People

Peter Luscomb, Founder & President – Peter earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Peter has over 35 years experience trapping birds in the wild and bringing them into captivity. In 1976 he organized his first expedition to the Alika’I on Kaua’i to collect native birds for the Honolulu Zoo. Since then he has been involved with over 60 collecting trips in Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Peter was on the USFW Service Pacific Island Recovery team when it was active and retired from the Honolulu zoo as the general curator after 38 years.

Herb Roberts, Founder & Vice President– Herb earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Memphis. With a professional zoo career spanning 40 years in 3 different zoo settings Herb has worked with a wide variety of species across different taxa. Herb retired from his position as Curator of Birds at Memphis Zoo in 2014. When he started at Memphis in 1986 there was a small but lovely collection of pigeons and doves that cemented a continuing passion to work with the order. Herb has served as the Species Survival Plan coordinator for Jambu Fruit Doves and Mariana Fruit Doves in addition to being the Columbiformes Taxon Advisory Group chair for twelve years. The Mariana fruit dove was the catalyst that launched Herb’s current work in avian conservation. Herb's current administrative role is Vice President where he is primarily responsible for logistics and team recruitment for the fieldwork portion of our projects.

John Bender, Director of Conservation and Research– John is the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center Ph.D. Fellow at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. John has been working in the Mariana Islands for nearly a decade working with both the Ecology of Bird Loss Project out of Virginia Tech University and PBC to better understand the restoration ecology of invaded systems and the translocations of species. John began his career at Lincoln Park Zoo working as a research intern with the Urban Wildlife Institute (UWI) before moving into the bird department as an assistant keeper prior to becoming the lead keeper of the department. 

John earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2011 where his undergraduate research investigated the stopover ecology of American golden plovers. In 2016 he completed his Master's degree at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. The decolonization of science and research in the Mariana Islands is foundational to John's work. He is supporting the next generation of students and conservationists to carry on this impactful work for their islands, community, and native species. 

Hannah Bailey, Secretary & Treasurer – Hannah Bailey is currently the Wildlife Conservation Manager for the Hawaiian Endangered Bird Conservation Program for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance in Hawaii.  She manages 2 breeding facilities in Hawaii for endemic Hawaii birds and work with state and federal partners to help prevent the extinction of endemic Hawaiian species.
 
She previously was the Houston Zoo’s Curator of Birds and Registrars. During her tenure at the zoo, she worked with a variety of small mammals as the Curator of Natural Encounters. She served as the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Columbiformes TAG (Taxon Advisory Group) Chair, SSP Coordinator and Studbook keeper for the Congo Peafowl (Afropavo congensis) and Attwater’s prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri). 
 
She is also on the AZA Government Affairs Committee as well as the CITES sub-committee for that group.  Each February, she teaches Avian Management, Biology, and Conservation for the AZA’s professional development school.  
 

Anne Heitman, Manager Captive Programs and AZA Liason – Anne earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas State University in 2006 and was hired at Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, KS later that year as a Zookeeper. She is now the Curator of Birds at SCZ. During her time at the Zoo, she has worked with a variety of avian taxa, as well as several small mammal species including Vampire bats and Indian flying foxes. She holds many roles in AZA’s Animal Programs including SSP Coordinator for Emerald Starlings and Crested Coua, and Studbook Keeper for Eastern White Pelican and Snowy-headed Robin Chat. She also serves on several avian Taxon Advisory Groups and is the Vice Chair of the Coraciiformes & Bucerotiformes TAG. Anne is also an Adjunct Professor at Friends University teaching the Management of Zoo Birds course. In addition to her conservation work in the Marianas, Anne is involved with North American songbird conservation in Kansas through the Kansas Motus Network and AZA SAFE. She also serves as the Chair of SCZ’s DEAI committee.
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​Anne Tieber, Board of Directors- Anne earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Missouri State University (previously Southwest Missouri State University) in 1990 and is currently Curator of Birds at the Saint Louis Zoo. In her 28 year span at St. Louis, she has worked with a variety of taxa, from penguins to pelicans, raptors to songbirds and everything in between. She has held various studbooks, serves on several taxon advisory groups and was previously species champion for the Golden and Bridled White-eye  populations. Currently, Anne works as an instructor for the AZA Avian Management, Biology and Conservation course taught annually in West Virginia. The Saint Louis Zoo has been active in the Mariana Islands project since 1994 and continues to send staff in the field to assist with this very important program.

​Ken Reininger, Board of Directors- Ken began his zoo career in 1975 as a zookeeper at the Burnet Park Zoo (now called the Rosamond Gifford Zoo) in Syracuse, New York. While his early animal care responsibilities included big cats, primates and large carnivores, his first love and focus was with aviculture. He was appointed Bird Care Supervisor in 1983 and Curator of Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fishes and Invertebrates in 1985. In 1993 he accepted the position of Curator of Birds at the North Carolina Zoo and in 2008 was appointed General Curator of Animal Collections. He served in that position at the North Carolina Zoo until his retirement in 2016.

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