Announcing Dr. Dawn O'Neal as the Huyck Preserve's new Executive Director

The board of directors of The Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station is pleased to announce that Dr. Dawn O’Neal has been appointed the Preserve’s new Executive Director. Dr. O’Neal, who has been with the Preserve since August 2011, first as the Director of Conservation Education and then as the Director of Conservation Education and Research, became Executive Director effective January 29, 2014. As Executive Director, Dr. O’Neal will serve as the Preserve’s chief operating officer with responsibility for overseeing the Preserve’s operations and programs.

Dr. O’Neal holds a BA in environmental studies from Washington University and a PhD in ecology evolution and behavior from Indiana University. She has extensive research experience in the fields of avian biology and migration, climate change biology, ecology, physiology, behavioral ecology, life history evolution, and eco-immunology in both field and laboratory settings; authored several scholarly publications; taught courses at the undergraduate level; lectured on her research interests; and mentored students at the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Virginia. At the Huyck Preserve, Dr. O’Neal continues to pursue research on eco-immunology in avian systems.

As the Preserve’s Director of Conservation Education and Research, Dr. O’Neal has greatly expanded and enriched the Preserve’s educational and research programs, worked tirelessly to further the Preserve’s four-part mission, and gained extensive knowledge of the Preserve’s day-to-day operations, its budgetary and funding considerations, and its history, accomplishments, and goals.

The board of directors of the Huyck Preserve believes that the Preserve’s current vibrant programs and accomplishments will continue to flourish under Dr. O’Neal’s astute leadership. As Susan Kessler, the board’s president, states, "The board is thrilled to welcome Dawn as our new Executive Director; her extraordinary talent and dedication will tremendously benefit the Preserve and our membership."

---