Board Chair

Marae received her B.S in Biology from Appalachian State and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the Biology and Marine Biology Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is a member of Dr. Ray Danner’s lab and studies winter population biology and impacts of sea level rise on Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows in tidal marshes in Southeastern North Carolina. She has aspirations to continue research into tidal marsh ecology in the face of climate change. See her website for more!

Treasurer

While serving as Program Director and being a co-founder, Jill also serves as our board treasurer where she utilizes her many years of experience as a local business person.

Secretary

Jorey Stanley is the Vice President of Marketing & Sales at Perfect Touch Rental & Events, an event and party rental company serving the Lower Cape Fear Region. She is also the co-founder of Coastal Point Consulting, a consultancy that helps startups and small businesses grow and scale. Prior to her entrepreneurial pursuits, Jorey spent over six years in the fields of informal education and youth development. She believes connecting to nature is an important foundation of learning and healthy living, and sees birds as a fun and exciting avenue to achieving this. She holds a B.S. in Environmental Studies from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is working to complete her Master’s of Public Administration.

Rene is a long time nature lover, tree hugger and bird nerd. She received her BS in early childhood education from UNCG and a masters in elementary education from UNCW. In her professional life she taught elementary school for 30 years. She was also one of the founders of the Cape Fear Center for Inquiry, a public charter school. She has two adult children, who are also nature lovers and is married to Joe Gouverneur, a professor at UNCW. Since her retirement in 2018, she has completed her Environmental Education certification and started her own business, Nature for All, LLC. She is currently working with kids from 18 months through 5th grade in a variety of settings, sharing her love of nature - which is her dream job! She is thrilled to be serving on the CFBO Board and hopes that together we can create a safe and exciting place for both birds and bird lovers.

Mariko Polk has a Ph.D. in Marine Biology from UNC Wilmington, specializing in ecosystem ecology, in other words how physical and biological components interact in coastal wetlands. Her research focuses on estuarine ecology, coastal wetlands, and the implications of management decisions on ecosystems. Mariko has a strong interest in supporting inclusivity in coastal science in the Southeast. Mariko is the Coastal Processes Specialist for NC Sea Grant. In her position, she serves as a resource for coastal processes and hazards including hurricanes, sea level rise, and climate change.

Alyssa was born and raised in Pennsylvania but made the move to coastal North Carolina after graduating with a BS in Biology from Lycoming College. After falling in love with the area, she never left! Alyssa is currently the Program Coordinator at Monarch Joint Venture facilitating the project coordination, education, communications, and content management of the AZA SAFE North American Monarch Program. Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) focuses on the collective expertise within AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums and leverages their audiences and communities to save species. Before her position at MJV, she worked as the Environmental Education Coordinator for Airlie Gardens, where she coordinated the environmental education program focusing on the wide array of flora and fauna in our region! She has also held positions as a Park Ranger with North Carolina State Parks and Sea Turtle Program Coordinator with the Bald Head Island Conservancy. She loves sharing the connections of nature and is excited to support the CFBO in their efforts!

Nathan Jones is a nature lover with a passion for non-profit organizations and their important role in building more equitable and vital communities. He currently works in the Office of Sponsored Programs at UNC Chapel-Hill and has spent over 10 years in the field of funding development for both non-profit organizations and in higher education. He holds an MPA from UNC Wilmington and speaks fluent Spanish. His dream is to one day be cool like the scientists at Cape Fear Bird Observatory and be able to identify birds in the wilderness, sin problemas!