Goleta Coast Audubon 2021-2022 officers
Conor McMahon
Conor McMahon is the Goleta Coast club president. I’m a Geography grad student who helped found GCAS in the fall of 2019, and since then I’ve served as its president. For years my greatest involvement in the outdoors was recreational (and slightly obsessive) birding, but since moving to Goleta I’ve become increasingly invested in giving back to the outdoor world I’ve come to love. Santa Barbara is the third most diverse county in the country for bird species– but our wildlife faces constant threats. I became involved in Audubon to mobilize students to care about and protect the natural world around us.
I’ve previously taught an undergraduate course on bird biology and birding, and one of my main goals as president is to help bring more young people on and off campus into the world of birds. This year I hope to help build GCAS from its fledgling state into a larger organization with broad membership, outreach, and impact. I plan to achieve this by expanding and supporting our membership through the coming year. I am particularly focused on establishing a regular program of bird walks, speaker events, and distinct working committees for conservation programs which allow students to establish ownership over issues that matter to our community and environment.
Linus Blomqvist
Linus Blomqvist is Goleta Coast Audubon’s Programming Chair. Linus is a Ph.D. student at the Bren School and as Programming Chair, his goal is to diversify the local birding community, and in particular to bring in more young people from all walks of life by organizing field trips and invited talks. In Sweden, where Linus grew up, he was active in the National Audubon Society equivalent, BirdLife Sweden, running the youth branch of the organization for several years. In this position, he was part of organizing several birding excursions per year, bringing together people from all across Sweden. He also helped arrange an exchange between Swedish and Maltese young birders and conservationists. If you want to learn more about Linus and his work, you can visit his website linusblomqvist.com.
Chris Puga
Christian Puga is the Goleta Coast’s Media Chair. Chris is an undergraduate student at UCSB studying math and comparative literature. He is also an avid wildlife & nature photographer interested in helping GCAS with its photography, media, and outreach. More importantly, he hopes to get more people of color that grew up in the city, much like himself, interested in going to explore the outdoors. He believes that this is the only way to build a genuine connection with our natural environment and develop a true appreciation for it. For more information, see his website.
Laurel Wee
Laurel Wee is the Goleta Coast’s Website Chair. She is a first-year master’s student, graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies combined with Biology. Laurel found the importance of learning outdoors and stewardship during a quarter-long course, Natural History Field Quarter while at UC Santa Cruz. Field Quarter is where Laurel began birding and she later expanded on this interest by taking an ornithology course that included going on field trips to popular birding locations in CA. At the Bren School, Laurel is specializing in Conservation Planning with a focus on Strategic Environmental Communication and Media. As Website Chair, Laurel hopes to help increase membership and community involvement with the Goleta Coast Audubon Society and communicate the work that the group is doing to connect people and birds.
Aaron Kreisberg
Aaron Kreisberg is Goleta Coast’s Conservation Chair. Aaron is a Masters's student in the Bren school. He has lived in the UCSB area off and on for many years and been a long-time fixture of the Santa Barbara Audubon Conservation Committee.
Billyjack Jory
Billyjack Jory is Goleta Coast’s Treasury Chair. Billyjack is a fourth-year Geology student, and his love for the outdoors and the natural physical world slowly drifted into an interest in birds in the Fall of 2020, then quickly exploded into a mild obsession. He was born and raised in Florida but has been living in Southern California for 15 years. He is also a fledgling wildlife photographer. Billyjack hopes to increase interest in birding in younger generations; in both those that have an
affinity for birds...and those who have an affinity for birds but just don’t know it yet.
Christopher Kibler
Christopher Kibler is the Secretary of the Goleta Coast Audubon Society. He is a Ph.D. candidate in the geography department. His research uses aerial and satellite imagery to analyze climate change impacts on vegetation. Chris grew up in Maine and started birding when he lived in Washington, DC. His favorite birds are diving ducks, and his favorite California birding trip is going to see wintering waterfowl in the Central Valley.