Debra M. Tranberg, D.C., owner and manager, comes to NT&P with a love for nature which started very early in her life, and has continued to grow. Her undergraduate degree and first few years of experience were dedicated to a stewardship of the environment, but she went back to school and earned a degree as a Doctor of Chiropractic.
During her time in private practice, Debra took her skills a step further and became involved in Animal Chiropractic. This included all shapes and sizes of animals from domesticated and exotic house pets, to large farm animals, to working with New England Wildlife. “At NE Wildlife, I have the unique opportunity and pleasure to adjust countless varieties of birds including hawks, owls and even a hummingbird.” She continues “for instance, I adjusted a baby screech owl who had flown into a window and could not even perch. After one adjustment he was immediately able to perch and was released the next day!” Whether it's a road trip, a boat cruise, a train, or a canoe, Debra is always up for an adventure. “I'm passionate about the therapeutic aspects of travel and I know first-hand how outdoor experiences can advance our personal growth, when life gets a bit stressed.”
Rochelle Gerratt has more than 15 years of experience developing and leading natural history trips in the United States, Central and South America, and the Mideast. She currently guides trips for Nature Treks and Passages and for Sierra Club International and National Outings. An avid birder and wildlife watcher, she served as a Board member of Tucson Audubon Society.
Rochelle designs her trips to include a variety of educational and "just plain fun" experiences, natural history, and local culture. Her trips feature contacts with local people, good food, and opportunities to relax and have fun..
Larry Liese came by his love for the outdoors at an early age. Raised in Vermont, he spent much of his youth backpacking and hiking. After migrating to Arizona, Larry fell under the spell of birding and now makes regular forays into Mexico to discover birding hotspots there.
Retiring early from a career in power electronics, Larry served as a member of Tucson Audubon Society's Board and as Chairman of their Education and International Trips Committees. Besides leading close to one hundred of their field trips, Larry also authored a long-standing monthly column in Tucson Audubon's newsletter on bird identification and a series on habitat. All this led him to a second career leading birdwatching and natural history trips to Mexico and other Central America countries. Larry loves sharing his passion for birds with people of all birding levels. His excitement and enthusiasm are contagious.
Keith Kamper came by his interest in natural history at a young age. While in his early teens he was vice president of the Holland Audubon Society in west Michigan for which he led field trips and edited the group’s newsletter. He was a regional coordinator for the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas. While attending university he led birding trips for the Alabama Field Ornithologists. He has birded throughout the lower 48, Alaska, Belize, and in Mexico. Keith has published articles in the Arizona Field Ornithologist’s journal Arizona Birds and leads birding field trips for Tucson Audubon Society. He especially enjoys sharing his passion with those who are new to birding.
Juan Caicedo, a graduate of Prescott College, has a B.A. in Natural History and Ecology. He completed his senior thesis working with landowners at Villa Verde, Mexico (“Natural History, Cultural Perceptions, and the Implication for the Management of Villa Verde”). Juan has traveled extensively throughout Latin America and continues to be involved in restoration, monitoring, and landowner outreach work in Northern Mexico.
Matt Brooks didn’t discover birding until right after college, but that hasn’t stopped him from turning it into a life-long hobby and obsession. He came into his own as a birder in Alaska while working for the Forest Service and Fish & Wildlife Service in various bird-related capacities over the years. His varied experiences include working as a natural history interpreter on the Alaska Marine Highway System, a ranger at the Mendenhall Glacier National Rec. Area, a biological technician in Southeast Alaska, and as a seabird surveyor on the Bering Sea. Birds have also been at the root of all his recent world travel, including to 15 countries in Central and South America.
Though he is a New Mexico native, he is proud to currently call Arizona home. He works for Tucson Audubon Society as their Environmental Education Specialist and runs a variety of programs, including the Institute of Desert Ecology. In his spare time, Matt leads birding field trips for Tucson Audubon and Pima County Parks and Rec. He has also recently had articles on birding hotspots in Arizona and Alaska published in Birder’s World magazine. As far as Matt is concerned, life is pretty sweet: he gets to bird for work and for play!
Pinau Merlin, a writer and naturalist, is fascinated by the natural world and loves to share that fascination with others by teaching and leading trips to intriguing places. Pinau has led over a hundred natural history field trips and expeditions throughout the Southwest and Mexico. She is the author of numerous articles and several natural history books (Field Guide to Desert Holes, Guide to Bird Nests and Eggs, Hummingbirds of the West, Soaring Birds of the West), and is a contributing author to The Natural History of the Sonoran Desert. Pinau and her work have been featured in Smithsonian and National Wildlife magazines, on PBS and NPR. Her gentle humor and relaxed manner ensure a fun time for all.
Moez Ali grew up in Nairobi and was hooked on birds and wildlife since the toddler years while on safaris exploring Kenya's world-famous national parks with his naturalist dad. His early years were spent in the African wild- climbing trees with monkeys, finding bird nests, caressing reptiles and learning about all the wildlife he came across while also leading field trips for the East Africa Natural History Society.
He finished high school in South Africa and traveled all over Africa in search of akalats, boubous, crombecs, drongos and eremomelas before coming to the U.S. in 1999 for college tennis and birding the New World. He completed his biology studies in AL and TN while birding and leading fieldtrips all over southeastern U.S. and also worked on several bird research projects before setting his sights on the desert southwest and its incredible birding and natural history.
His relocation to Tucson in 2003 was all about birding and studying nesting red-faced warblers in the Santa Catalina Mountains. He now birds nonstop and leads fieldtrips for the Tucson Audubon Society and tour groups while coordinating research on the birds of southeast Arizona's sky island mountains and riparian areas for the University of Arizona.
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Nature Treks & Passages P. O. Box 542 Bryantville, MA 02357 |
voice: (781) 789-8127 fax: (781) 545-6552 e-mail: info@naturetreks.net |