serves on the Toledo Lucas County Public Library Foundation board, BSBO board, YMCA Foundation Board and Trustee for Life, 20 Under 40 Awards Program committee; is a member of Epworth United Methodist Church, Friends of the Library, Press Club of Toledo.
Her previous community involvement includes: Secretary of the Mercy Health Partners Board of Directors, Board Chairman of the Toledo Botanical Garden Board; member of the UT College of Business Sales and Marketing Advisory Committee; Chairman of the YMCA/JCC Financial Development Committee; Chairman of the MHP Business Development Committee; President of the University of Toledo Alumni Association; Chairman of the YMCA of Greater Toledo; President of the Press Club of Toledo and the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
She is married to Carlton Fraker. They have two sons, Greg and Doug and two grand-daughters.
Diane Friedman
Diane Friedman is a retired science educator, serving 35 years with Sylvania Schools. She divides her time between her home in the Toledo area and Estes Park, Colorado. Diane is the President of the Board of Directors of the YWCA of Northwest Ohio, and is a court-appointed special advocate for children in foster care through the Lucas County CASA-GAL program. While in Colorado, Diane works as a volunteer ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park, having served 1300+ hours there.
Clare Hylant, Development Committee
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As natives of Toledo, Clare and her husband, Richard returned to Ottawa Hills for the schools and to raise their family, after 15 years of living on the western shore of Lake Erie near Monroe. Clare received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan. She is also a graduate of the Concentration in Organizational Marketing J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management - Northwestern University - Masters of Management, Concentrations in Marketing, Finance and Management Policy. Clare excelled in a career in marketing, market research and management at Beatrice Companies/Chicago, General Motors/Detroit and Yark Automotive Group/Toledo, before she put career aside to raise and support their family of three children: Andrea, Jack and Courtney. In addition to her role on the BSBO Board, Clare also serves on the Board of the Hylant Family Foundation, which supports numerous charities in our community. Through the support of the foundation, Clare recently led the start-up of a College Mentors for Kids chapter at the University of Toledo. Clare and her family thoroughly enjoy the outdoors. Richard is on numerous environmental boards, and their daughters are both pursuing careers in Environmental Science.
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Joe Komorowski, Research & Governance Committees
Bio Coming SOON!
Annie Lindsay, Research Committee Chair
Annie Lindsay is the Bird Banding Program Manager at Powdermill Nature Reserve in Rector, Pennsylvania, field station of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History where she runs the long-term bird banding station and teaches classes and workshops. She is also a PhD student and University Fellow at the University of Toledo where she studies trends in long-term bird banding datasets, and how anthropogenic factors, in particular climate change, affect avian populations, movements, and behavior. She has traveled around the country and internationally studying avian ecology and behavior. She earned her B.S. in Biology from Grove City College, and her M.S. in Natural Resources from the Ohio State University where she studied the effects of winter habitat quality, as determined by stable-carbon isotope analysis, on plumage characteristics and reproductive success in Yellow Warblers.
Annie is a master bird banding permit holder and is a North American Banding Council-certified bird bander trainer. She serves on the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative steering committee and the Eastern Bird Banding Association memorial grants committee, and is an eBird reviewer, Christmas Bird Count compiler, Pennsylvania Migration Count compiler, and Breeding Bird Survey counter. She’s an avid birder and molt limit enthusiast, and loves sharing the hobby with new birders, especially her son Tommy!
Annie is a master bird banding permit holder and is a North American Banding Council-certified bird bander trainer. She serves on the Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative steering committee and the Eastern Bird Banding Association memorial grants committee, and is an eBird reviewer, Christmas Bird Count compiler, Pennsylvania Migration Count compiler, and Breeding Bird Survey counter. She’s an avid birder and molt limit enthusiast, and loves sharing the hobby with new birders, especially her son Tommy!
Tom Palmer, Strategic Planning Chair
Tom is a senior member (and a former managing partner) of the law firm Marshall & Melhorn, having practiced over 40 years providing representation in dispute resolution (though negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation) and counsel on business, corporate, governmental and employment related legal matters. Tom also serves in leadership positions on the boards of directors of privately and publicly held corporations. He has been actively involved on a broad range of civic activities including serving in leadership positions on the boards of the Toledo Lucas County Port Authority, Regional Growth Partnership, Local Initiatives Services Corporation (LISC), Toledo Cultural Arts Center/ Historic Valentine Theatre, Ohio Wesleyan University, and University of Toledo Medical College Advisory Council.
Ram Ramamurthy
Bio Coming SOON!
George Sydlowski , Finance Committee, Nominating Committee
Currently residing in Sylvania, Ohio, George graduated from Ohio University in 1997. For the past 20 years, he has worked for the Lucas County Commissioners in the areas of workers compensation, safety, and budgeting. An avid birder for over 30 years, George started off photographing birds and now enjoys photographing anything nature related from flowers, dragonflies, moths, and landscapes. He spends a lot of his spare time birding and exploring nature in the Oak Openings. Other hobbies include cooking, baking, and his newest adventure: painting with pastels. George also serve on the Toledo Naturalists' Association Board as Hospitality Chair.
Sallie Traxler, Development Committee Chair
For over 20 years Sallie has been a strategic mind behind organizations identifying and achieving their goals through thought partnership, innovation and change management. Committed to creating the space for organizations to move from vision to implementation, she has led initiatives aimed at how organizations meet the needs of their customers and stakeholders. She is known for her ability to forge deep partnerships with businesses, nonprofits, and local, state and federal agencies.
Sallie has led and consulted with national and international professional and trade associations to drive strategic growth by aligning industry, network and organizational resources to meet emerging needs. Her work has raised the national bond cap for development authorities nationwide, advanced the campus housing profession for more than 970 institutions and 215 corporations worldwide, secured partnerships with leading Fortune 100 companies in support of startup businesses and business incubators, successfully secured grants and federal contracts, and led community development efforts for rural renewal.
Sallie has an MBA from The Ohio State University, and a MA from Morehead State University in Kentucky.
Sallie has led and consulted with national and international professional and trade associations to drive strategic growth by aligning industry, network and organizational resources to meet emerging needs. Her work has raised the national bond cap for development authorities nationwide, advanced the campus housing profession for more than 970 institutions and 215 corporations worldwide, secured partnerships with leading Fortune 100 companies in support of startup businesses and business incubators, successfully secured grants and federal contracts, and led community development efforts for rural renewal.
Sallie has an MBA from The Ohio State University, and a MA from Morehead State University in Kentucky.