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Board Members Bios Officers Anne Cottingham, President
I have greatly enjoyed serving on the board of directors since 2006 and as Vice- President this past year. Working with the Executive Director and other capable and dedicated ANS staff members, the board has addressed an array of legal, conservation, financial, managerial, strategic and program-related matters associated with the operation and the future of the Woodend and Rust Sanctuaries. Like all boards, we hope to continue to channel our collective energy and abilities to produce good results for ANS that exceed what we might accomplish individually. I am an attorney by education, and currently work as Associate General Counsel for the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association for the nuclear industry. Previously, I practiced law for many years with the Washington, DC office of Winston & Strawn LLP, specializing in energy regulatory issues and litigation. Kathy Rushing, Vice President
Patty O’Malley, Treasurer
Jenni Ford, Secretary Jenni Ford is a CPA and Director of Finance and Accounting for the Society of American Military Engineers. She has spent many years in public accounting, with a concentration in not-for-profit organizations. Her work includes 10 years as an auditor for local firms and 15 years as a self-employed consultant. She is a longtime member of ANS and has participated in many ANS natural history study programs. She serves as a member of the ANS Finance Committee and has helped make significant improvements in the ANS financial management processes.
Board Members in Alphabetical Order Lee Babcock Lee Babcock's areas of focus at The 360 Group include advisory services for hospitality, office, multi-family and industrial projects. Mr. Babcock specializes in public-private ventures and complex mixed-use developments. He also spearheads the firm's bankruptcy services practice. Phil Daley Phil Daley is a 27 year resident of Loudoun County and has been very active in environmental and community organizations, particularly since retiring from the Air Force in 1992. He was on the staff of the 89MAW (Presidential and VIP support) and Commander of several communications organizations, with his last assignment as the Deputy Director, Defense Systems Support Organization. He is a past president of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, on the Board of Friends of Banshee Reeks, a member of the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Committee and numerous other organizations. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Leesburg, and has served as President and as Assistant District Governor. He is president of the Lincoln Community League, the Director and Naturalist for Piedmont Environmental Council’s Loudoun Natural History Day Camp. He has led several forays for ANS and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, is a stream monitoring team leader, and is a frequent visitor to the Rust Nature Sanctuary. He holds a BS in mathematics from Grove City College, an MS in Personnel Mgt from Central Michigan University, and an AAS in Natural Resources Management from Lord Fairfax Community College. Cris Fleming
Irish Grandfield Barbara Gregg
Carol Gregory is Director of Communications at the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington. She has a background in media relations, television production, and documentary filmmaking. Gregory also served six years as Deputy Communications Director at Greenpeace, often on the front lines of environmental injustices from illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest to toxic dumping in Louisiana. A native of New York, Gregory was raised in North Carolina and is a graduate of Howard University.
Mike Rubin Mike Rubin is President and Chief Executive Officer of Capitol Investment Associates Corporation, which he founded in 1984. Beginning with his long-time expertise in the construction and development side of the real estate industry, Mike has expanded Capitol’s services to include acquisition, asset management, design, leasing, sales, financing and disposition. Mike also has an active interest in equestrian activities, farming and land preservation. He has worked with public and private land and farm preservation programs and institutions to preserve over 3,000 acres of land in Montgomery County. He also works with local historic preservation boards to repair and maintain historic structures on properties he controls. He holds a degree in Business Administration with concentrations in finance and economics from the University of Maryland.
Michael Trister Michael B. Trister is an attorney for Lichtman, Trister & Ross, Washington, DC. He represents a wide variety of nonprofit corporations, including charitable and educational organizations, private foundations, political committees, labor and professional organizations, and trade associations. A Yale graduate, Trister is a past Chair of the Committee on Legal Ethics and the Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee of the District of Columbia Bar.
Mark Van Putten
Bill Wilkinson
Chris Wright I am by profession a library administrator. I retired in 2003 after 28 years at the Library of Congress, much of that time spent overseeing lending, photocopying and circulation programs. In today’s government, an administrator is someone who works by committee trying to find ways to do more with less. I’ve found this to be good training for retirement activities as well. Adult Education and Conservation are probably the areas of greatest interest to me at ANS, but I’ve asked to be on the Finance and Development Committees. I believe the greatest treasure ANS has to offer is its staff: the teachers and naturalists who show us our world. It’s important that we find secure ways to support these positions for the long term. In the Town of Chevy Chase, where I live, I led a town committee that wrote a new tree protection ordinance that has significantly curtailed the cutting of trees by developers. I currently serve as chair of the five-person board that approves, or disapproves, requests to cut down trees. As part of my life as a birder, I serve on the board of the Montgomery Bird Club. I am also a hiker. A friend and I hiked the C&O Canal to Harper’s Ferry three years ago, and my wife and I hike in Wyoming every summer.
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Along with my husband David, I have been a long-time ANS member and supporter. Luckily for us, we were introduced to this venerable institution shortly after moving to Washington DC in 1979. Over the years, our family looked to ANS for birding classes, books and birdseed, and we all benefited from the excellent educational programs for adults and children. We have watched with admiration (and occasional concern) as ANS has tackled the challenges of the last several decades. Those challenges will surely continue, as the area’s oldest environmental organization works to maintain its relevance, carry out its mission, and further enhance its status amid the current political and economic climate.
Kathy Rushing was first introduced to the Audubon Naturalist Society when she attended one of the first Holiday Fairs almost 34 years ago. Since then, her ANS association has included being a member since 1973, working as editor and sometime public relations director between 1979 and 1996, sending all three of her children to the full range of ANS environmental education programs, and, as a volunteer, overseeing the direction and video production of the history of ANS for the centennial, helping with development activities, and being an all-around general supporter. Kathy left ANS in 1996 to pursue a Masters degree in social work, which she earned in 1999. Since then she has worked extensively with immigrant families and with at-risk children and adolescents. She currently has a part-time private therapy practice in Kensington, Maryland, in addition to presenting parenting workshops in Montgomery County schools. She and her husband, Bob, are active volunteers with AFS, an international student exchange program. She counts birdwatching, other natural history pursuits, gardening, history, politics, travel, and reading as her main interests (her book group includes five former ANS staff members!). Kathy lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband and 91-year-old aunt.
Patty O’Malley is a senior manager at Rubino & McGeehin (CPA firm) in the Exempt Organization Specialty Group. She serves as either the primary or final reviewer for exempt organization returns, provides technical expertise for a variety of exempt organization clients, manages audits and performs a variety of management and accounting consulting services. Prior to joining R&M, she was the assistant vice president of finance for a large trade association and its related charities, where she was responsible for all of the accounting, reporting, tax, budgeting and other financial activity of the organizations. A graduate of the University of Maryland, she is active in the Greater Washington Society of CPAs. Currently she is president-elect of the Board of Governors and chair of the Nonprofit Financial Accountability Task Force. She also has served as chair of the Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee and Symposium co-chair, and as chair of the Christmas in April Committee. She is a past member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Form 990 Task Force and of its Tax Exempt Organization Taxation Technical Resource Panel. She also is a frequent speaker and writer for nonprofit organizations on topics related to tax, auditing and other issues pertinent to nonprofits.
I
have twenty two years experience helping local governments in environmental and
park planning. My academic background includes a Masters Degrees in
Environmental Studies and Geography from Ohio University as well as a BA in
Geology/Geography, from Denison University. I love being outdoors whether the
activity be challenging or “just sitting quiet and observing.” I have three
great daughters who share a passion for nature. 
Barbara Gregg, a lawyer and consumer advocate, was director of the Montgomery County Office of Consumer Affairs for over twenty years. She founded her own consulting firm, and for eight years advised consumer groups and businesses on improving consumer/business relations. She has served on numerous boards and commissions and was founder and past president of the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators. She currently is a member of the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition and is an immediate past member of the Verizon Consumer Advisory Board. She served on the Executive Committee of the American Standards Institute Board, chaired its Consumer Interest Forum, and was a member of its delegations to meetings in Prague (2004) and Toronto (2005). As a member of the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Board of Trustees, she served on the Finance Committee and chaired its Public Safety and Consumer Affairs Committee. She has received numerous awards, including the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators’ President’s Award and distinguished service awards from the Consumer Federation of America and the DC Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals. She also was named a Washingtonian of the Year. She has been interviewed frequently by the media on consumer issues. Also, she was a consumer reporter on the AARP’s television program “Modern Maturity,” and appeared regularly as a consumer expert on PBS’s “Over Easy.” Barbara’s recent volunteer activities include ANS, the Phillips Collection, and the Kennedy Center
Carol Gregory
Mark Van Putten has spent 25 years in environmental policymaking and nonprofit management at the international, national, regional and local level. In 2003 he founded, and is president of, ConservationStrategy® LLC, an environmental strategy and organizational development consulting firm. Prior to this, he spent more than 20 years on the staff of the National Wildlife Federation, including eight years as President and CEO. He founded the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes regional office and the University of Michigan’s Environmental Law Clinic. On the 30th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, he was named one of 30 nationwide Clean Water Heroes.
Bill Wilkinson is the Executive Director of the National Center for Bicycling & Walking, a national non- profit organization. A certified planner and member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Bill has been involved in bicycle and pedestrian programs, and with transportation planning, for over 35 years. Early in his career, Bill work for the National Park Service, the Fairfax County Park Authority, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Bill currently serves on the ANS Finance and Development Committees, and is looking for ways to increase revenue to support ANS's core programs and advocacy role in the region. He and his wife, Jan Dale, are active members of ANS and enthusiastic birders, hikers and cyclists. They live in Bethesda not far from two of their five grandchildren.