Staff
OBCI staff are based at The Ohio State University School of Environment and Natural Resources and work with the OBCI Steering Committee to identify priority areas for conservation programming.
Matthew Shumar
OBCI Program Coordinator
Matthew Shumar is a wildlife biologist specializing in ornithology and landscape ecology, interested in anthropogenic effects on Neotropical migrants. He holds a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science and Forest Science from Pennsylvania State University, and an M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Resources from West Virginia University. He was the Project Coordinator and co-editor of the Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in Ohio, and is the Co-Director of the upcoming 3rd Ohio Bird Atlas. Matthew also runs a private research station with a year-round bird banding program in southeastern Ohio with his wife, Molly, and is currently serving as President of the Association of Field Ornithologists. He is also an avid music lover and spends much of his free time drumming and exploring independent music.
Devin Mingesbruney
Ohio Lights Out Coordinator
Devin Mingesbruney is the Ohio Lights Out Coordinator, where she helps lead volunteer collision monitoring programs, and engages partners and the community to advance the Lights Out program. She holds a B.S. in Zoology and an M.A. in Conservation Biology, both from Miami University. Devin has a special interest in community science and avian conservation in urban areas. She is an avid wildlife photographer, and spends much of her free time traveling, birding, and diving.
Steering Committee
Joseph Lautenbach
Joseph Lautenbach is a wildlife biologist with Ohio Division of Wildlife, where he oversees research and monitoring efforts focused on grassland wildlife.
Laura Kearns
Laura Kearns is a Wildlife Biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, where she oversees projects with wetland and forest birds, in addition to several raptor species. Her research interests include predator-prey interactions, urban ecology, and avian conservation and management. She holds a B.A. in Biology from Kenyon College, an M.S. in Resource Ecology Management from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Science from The Ohio State University, and has worked for a variety of non-profit organizations with a focus on avian conservation and research. She loves traveling and birding, and recently observed megapodes and bowerbirds on a trip to Australia.
Stephen Matthews
Stephen Matthews is Associate Professor of Wildlife Landscape Ecology in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. Organized under two general themes, his research focuses on climate and land use change, and wildlife habitat relationships. Collectively, he aims to link these themes across scales to more fully understand and address the global change pressures faced by forests and wildlife. Outside of work, he spends time pondering nature and exploring the outdoors via many modes with his family.
Chris Tonra
Chris Tonra is Associate Professor in Avian Wildlife Ecology in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at the Ohio State University.