Dr. Eric VanderWerf
Director of Science
Eric VanderWerf earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University in 1988 and Master of Science degree from the University of Florida in 1992. In 1999, he completed a Ph.D. at the University of Hawai`i, where his research focused on plumage variation and effects of habitat disturbance and diseases on population biology of the Hawaii Elepaio.
He has worked on a variety of conservation and ornithological projects in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific since 1991 during stints with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. He has continued and expanded upon that work since founding Pacific Rim Conservation in 2007.
Eric has authored over 100 scientific papers, book chapters, government documents, and technical reports, serves as the leader of the Hawaiian Forest Bird Recovery Team for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, on the Endangered Species Recovery Committee for State of Hawaii, as an associate editor for the Condor, and as an associate editor of the Birds of North America.
Eric was also one of the 2011 recipients of the US Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Recovery Champion Awards for his work on the Nihoa Millerbird Translocation, and he and Lindsay Young have jointly received the 2019 Koa Award for Conservation Leadership from the Conservation Council of Hawaii, and are the 2022 recipients of the Ralph Schreiber Conservation Award from the American Ornithological Society which honors extraordinary conservation-related scientific contributions by an individual or small team.
Dr. Eric VanderWerf
Executive Director, Director of Science
Robby Kohley
Director of Aviculture
Robby Kohley earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Walla Walla College in 2000. He has extensive experience in avian ecology and aviculture in particular. Robby was the Research Coordinator and Facility Manager for the San Diego Zoo’s Hawai’i Endangered Bird Conservation Program at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center from 2007-2009, and also has worked for State of Hawai`i on the Maui and Kaua`i Forest Bird Recovery Projects, for the American Bird Conservancy on translocation of the Millerbird from Nihoa to Laysan, for the Institute for Wildlife Studies, and for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge as a seabird monitoring crew leader on Buldir Island. He joined Pacific Rim Conservation in 2015 to oversee all aspects of PRC's aviculture and captive rearing program.
Robby Kohley
Director of Aviculture
Erika Dittmar
Wildlife Biologist
Erika Dittmar earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Ferris State University in 2008 and a Master of Science degree from University of Illinois in 2012. She has extensive experience in avian ecology with a focus on endangered species management. Erika has worked on various projects across the US assisting with management of endangered songbirds, woodpeckers, hawks, sea lions, salmon, trout, turtles, butterflies, and grasshoppers. She also has extensive experience with restoration of numerous native plant species and research focused on migratory bird habitat conservation. She joined Pacific Rim Conservation in 2018. Erika assists with several projects, but her primary responsibilities are monitoring O`ahu 'Elepaio, Laysan Albatross, and surveying for Hawaiian Petrel and Newell's Shearwater.
Erika Dittmar
Wildlife Biologist
Lauren Pederson
Seabird Conservation Technician
Lauren earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Duke University in 2019. Since then she has lived and worked on remote islands throughout the Pacific such as Palmyra Atoll, Midway Atoll, and Johnston Atoll. Her work on these islands was largely comprised of controlling invasive species, monitoring seabird nesting activity and reproductive success, and restoring native habitat. In her free time Lauren loves running, snorkeling, and wildlife photography.
Lauren Pederson
Seabird Conservation Technician
Dylan Blanchard
Seabird Conservation Technician
Dylan spent a healthy portion of his childhood outdoors and enjoyed birdwatching in the prairies and marshes of the Midwest. After earning a BSc from Georgetown University, he worked with a consulting firm in New York City before changing lanes to live and work with the endangered, endemic birds of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean for nearly a year. His experience there involved extensive predator control, habitat restoration, and hands-on conservation work with species ranging from seabirds to Pink Pigeons to Echo Parakeets. Upon returning to the US, Dylan worked with a PhD student at Mississippi State University on a successful field season studying Osprey and human-wildlife conflict mitigation. He joined PRC in 2021 and is thrilled to be a part of the team.
Dylan Blanchard
Seabird Conservation Technician
Dave Hanna
Seabird Conservation Technician
Dave has worked all over the United States with shorebirds and colonial seabirds, including more than 10 years on Maui. He recently moved back to the Hawaiian Islands from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore monitoring Piping Plovers, and enjoying their most successful nesting season yet! Dave enjoys being outside and spending time with Krooz, his pet turtle.
Dave Hanna
Seabird Conservation Technician
Rich Downs
White Tern Biologist and Citizen science program coordinator
Rich Downs comes to us from the midatlantic region of the mainland where, most recently, he has been helping to conduct the Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas effort. Rich has also been leading the White Tern Citizen Science project on Oahu since helping to found it in 2016. He joined the PRC team as a Biologist in 2022 to continue to provide leadership for the White Tern project which aims to enhance awareness, appreciation, understanding and conservation of the White Tern. Observations documented by citizen scientists of White Tern breeding behavior on Oahu are contributing to a better understanding of this understudied species and the fascinating story of its unique relationship with the most developed part of the Hawaiian Island chain. Rich has co-authored papers published in peer-reviewed scientific journals on the White Terns, including the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, and the citizen science project has been profiled in the media, including the Smithsonian Institution and the BBC.
Rich Downs
White Tern Biologist and Citizen science program coordinator
