Indiana Audubon Society’s mission is to engage communities in the enjoyment of birds in their habitat, through conservation, education, and research. We have been active in this role for 127 years.
To advance this purpose, Indiana Audubon holds annual elections for its Board of Directors. Online voting opens Monday, Sept. 29, and closes Friday, Oct. 10, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Results will be announced on Monday, Oct. 13, via the website and in the Notes from the Field weekly email.
Below, you’ll find the candidates nominated to serve on the Board in 2026. Please review their bios before casting your vote.
How to Cast Your Vote
- All active Indiana Audubon members as of Sept. 23, 2025, will receive a personalized voting link by email from IAS Executive Director Brad Bumgardner ([email protected]) via SurveyMonkey.
- The email will be sent to the address listed in your membership profile. Check your spam or junk folder if it doesn’t arrive.
- Each link allows for one anonymous submission and cannot be edited after voting.
- If your membership is at the Family, Contributing, or Cardinal Club level and another eligible household member wants to vote, they can email [email protected] from their own email address and include the name the membership is under to receive a separate link.
- Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on Oct. 10, 2025.
Board Officers (Term 2026-2027)
PRESIDENT
Richard Garrett – Greenfield
Richard Garrett studied Environmental Science at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. One of his professors was an avid birder and instilled that passion in him. He then worked in the agricultural industry for the next 12 years. He currently works in low voltage technology, focusing on the hospitality industry.
Richard has always enjoyed being outdoors and sees birding as a good excuse to spend even more time there. Over the past year, he has led numerous birding trips and enjoys sharing his free-time passion with other birders.
VICE PRESIDENT
Mike Maxwell – Indianapolis
Mike Maxwell lives and works in Indianapolis, where he currently practices law in the areas of employment law, civil litigation, and business risk mitigation at Clark Quinn Moses Scott & Grahn LLP. He has been birding seriously for 19 years, during which he has birded in most U.S. states and in 28 foreign countries/territories.
SECRETARY
Cookie Ferguson – LaPorte
Cookie Ferguson is currently a member of the Indiana Audubon Board. Her background includes being a retired middle school teacher and an NAI-certified Interpretive Naturalist, having worked at Indiana Dunes State Park for eight years. She is also an avid birder. While she spends most of her time birding in northern Indiana, she has been lucky enough to bird in exciting places like Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador.
She has served on the committee that organizes the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival since its beginning and is the secretary for the Dunes-Calumet Audubon Society. Cookie holds a sub-banding permit and helps band many birds, including as part of the Northern Saw-whet Owl banding project, which she has contributed to for the past eight years. Her ears always perk up when someone says, “Let’s go birding!”
TREASURER
John Blackburn – Beverly Shores
John Blackburn is a retired banking executive with more than 40 years of experience, including serving as Chief Operating Officer of Standard Bank and Trust and Chief Information Officer of MB Financial. Recognized for guiding financial organizations to sustainable growth, he has also dedicated his time to community service as a board member of BUILD, chairman of Chicago Access Network (CAN-TV), docent for the Chicago Architecture Center, and Town Council member in the Town of Beverly Shores.
A devoted birder, John has served as Treasurer of the Indiana Audubon Society since December 2024 and was instrumental in securing Beverly Shores’ designation as an Indiana Bird Town. His “spark bird” is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and his “soul bird” the Blackburnian Warbler.
Board of Directors (Term 2026-2028, pick up to three)
Dan Barriball – Chesterton
Dan Barriball lives in Chesterton (Porter County) and works at St. Patrick School as the Computer Science Teacher and Director of Information Technology. He serves on the boards of the Dunes-Calumet Audubon Society, the Friends of Indiana Dunes, and the Calumet Astronomical Society.
Dan gives interpretive programs as a volunteer at Indiana Dunes State Park, where he was named the 2018 Volunteer of the Year. His work has been recognized by the National Association for Interpretation with the 2021 Region 4 Outstanding Interpretive Volunteer award and the 2022 National Outstanding Interpretive Volunteer award.
About 15 years ago, while living in metro Detroit, Dan became very interested in birds and birding. That interest deepened when he moved back home to northwest Indiana. He now volunteers with Northern Saw-whet Owl banding, participates in local Audubon societies, and enjoys the friendships he has made through birding.
Mona Clayton* – Indianapolis
Mona Clayton has been a member of the Indiana Audubon Board of Directors since 2022. She is part of the finance committee and leads development efforts, driving donor engagement to fund specific bird conservation programs and successfully sourcing grant opportunities. Mona is a retired CPA and lives in Indianapolis. She was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for 25 years, where she served as a trusted advisor helping clients navigate unplanned events.
She has served on nonprofit boards for 20 years. Mona has visited over 60 countries and enjoys nature, birding, and genealogy, among other interests. She recently completed the Certified Accessible Birding Outing Leader course, focusing on leading inclusive bird outings for people with a variety of disabilities.
Her various pursuits and interests usually involve faith, family, and philanthropy. Mona enjoys speaking Portuguese whenever possible.
* Incumbent
Dr. Sam Ivande – Indianapolis
Sam Ivande is a conservation biologist whose work integrates field research, citizen science, capacity building, and scientific writing to advance biodiversity conservation, with birds as focal species. He currently serves as a Conservation Coordinator at the Indianapolis Zoo’s Global Center for Species Survival.
Previously, he was Scientific Director at the A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute in Nigeria, West Africa. A Fellow of the International Ornithologists’ Union, 2019 National Geographic Explorer, and 2021 Mandela Washington Fellow, Sam is passionate about empowering people and communities as partners in conservation. He brings global experience and a multidisciplinary perspective to his work.
Michelle Morton – Fishers
Michelle Morton officially began her birding journey during the pandemic and considers herself an intermediate birder. She has been an advocate for nature-based learning throughout her career, working as an international elementary school teacher and currently as a museum educator at Conner Prairie.
Michelle is a certified Forest Therapy Guide and combines her love of birds and nature to facilitate Mindful Birding experiences, setting aside the desire to identify and instead focusing on sensory observations. She considers herself an ally and advocate, collaborating with community members to host and facilitate inclusive birding events throughout the year.
Her love of birds has strengthened her connection with the natural world and deepened her relationships with others who share in the joy of witnessing wild birds.
Wendy Wonderley – Ellettsville
Wendy Wonderley retired as an Environmental Programs Coordinator for the City of Phoenix and previously worked as a civil engineer specializing in water resources. After living in Arizona for nearly 40 years, she moved to Indiana in 2021.
While she has always felt deeply connected to nature, that connection became a focused passion for birds about ten years ago, and she has since birded on every continent. Wendy enjoys both learning and teaching about birds and hopes to inspire a deep love of nature and a greater awareness of our place in it.
She leads Rainbow Birders, a program of Spencer Pride that creates space for LGBTQ+ and ally individuals to come together around a shared love of birds. Wendy also serves on the Spencer Pride Board of Directors.
