Meet the Board

Board Officers
Doug Shaw, President
Don Skaar, Vice president
Linda Easley, Treasurer
Paul Rodenhauser, Secretary

Doug Shaw 
President

FRGNC Board President Doug Shaw retired from the U. S. Forest Service in l999 after a 30-year career, five in the Southeastern Region followed by 25 years in the Southwestern Region as a forest hydrologist, planner, monitor, and budget director.  He has Bachelor’s of Science in Forestry and Forestry Hydrology, both from the University of Georgia. Doug served as a platoon leader in the U.S. Marine Corp. Currently, Doug heads up the Nature Center's Preservation, Protection, & Research Committee and volunteers with the New Mexico Riparian Council, Campfire USA, and Cuidando Los Ninos.
 

Donald Skaar
Vice President
 

An accountant with UNM's University Services Department, Friends' board vice president, Donald Skaar, has served as financial officer for the North Dakota Law Enforcement Council and was a budget analyst for that state's Job Service Department.  He has served on boards of ARC of New Mexico, the Mountain States Bankcard Association, and the United Tribes.  He is a graduate of the UNM Anderson School of Management's non-profit management course.

Linda Easley
Treasurer
 

Linda has a 25-year career in public finance that includes working for the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, Commission on Higher Education, and the UNM Health Sciences Center.  Currently the FRGNC Treasurer, she holds an undergraduate degree in English from Western Washington University and an MBA from the UNM Anderson Schools of Management.  She has worked with various public sector and nonprofit boards including boards of regents, state commissions, and New Mexico First.
 

A physician who first practiced rural general medicine and later completed a residency in psychiatry, Paul held medical management positions at two private psychiatric centers before refocusing the direction of his career to academic medicine.  Serving first as director of residency education at Wright State University School of Medicine, he then chaired that school's Department of Psychiatry.  In l991, New Orleans and the Psychiatry and Neurology Department at Tulane University's School of Medicine became his professional home until 2005 when hurricane Katrina ended Emeritus Professor Rodenhauser's teaching activities there.  Secretary of the Friends' board, Paul is a member of The Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society, The National Geographic Society, and the New Mexico Bird Club.

Diane Albert
 

As an attorney with Peacock Myers, P.C., Diane’s legal expertise is a much-needed asset to the Friends’ Board.  Diane’s experience with other environmental Boards and connections in the community will help the Friends to reach two of our goals: raise visibility of the nature center in the community and establish partnerships. Diane has a B.S. degree in both Mathematics Education and Metallurgical Engineering from The Ohio State University and M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. Diane received her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law. Diane was appointed by Governor Richardson to the Board of Commissioners, NM Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, NM in 2003, where she currently serves as Legislative Committee Chair and Vice-Chair.
 

Thomas Becker
 

Having lived or worked in 19 countries, Tom brings expertise in cultural diversity, marketing, and management to board activities. His background as President of the Business Association of Latin American Studies, USAID Chief of Party, Senior Fulbright Fellow, church mission advisor, immigrant counselor, and member of various non-governmental organizations has equipped him to appreciate the importance of aligning the resources of a volunteer organization with its goals. Tom also teaches international business at UNM and serves as a recruitment specialist for the University in Latin America.
 

Jo Fairbanks
 

Director of the Public Health Outreach Education Program, UNM Health Sciences Center, and public health teacher in the university's Family and Community Medicine Department, Jo has co-authored two textbooks in the field along with several articles on rural health and health disparities in Native American communities.  From l990 to 2006, she managed the Area Health Education Center, supervising staff and working closely with community boards at the three AHEC centers.

Yolanda Homann
 

A computer operator employed at GTECH, Yolanda has been with the Friends of the Rio Grande Nature Center since its inception is 1984. She volunteers selflessly “behind the scenes.” Yolanda is a self-proclaimed neighborhood activist who provides balance to the Board by voicing neighborhood concerns.

 

J. David Hutton

A physicist with extensive experience in nuclear physics and high speed electronics development for measuring fast transient phenomena, Dave Hutton has managed the science and engineering departments of several companies in support of various research and development programs.  Currently, he is manager of Honeywell FM &T in Albuquerque.  A birder, a supporter of KNME, and commodore/board member of the New Mexico Sailing Club, Dave is a strong supporter of the Nature Center, predicting that his science background will be useful in "assessing, monitoring, preservation, and development efforts."
 

Larry Lattman
Photo unavailable

As a past member and officer of a variety of profit and non-profit Boards, and former President of New Mexico Tech, Larry brings a wealth of experience and decades of leadership to the Board. As past Chair of the Rio Grande Bosque Task Force and member of the NM State Environmental Improvement Board, Larry knows how to stop environmental damage to the Bosque and how to help preserve and protect it. He can contribute his expertise in geology and teaching to the Nature Center. Larry was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award for Education in 1992. His PhD in Geology is from the University of Cincinnati.
 

Don Parker

An industrial toxicologist at Sandia National Laboratories for 28 years, Senior Engineer Don Parker headed up the lab's Industrial Hygiene Division for 13 of those years, evaluating hazards associated with construction of the underground nuclear repository at the WIPP site.  Since retirement in l993, Don has metamorphosed into an amateur entomologist, cataloging the insect and spider collection of some 7,600 specimens at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.  At the Nature Center, Don has served as president of the Friends and head of its research committee; he continues as a valued interpreter, entomology lecturer, and resource person.
 

Sondra Williamson

Sondra marks her 17th year with the Rio Grande Nature Center in 2007, an association that has included five years as volunteer coordinator and every year as expert birder and guide, botanist and garden developer, interpreter and volunteer training teacher.  Sondra's career as a nature enthusiast began in the l970s while she held down the six to midnight shift as a telephone operator for A T & T in Houston.  After discovering the city's Armand Bayou Nature Center nearby, she soon was there every daylight minute, serving as a volunteer teacher in bird and plant classes, a digger in the garden, and a paid employee in the nursery and gift shop.  On weekends, Sondra hired on as a pontoon boat guide on a lake near Galveston Bay, pointing out wildlife to foreign visitors.  In Albuquerque and at the Rio Grande Nature Center since l990, Sondra served as a board member for Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and continues to work at the Festival of the Cranes.
 

Aileen Tracy
Executive Director

Friends’ Executive Director Aileen Tracy began her career in the service –the Army for one year and as an Air Force officer for five years. For the next 25 years, Aileen worked in various roles in the information technology (IT) and systems management fields, from being an analyst to programmer to project manager. Her IT career included managing software development for the first International Microgravity Spacelab mission. Aileen has volunteered at numerous non-profits, such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, and Special Olympics. She has two masters’ degrees: Systems Technology from the University of Southern California, and more recently (2005) Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver.