Instructors

Point Reyes Field Institute is proud to introduce the experts who will lead our upcoming season of classes:

NINA ANTZE is a botanical artist and quilt maker living in Sonoma County. She has a degree in Fine Art from San Francisco State University and has a Certificate in Botanical Illustration from the New York Botanical Gardens. Her quilts have won numerous awards and her botanical paintings have been exhibited in New York and at the Huntington Library and Filoli Gardens. She teaches Drawing Nature classes at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts and Santa Rosa Junior College, the Sonoma Community Center, the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach and in the Botanical Certificate Program at Filoli Gardens. She is a docent at Bouverie Preserve in Glen Ellen and is also the developer of PCQuilt, Design Software for Quiltmakers. She works in colored pencil, graphite, watercolor and fabric.
www.pcquilt.com/botanicals.htm

SEAN ARBABIwith a BA in commercial photography from Brooks Institute (1991), specializes in adventure sports, conceptual, lifestyle, and travel photography for advertising, corporate and editorial clients. His stock images, currently 500,000+ strong, have been published in ad, books, catalogs, magazines, and websites. During his twenty year career, his work has appeared around the world in numerous countries, publications, and with clients including: California Division of Tourism, Microsoft, National Geographic, The New York Times, Random House, Outside, Sunset, Via, and Timex. Sean has written two successful how-to books for Random House including The BetterPhoto Guide to Exposure (January 2009) and The Complete Guide to Nature Photography (December 2011), while he develops a how-to television show on photography.
www.seanarbabi.com

PETER BERGEN was first introduced to nature awareness and primitive skills by Tom Brown Jr. in 1987 and since then he has been learning, practicing, and enthusiastically sharing these time-tested skills and activities. He has enjoyed working with school and scouting groups, nature preserve docents, bass guitar players, and others in places like New Jersey's Pine Barrens, Tennessee's rolling hills, and coastal California. Peter is associated with the Regenerative Design Institute and the Riekes Center for Human Enhancement. Currently Peter is the director of Outside in Nature, a youth and adult educational program based at Tara Firma Farms in Petaluma.

KATHY BIGGS is a well-known dragonfly enthusiast, the author of 3 dragonfly guides, one dragonfly color & learn book, the creator of California Odonata website and the CalOdes discussion group. She teaches classes throughout the West about the Odonates and how to create ponds for wildlife. Her newest endeavor, the EBook Dragonflies of California and the Greater Southwest, will be available in spring 2012.

FRANK BINNEYhas explored and mapped caves throughout the world and has participated in cave surveys at Mammoth Caves National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Channel Islands National Park, and Lava Beds national Monument. He is the author of Point Reyes and the San Andreas Fault Zone: The Aerial Photography of Robert Campbell. As a professional interpretive planner, he has helped enhance visitor experiences at Yosemite, Grand Canyon, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, East Bay Regional Park District, and numerous California State Parks.

SUSAN BONO is a Sonoma County teacher, writer, and editor who explores the art of personal narrative at workshops, conferences, and retreats all over Northern California. She has been publishing Tiny Lights, a journal of personal narrative, since 1995, along with its online counterpart, www.tiny-lights.com. Her writing has appeared online, as well as in Sheila Bender's Writing & Publishing Personal Essays (Silver Threads, 2005,) the St. Petersburg Times, the Petaluma Argus Courier, Passager Magazine, and has been read on KRCB radio's Word by Word and the North Bay Theater Group's Page on Stage.

CATHLEEN CANNON, BS in Biological Sciences and Chemistry, has been sharing her lore of creation stories via teaching since 1974. Since 1988, Cathleen has focused on the flora and fauna of Sonoma and Marin Counties, leading walks and talks for Elderhostel, school groups, and civic organizations. People of all ages enjoy her gentle manner, expertise, and knowledge, as well as her passion for protecting the natural world.

JOSIAH CLARK started Habitat Potential in 2002 and has worked as a consulting ecologist for a wide range of clients including the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco Significant Natural Areas Program, San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, Golden Gate Audubon Society, and dozens of private property owners. He is an expert on the urban-wildlife interface and has investigated natural processes and the specific needs of wildlife in the urban setting for the last fifteen years. Josiah also leads international birding tours, engages in environmental stewardship with urban youth, and writes on environmental issues.
www.habitatpotential.com

HAROLD DAVIS is an award-winning professional photographer. He is the author of more than 30 best-selling books, including The Photo shop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations (Focal Press), Creative Portraits: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Composition: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Night: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Close-Ups: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), The Photo shop Darkroom: Creative Digital Post-Processing (Focal Press) and Practical Artistry: Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers (O’Reilly). Harold writes the popular Photoblog 2.0, www.photoblog2.com, and is a regular photography columnist for Photo.net, which has more than one million members. Harold is a popular and sought-after presenter on digital photography topics. Harold is well known for his elegant digital monochromatic compositions, night photography and experimental ultra-long exposure techniques, use of vibrant, saturated colors in landscape compositions, and beautiful creative floral imagery. He is inspired by the flowers in his garden, hiking in the wilderness, and the work of great artists and photographers including M.C. Escher, Monet, van Gogh and Edward Weston. Harold lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife Phyllis Davis, a graphic designer and writer who frequently collaborates with Harold on book projects. They have four children. http://www.digitalfieldguide.com/workshops.php

WENDY DRESKIN has been teaching the popular class: "Meandering in Marin" through College of Marin since 1998. She taught for Terwilliger Nature Education (now Wild Care) in the early '90s, and currently teaches nature education classes for children at various elementary schools in Marin County. She served as Education Chair for the Marin Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, and created the Junior Botanist program which reaches over 300 children in schools around the county each year. In recognition of her work inspiring both children and adults, she was honored with the Terwilliger Environmental Award in 2003.

MICHAEL ELLIS Who's Michael? A trip participant says it this way: "Start with an encyclopedic knowledge of all the sciences, especially botany, biology and etymology, add the ability to articulate this knowledge rapid fire in lay terms, laced with humorous anecdotes; add genuine love of nature and teaching—Michael combines all these ingredients to enthuse people about nature". As well as leading his own natural history forays, Michael also guides trips for a number of Bay Area organizations. His B.S. in Botany and Masters in Marine Biology are the foundation for his lifelong process of gathering information from travels throughout the natural world. He is a regular contributor to the KQED-FM Perspective Series.
www.footlooseforays.com

TELLUR FENNER is a clinical herbalist/educator and has traveled extensively throughout the U.S while studying, collecting, and using plant medicines from all the major bioregions. Tellur attended the Northeast School of Botanical Medicine, the California School of Herbal Studies, and received his Bachelor's Degree from Prescott College where he majored in Western Herbalism. As an herbalist of the "generalist" persuasion, he believes in the importance of an interdisciplinary practice which integrates the study of botany, ethnobotany, pharmacy, human physiology, phytochemistry, and other medical sciences. He has taught classes and led trips for the Regional Parks Botanical Garden, San Francisco Botanical Garden, San Francisco Green Festival, Hayes Valley Farm, Merritt College, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Desert Survivors, California School of Herbal Studies, as well as a number of other organizations. Tellur is an avid camper/hiker, a skilled and experienced outdoor trip leader, and is a certified Wilderness First Responder. He is the owner/director of the Blue Wind Botanical Medicine Clinic and Education Center located in Oakland, CA. For more information check out the following links: Blue Wind Botanical Medicine Clinic and Education Center / Blue Wind Botanical Medicine Clinic’s Facebook Page

JAMES FREED is a Sonoma County based artist and teacher who specializes in landscapes, architectural scenes and figurative work. His work, including drawings, prints, oil and watercolor paintings, capture his vision of the natural world. James currently heads his own exhibit design firm and teaches drawing and design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He also likes to spend time hiking and creating art at the Point Reyes National Seashore.
www.jamesfreed.com

DOREEN GURROLA has a Master's in marine science and works at The Marine Mammal Center since 1995 as Assistant Director of Education. Currently, she is a part-time Marine Science Instructor. At the Center, she teaches marine science to groups of all ages and trains hundreds of volunteers in marine mammal natural history. Additionally, Doreen leads natural history tours for various organizations since 1991. She leads whale watches locally (Farallon Islands, Monterey Bay, and Cordell Bank) and abroad (New England, Alaska, Baja, Vancouver, and Galapagos).

BILL HELSEL has been a free-lance photographer since 1976, specializing in nature, travel, and architecture. He is represented by three major stock photo agencies and his work has appeared in hundreds of publications worldwide, including Audubon, Bay Nature, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic publications, Ranger Rick, Sierra, and Sunset. Since 1980 he has taught photography through Acalanes Adult Education Center, and more recently through Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education and other venues. He has also been a contributing editor for Darkroom Photography magazine. While he shoots heavily in color, his widely-exhibited fine art landscape work has been mostly in black and white, and since 2000, mostly in black and white infrared. www.billhelsel.com

JOAN HOFFMANN paints in oil and watercolor. Her paintings depict her hiking and climbing adventures in remote landscapes. She is integrally connected to the land by teaching, painting, and preserving the wild places that she explores. She has hiked the Colorado Trail and body-floated the Barranco del Cobre (Grand Canyon) of Mexico. She tours with her slide show of her oils and watercolors, giving talks on Art History of American Landscape Painters in National Parks. She celebrates forty years oil and watercolor painting in the wilds of the American West. She hosts Painting Retreats in Southern Utah, Grand Tetons and Sorensen's Resort, in the Sierras and teaches through Point Reyes Field Institute and the Nature Conservancy of Colorado.
www.joanhoffmann.com

JOHN KARACHEWSKI is a geologist for the California-EPA (DTSC) in Berkeley. John has conducted geology and environmental projects throughout the western US from Colorado to Alaska to Midway Island and throughout California. He received his Master's degree from Western Washington University and his doctorate from the Colorado School of Mines. In addition, he enjoys teaching at Diablo Valley College and has led field trips in the SF Bay region as well as Big Sur and the Eastern Sierra for UC Berkeley Extension. Doris Sloan and John collaborated on the popular book Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region. John is an avid hiker, mountain biker, and backpacker who enjoys photography.

JIMMY KATZ, director of James Henry River Journeys/Wilderness Journeys, has been a wilderness leader for 46 years and an image maker for the past 40 years. Jimmy has been on assignment for the National Geographic in the Arctic, has been published in their Special Publications, Outside Magazine, Outdoor Photographer, Image Magazine, Sierra, The Wilderness Society, Fine Gardening, and two books; Mountain Peoples and Tatshenshini River Wild. He taught photography workshops for 25 years for UC Extension at Santa Cruz, Berkeley as well as other Extensions within the UC system and the Pt. Reyes Field Institute. Jimmy is skilled in nourishing students’ creativity and giving participants insightful information woven within interesting humorous anecdotes. He puts a great deal of personal energy into participants in one-on-one situations in the field and in student critiques.

GLENN KEATOR received his Ph.D. in Botany from UC Berkeley. He has taught botany in northern California for over 20 years and has led botanizing field trips on the West Coast and to Hawaii and Mexico. Well known for his pocket-sized field guides, Pacific Coast Berry Finder, Sierra Flower Finder and Pacific Coast Fern Finder, he has also written Complete Garden Guide to Native Perennials of California and its companion book, Complete Garden Guide to Native Shrubs of California, as well as Plants of East Bay Parks, and The Life of an Oak: An Intimate Portrait. He co-wrote In Full View: Three Ways of Seeing California Plants with Linda Yamane.

CAROL KEIPER is a marine ecologist specializing in marine birds and mammals. Her undergraduate degree is in education and in 2001 she received her Master's Degree in Marine Science at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories in California.For more than 20 years she has been involved in at-sea research and has a strong interest in the ecology of the California Current System. She is a founding board member and researcher with Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge. Her current research involves the Black-footed albatross and conservation actions that address impacts of plastic marine debris. For the past six years she has served on the Sanctuary Advisory Council for Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary in California.

CHARLES KENNARD is a long-time student of central California-Indian-technique twined and coiled baskets, as well as of several European techniques, including bee-hive weaving. He has been giving presentations and workshops on traditional uses of native plants throughout the Bay Area for adults and youth for more than a decade. Full-size tule boats built in his workshops are in the collections of the Oakland Museum, the Academy of Sciences, and Lake County Museum. Charlie is active in habitat restoration with the Friends of Corte Madera Creek Watershed in Marin County and is also a professional photographer.

DAVID LUKAS began studying field guides before he could read and now writes them. His publications include Wild Birds of California, Watchable Birds of the Great Basin, and the new revised version of Storer and Usinger’s classic guide, Sierra Nevada Natural History. He just completed a new book for Lonely Planet about the top 200 places in the world to see wildlife.

TRINKA MARRIS is co-founder of the Hungry Owl Project, an organization dedicated to preserving the owl and its habitat, along with educating the public of the owl's vital role in keeping balance in nature. She is a certified naturalist in the state of California and is currently pursuing her degree in Biology with a focus in Ethnology (animal behavior). In 2007, she received a Natural History certification through the College of Marin. Her studies include Ornithology, Mammology, Animal Behavior, Botany, Marine Biology, and Ecology. She has participated in extended biological field studies in both Alaska and the Mojave Desert.

BIRGIT O’CONNER is a self-taught watercolor artist who specializes in florals and landscapes. Birgit lives in west Marin County, California, and finds watercolor the most fluid and expressive medium. Her award winning work has been recognized and published in over 24 national and international artist publications, including Australian Artist and International Artist Magazine. Birgit contributes regularly to Watercolor Magic, Artist Sketch, Watercolor Basics, and Artist magazines. She has been featured in articles in The San Francisco Chronicle, Marin Independent Journal, Point Reyes Light, and The New York Times. Her most recent awards include a 2003 Peoples Choice Award at the Aqua Areas show in Santa Rosa for her landscape "Evening Sky" and the Sailis International Award in New Orleans for her florals. Birgit sees her watercolor paintings as reflective of nature's voice. Birgit has shown her work all over the world including a one woman show in Hong Kong. Her art is represented by galleries in Seattle, Washington, Palm Desert, and Atherton, California.

JAYAH FAYE PALEY is an author, Fitness & Wellness educator, and AFAA & ACE-certified Personal Trainer. She is the creator of two award-winning DVDs: POLES for Hiking, Trekking & Walking and POLES for Balance & Mobilit. She has written a course to accompany the Mobility DVD, which provides continuing education credits for personal trainers. Jayah leads hiking, walking and fitness seminars for National and State Park Associations, and other health-related organizations around the country. As a mobility coach, Jayah has trained users and physical therapists how to use poles to achieve, maintain and even regain mobility for hiking and walking. Jayah is a Sierra Club leader and a breast cancer survivor who founded and helps run the Lymphedema Education & Exercise Group through California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Her company (www.AdventureBuddies.NET) training website (www.PolesforMobility.com) focus on helping people to more safely and completely enjoy their outdoor experiences.

POINT REYES OUTDOORS Our love of the wilderness and sincere desire to share our knowledge and understanding of nature inspired us to create Point Reyes Outdoors. Together, we bring 35 years of experience in the outdoors industry. PRO is dedicated to environmental stewardship, building community relationships and providing our clients with the finest tours possible.
http://www.pointreyesoutdoors.com/

BARRIE ROKEACH, author of The Kodak Guide to Aerial Photography, and Timescapes: California Aerial Images, has more than 30 years experience as a professional photographer specializing in aerial photography. He also has logged over 40 years as a pilot with commercial and instrument ratings, flying throughout the US and locations overseas. He has produced over 60 book covers and hundreds of interior shots with most major book publishers. His images have appeared in such magazines as Audubon, Discover, Forbes, Fortune, National Parks, Scientific American, Sierra, Smithsonian, Sunset, Time and many others. He has been profiled in over a dozen national publications, has exhibited in museums and galleries around the country, and teaches occasionally at workshops and institutions. In 2008, he was recognized by the University of California as a Distinguished Alumni in the College of Environmental Design.

ANE CARLA ROVETTA is a multifaceted artist who has been teaching in Marin County since 1974. Her specialty is combining art and natural history in lively performances throughout the West. Her audiences include school children, park visitors and education conferences but she will tell a story "to anyone who will listen." An illustrator for over 20 years, Ane Carla has illustrated five books and has had gallery showings at Coyote Point and Randall Museums, Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center, and the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua.

BETTY SEDERQUIST has been publishing her work for decades, with clients such as National Geographic Society and Sunset magazine. She was an associate editor of Alaska magazine, editor-in-chief of Sacramento magazine, and also served as staff photographer for both publications. She has written and illustrated several books, most recently (2012) a book of historic photographs of the California Gold Rush town of Colma. Since 1998, she has taught at Folsom Lake College, specializing in outdoor photography and digital imaging, leading workshops in the Carson Pass area, Yosemite, Mono Lake, Monterey, and Bodie. She has also taught private workshops covering such topics as HDR, photo restoration, use of model and artificial lights, and macro photography. She brings both patience and a sense of play to the craft of working with cameras. Since 1999, she has led wilderness photo adventures in Southeast Alaska with Dolphin Charters. www.sederquist.com

BOB STEWART has taught biology in public schools and at College of Marin, and served as Landbird Biologist and Director of Education at the Point Reyes Bird Observatory. For 15 years Bob worked for the County of Marin and is well know for the 2,000 plus outings he led for the general public on a variety of topics including bird behavior, butterflies, insects, mushrooms, grasses, flowering plants, habitats and general ecology. Since 1973, he has led birding and natural history tours to a variety of locations around California and the Southwest, and Central America. Look for his books Common Butterflies of California, and Butterflies of Arizona, A Photographic Study.

JENNIFER STOCK, Education and Outreach Coordinator for NOAA's Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, has worked in the field of environmental education for over 13 years, as an interpretive park ranger with Assateague Island and Fire Island National Seashores, at Guided Discoveries: Catalina Island Marine Institute, and locally at the Headlands Institute. Jennifer loves showing people what they can’t see with their bare eyes and delights in bringing the mysterious underwater world to learners of all ages. You can tune into her monthly radio program Ocean Currents on KWMR the first Monday of every month. Jennifer has a Bachelors Degree in Biology from the University of Delaware and a Masters of Science in Education from Dominican University.

SUZANNE SWEDO, director of W.I.L.D., has backpacked the mountains of every continent. She has led groups into the wilderness for over 30 years and teaches wilderness survival and natural science for individuals, schools, universities, museums and organizations such as Yosemite Association and the Sierra Club. She is the author of numerous books. She lectures and consults about backpacking, botany and survival on radio and television as well as in print.

PATTI TRIMBLE was a park service naturalist who wanted a career in which she could make more things up. Now a poet and essayist, she writes about the natural world, memory, love and politics. She performs her lyric poetry with music in the US and Europe. She is co-founder of the Tuolomne Meadows Poetry Festival and professor of writing at the Mediterranean Center for Arts & Sciences in Sicily. She has two chapbooks published by Redfruit Press, and a spoken word CD - "Small Craft Advisories."

TAMARA WILDER has been practicing, teaching & demonstrating primitive living skills since 1989 and has been running school programs across Northern California since 1998. She regularly teaches at the California School of Herbal Studies, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center, Northern California Women's Herbal Symposium, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, the Solar Living Institute & the Mendocino Art Center; is coauthor of the book Buckskin: The Ancient Art of Braintanning , board member of the Society of Primitive Technology, and demonstrates ancient living skills for museums, fairs & schools. She is also featured on the History Channel in the Modern Marvels show entitled Leather. More info at www.paleotechnics.com

LINDA ANN VOROBIK botanist, editor, and illustrator of numerous botanical publications. including The Flora of Santa Cruz island, The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, and has contributed many illustrations to the Morphology and Evolution of Vascular Plants. She holds a PhD from the University of Oregon, conducts field research and teached in the Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon, and has over 25 years of illustration and college level teaching experience. She currently lives on Lopez Island, Waxhington, and visits Berkeley on a regular basis, where she is a Research Associate at the University Herbarium, UC. www.vorobikbotanicalart.com

DAVID WIMPFHEIMER is a naturalist and a biologist with a passion for the birds and natural history of the West. During his twenty years of expeditions, in addition to local classes for the Point Reyes Field Institute, Marin Agricultural Land Trust and the California Academy of Sciences, he has led numerous tours to Mexico, Alaska, Scotland and other regions for groups including the Smithsonian Institution, Wild Wings, and Elder hostel. Although the majority of David's field trips are geared toward teaching and interpreting the language of the avian world, he is just as experienced teaching the rich diversity of the natural world. From whale watching expeditions to wildflower forays, he will make every visit to the natural world memorable and enjoyable.
www.calnaturalist.com

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