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About Our Staff

Mark Welther, Executive Director, began serving Golden Gate Audubon on April 20, 2009 . For the past two-and-a-half years, Mark served as founding Executive Director of an emerging non-profit organization, Spaulding Wooden Boat Center in Sausalito. At SWBC, he created a maritime museum and educational center from a historic boat yard. In the process, he launched new youth education programs and introduced Marin City and other Marin County youth to the art and craft of woodworking and sailing, developed a youth and senior public sailing program staffed with volunteers, worked with the board of directors to raise funds, and increased the organization’s visibility through national and local media coverage and public speaking. Prior to that position, Mark worked for nine years managing membership and major donor fundraising programs for the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV), one of the state’s largest and oldest environmental organizations.

Kevin E. Consey, Chief Operating Officer, joined the Golden Gate Audubon staff in January 2008. Kevin is the immediate past director of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. He has over 30 years of experience managing arts and non-profit organizations, with a focus on growing them and their budgets. Kevin holds dual master’s degrees, one in museum practice from the University of Michigan and a second in business administration and management from Northwestern University.

Anthony DeCicco, Environmental Education Programs Manager, joined Golden Gate Audubon in September 2006. He has an extensive background in bilingual instruction and in teaching children and adults in underserved communities about the environment and conservation. At KIDS for the BAY, Anthony directed a program that introduced urban youth to the local watershed and strategies for combating pollution, and helped develop curricula fostering environmental stewardship. His passionate commitment to environmental justice also derives from teaching students in other countries. Anthony holds a degree in language and education from the University of California-Santa Cruz, and recently completed his master’s degree in environmental education from California State University-East Bay.

Rubén Guzmán, Eco-Oakland Program Coordinator, joined Golden Gate Audubon’s environmental education program staff in May 2007. Rubén helps implement elements of the Eco-Oakland Program in the classroom and on field trips, and acts as a liaison to the East Oakland community. Originally from Mexico City, he has worked with school children on environmental education and artistic projects throughout Oakland and the greater East Bay area for the past ten years. Rubén holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, as well as certification in wilderness leadership and emergency medical training.

Mike Lynes, Conservation Director and General Counsel for Environmental Matters, joined Golden Gate Audubon in November 2008. Mike Lynes grew up in Fresno , California . He graduated from U.C. Davis in 1994 with a B.S. in Biological Studies. He has studied birds and their habitats throughout California , primarily as a biologist with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (now PRBO Conservation Science), and actively engaged in statewide and local conservation planning. In 2000, Mike enrolled in Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco , where he focused on environmental law and policy. After graduation, Mike joined the Law Offices of Andrew L. Packard, a Bay Area firm that represents non-profit groups in consumer protection and environmental enforcement actions. Mike joined the Golden Gate Audubon Society as Conservation Director in December 2008.

Marsha Mather-Thrift, Development Director, joined Golden Gate Audubon in March 2010.  She served for five years as national Director of Development and simultaneously as Director of West Coast Operations for Friends of the Earth.  Prior to that she served for two years as Associate Director for Bluewater Network leading both fundraising and operations, and coordinating the group’s ultimate merger with Friends of the Earth.  She has also served as Development Director for San Francisco BayKeeper, Executive Director of the California Center for Wildlife (now Wildcare), and Program Director for Fort Mason Foundation as well as an independent development consultant. She has a passionate interest in birds and wildlife and in educating California’s diverse youth to be our environmental leaders of the future.

Jennifer Robinson Maddox, Volunteer Coordinator, joined Golden Gate Audubon in November 2007. Jenn manages Golden Gate Audubon’s volunteer programs and coordinates more than 1,500 volunteers in conservation and education activities each year. Jenn has worked for various Bay Area non-profit and public agencies for the past seven years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and sociology from Carroll College in Wisconsin.

Stephanie Strait, Office Manager, joined Golden Gate Audubon in January, 2009. Stephanie handles the Nature Store, class registration, database maintenance and bookkeeping, updates the website, and make sure things run smoothly in the office. Stephanie came to California in 2008 after working in arts adminstration in Chicago for many years. She holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.