The Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance (SCVBA) was founded as the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society in 1925, and with over 1,000 members, is one of the largest National Audubon Society chapters in California. Our programs and conservation activities are supported by our generous members and donors. SCVBA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your dues and donations are fully tax-deductible.

Our Mission

The Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance promotes the enjoyment, understanding, and protection of birds and other wildlife by engaging people of all ages in birding, education, and conservation.

To accomplish this mission we...

• Promote scientifically sound conservation strategies for the protection of native ecosystems and demonstrate the value of conservation to the community.

• Educate our diverse community about the benefits of preserving and enjoying nature, focusing on youth education programs, public outreach, and field trips.

• Support research into maintaining, restoring, and understanding native ecosystems, particularly those of birds.

• Collaborate with the National Audubon Society, Audubon-California, Audubon Chapters, and other organizations to accomplish our common goals.

Our Bylaws

Our Bylaws were last updated in 2018 to make them consistent with best practices for non-profit organizations.

Click here to read the revised Bylaws of Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society

Our Yearly Accomplishments

We have a long list of yearly accomplishments made possible by our many generous supporters and volunteers. Help us continue this trend through the coming years by donating to our Environmental Advocacy Campaign and Annual Appeal!

Staff

Matthew Dodder, Executive Director, has been passionate about birds since he was 14 years old. Before joining SCVBA he worked as a senior designer at the premier graphic design and marketing agency in the Bay Area, helping Silicon Valley companies achieve their outreach goals through visually arresting designs and strategic campaigns. He has taught a popular birding class at the Palo Alto Adult School since 1999, sharing his love and curiosity about birds with scores of students. As ED he brings to SCVBA a varied skill set and an unapologetic concern for the welfare of our avifauna. At home with his wife Kelly, Matthew adores laughing, cooking, and drawing birds. His avian artwork, from initial sketches to finished portraits, can be found on his blog: https://neornithes.wordpress.com. Contact Matthew at (408) 252-3748 or director@scvas.org. 

April Austin, Office Manager, graduated from Golden Gate University with a B.S. in Information Science. Prior to joining SCVBA, April worked in high tech and higher education, managing business application software projects in IT. April enjoys learning from her co-workers who share her love of nature. She is an active hiker who frequents local baylands, parks and open space preserves, and loves spending time in her own bird-friendly backyard. Contact April at (408) 252-3747 or scvas@scvas.org.

Shani Kleinhaus, Environmental Advocate, works to protect and promote wildlife habitats and to include avian conservation in local development plans. She represents the Chapter before local governments and decision makers, addressing issues of land use, birds, wildlife habitat, and environmental impacts. Shani (pronounced shaa-knee) works closely with our Environmental Action Committee and volunteers on a plethora of conservation issues throughout Santa Clara County and its cities. Shani earned her Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis and has contributed to conservation research, advocacy and planning in a variety of ecosystems in the US and overseas. To join our group of advocates or to alert us to ecological concerns and opportunities in your community, contact Shani at advocate@scvas.org.

Carolyn Knight, Education & Outreach Manager, graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. in Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology. Prior to joining SCVBA she worked with Wood Ducks in the Central Valley, where she officially became a bird nerd. Carolyn is excited to continue introducing students to local ecology and conservation. In addition to her education and outreach duties, Carolyn also runs our annual Spring Birdathon fundraiser. Contact Carolyn at programs@scvas.org for general questions, or scvasbirdathon@gmail.com for Birdathon inquiries.

Julianne Wang, Policy Advocate Assistant, Co-Chair of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC). 

Julianne holds a bachelor's and master's in ecology from Fudan University in China, as well as a master's in environmental policy and management from UC Davis. Her professional journey began with researching migrating bird habitat restoration in coastal wetlands on Chongming Island near Shanghai. Driven by a passion for making direct environmental impacts, Julianne transitioned into practical conservation work. As an NGO Project Manager for a conservation project funded by the United Nations (UNDP-GEF-SGP), she worked with indigenous Tibetan communities to develop climate-resilient natural resource management systems and explore alternative livelihoods. During her studies at UC Davis, she honed her environmental advocacy skills and developed a strong interest in nature-based solutions for climate-related disasters, such as wildfires and sea level rise.  She is deeply committed to fostering community interest in nature conservation.

In her leisure time, Julianne enjoys birdwatching and observing all her wildlife friends. She is also enthusiastic about nature education and co-leads field trips for SCVBA.

Board of Directors

The SCVBA Board of Directors is the governing body for SCVBA. Always open to new ideas and suggestions from members, we work hard to uphold our Bylaws, maintain fiscal responsibility, ensure that our programs support our mission, promote local conservation, and provide fun and exciting educational experiences for both children and adults.

The Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance is seeking new Board candidates and welcomes expressions of interest from anyone who supports our mission. While your enthusiastic contribution of time and energy is the major qualification, the Board particularly needs expertise and experience in fund-raising, environmental education, and social media. Contact us if you have an interest in joining our Board.

Meetings are held six times a year, generally on the second Wednesday of the month at 7:30 PM.

Bill Walker, President has been birding in California since 1996 and photographing wild birds and their environment since 2003. He teaches bird photography at Google, Point Reyes Birding Festival, and the Coastside Land Trust. His photos are published on Instagram and at birdwalker.com. Since joining the SCVBA board in 2019, Bill has been active with the Field Trip committee and is helping create video content for SCVBA's YouTube channel. He credits the SCVBA 2012 trip to Costa Rica with opening a door to birding travel, which has been very rewarding. Bill has worked in software engineering at Apple, Cisco, Mozilla, and most recently, Google. Bill holds a PhD in Computer Science from University of Illinois, where he studied object-oriented software, jazz piano, and electronic music. Bill currently directs the choir at University Lutheran Church in Palo Alto.

Sue Pelmulder, Vice President, started backpacking in the Sierras at age 3 and has enjoyed the outdoors for a very long time. But she fell in love with birds when she moved to Mountain View and started taking walks at Charleston Slough. With the help of SCVBA, Sue is learning to identify smaller birds, but still appreciates any bird big enough to be seen. Sue joined the Board of Directors in July 2020 and helps out wherever needed. Sue trained as an engineer and conducted research in water resources planning and management, before following her passion for audio to be an engineer at a recording studio. Always looking to learn something new, she became an attorney and has helped clients with their insurance problems for the past 15 years. When class is in session, Sue can be found on Monday nights playing viola for local Scottish dance classes, and enjoys meeting up online with musicians from around the world.

Gary Campanella, Treasurer, joined the Board of SCVBA partway through 2021. He has been a supporter of the annual Birdathon for many years. His primary interests in joining the Board are advocacy and education but with his finance background he will also support the Finance Committee. Gary recently retired from full-time employment as Chief Financial Officer of On Lok, a healthcare nonprofit organization. Prior to that he has held senior finance positions in both healthcare and high tech organizations in Silicon Valley. He has served on other nonprofit boards in the area notably HomeFirst Services of Santa Clara Valley and Sacred Heart Community Service. Gary is an avid hiker around Almaden Valley and an avid student of the Italian language.

Michael Hawk, Secretary, has had an interest in birds and nature for years, but his 2006 move to Arizona and subsequent trips to Madera Canyon caused him to finally call himself a birder. This interest has continued to grow and expand into a general passion for the environment and the complex relationships therein. Michael is also a docent for Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, an avid bioblitz enthusiast, and an NAI Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG). Professionally, Michael works at Google in the field of data networking, but is transitioning to pursue environmental conservation as a full-time career. As part of this journey, Michael has created a podcast called Nature’s Archive, covering such diverse topics as bird migration, lichens, wildfire ecology, plant galls, oak trees, and more.

Linda Adler’s love affair with birds began with her trip down the coast of Baja on a tiny fishing boat, where she was surrounded with blue footed boobies and frigate birds. That led to a much better pair of binoculars and weekend adventures with new birding friends, and she continues to walk the trails with them whenever she can (although nothing will top her birding adventure in Belize). Linda’s professional career covers many facets of the health care industry, including research and academia, business consulting and patient advocacy. She currently works at Stanford. Linda is deeply committed to supporting non-profit work, having most recently chaired a board of a large social justice agency. She joined the SCVBA board in 2024 and looks forward to contributing to the work of protecting birds, and the environment so that her grandkids can share her binoculars and her joy.

Ilene Hertz joined the Board in 2024.  With decades of non-profit experience in Santa Clara County, she spent her entire career advocating the importance of high quality preschool environments for children in their formative years.   Now retired,  Ilene has turned her attention to nature photography, which led to her commitment to preserving bird species and the ecosystems they rely on.  Through SCVBA, Ilene works to raise awareness about the importance of protecting birds and their fragile environments for future generations.

Her photography can be seen at ilenehertz.com

Michael Armer joined the SCVBA board in 2016. He is a founding member of the Outreach Committee, and also sits on the Membership & Development, Personnel, and Birdathon committees. Michael graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Linguistics. He then worked in the IT field for about 10 years, managing networks for a few dozen small companies. About 10 years ago Michael decided on a major career change and went to UC Davis to study Veterinary Medicine. He is now a small animal veterinarian in Campbell, CA. From a young age, Michael has been a birder and bird photographer. His passion for birds has taken him to six continents – and he hopes to travel to Antarctica to complete the set! For the last 15 years he has also been a raptor bander with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory in Marin County.  

Vivek Khanzodé’s interest in birds and nature blossomed after a trip to Costa Rica in 2009. The Resplendent Quetzal mesmerized him, and since then he has been traveling the US and the neotropics in Central and South America annually on nature themed vacations to capture the beauty of birds. Vivek has been a member of the SCVBA Board since 2011 and currently serves on the Executive, Membership & Development, and Nominating Committees. He brings to the Board the perspectives of both a committed birder and an engineering manager in the Semiconductor industry in the Silicon Valley. He is a strong supporter and active presenter in the Bay Area Bird Photographers group of SCVBA. In his spare time, Vivek photographs birds in the Bay Area and beyond. His bird photos have been published by the National Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy, and several other conservation related organizations. His bird and nature photographs can be enjoyed at www.birdpixel.com.

Vivek Tiwari's interest in birds and nature started while he was in college at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. Since then he’s lived and birded in North America – five years on the East coast during graduate school at Princeton University and the last twenty five years as a Santa Clara County resident. He has traveled to many remote corners of the world in pursuit of birds but the Neotropics, India and the lower 48 in the US are his favorite bird regions. While almost half this time was spent with just a pair of binoculars, bird photography has since allowed him to be able to share his passion with others in the hope that this inspires them to observe, appreciate and ultimately protect our avian biodiversity. In recent years a particular joy has been to bird with his son Vayun Tiwari, who has become a great bird photographer in his own right. An executive in the semiconductor industry, Vivek feels lucky to be living in Silicon Valley with its amazing diversity of habitats and birds. As a Board member he hopes to contribute to the continuing mission of SCVBA, an organization of which he has been a proud member for over a quarter of a century!

Banner Photo Credit: Wrentit by Vivek Khanzode