Dr. Thomas C. Wood, Director

Dr. Wood is the Director of Environmental Studies on the Piedmont, where he is currently investigating the behavioral and physiological divergent evolution of North America’s native swans (Trumpeter and Tundra Swans). He is also Associate Professor of Integrative and Interdisciplinary Studies in the New Century College at George Mason University (GMU). Here he co-directs the Conservation Studies curriculum with Andrew Wingfield. He also a Research Associate with the Smithsonian Institution and is GMU’s liaison to the Smithsonian promoting coordinated educational development, where his research interests involve assisted reproduction in mammals and Conservation Studies education reform. He serves as advisor to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Board of Regents, where he directs GMU’s joint Master’s program in Zoo and Aquarium Leadership.

Dr. Wood is actively involved in several federally funded science education reform efforts including the NSF sponsored projects SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities) and PKAL (Project Kaleidoscope Faculty for the 21st Century). His course “Mysteries of Migration, Consequences for Conservation” is a national model course for science and civic engagement. Dr. Wood has received funding from the Dept. of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE) to reform curriculum in Conservation Biology. He regularly consults with faculty teams from universities around the country, and internationally, to improve science education on their campuses.

Dr. Wood has co-developed many interdisciplinary, team-taught, learning communities focused on science and civic engagement. He serves as the Dive Control Officer of the George Mason chapter of the American Academy of Underwater Scientists and directs the scientific diving training program at GMU. He is recipient of the George Mason University Excellence in Teaching Award and frequently represents the University at national education meetings. He holds a B.S. from the University of California, Davis, a M.S. from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University.

Dr. Wood enjoys outdoor activities including SCUBA diving and fish identification, backpacking in the Sierras, bird watching and canoeing.

Cindy Shea, Assistant Director

Cindy grew up in Fairfax County, climbing trees and exploring the forests and streams of Annandale before they became the next housing development. She became an early advocate of the need to always be a part of nature. Most of her studies were taken in the mountains of Colorado, but she finished up at George Mason University with a BIS degree in Wildlife Conservation, with a focus on the regional management of elephants across southern Africa. While she is still looking for the errant elephant at the field station, she is quite busy with juggling the many demands of each new day at ES.

Earlier jobs helped her prepare for these new challenges, such as work on Capital Hill; contributing editor on the IUCN/SSN Conservation Breeding Specialist Group publication Selected Australasian Falconiformes Conservation Assessment Management Plan; support staff for George Mason University on the FIPSE Grant, Implementation of Educational Reform in Conservation Biology; and at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo she created a new animal interpretive program with the staff of Lions and Tigers and Bears, wrote volunteer manuals on the animals in Beaver Valley as well as the Invertebrate House and coordinated Animal Planet filming for a 13-episode series on zoo animals and staff.

In addition to enjoying the great outdoors, Cindy is an avid reader, enjoys classical music, baking and traveling to just about anywhere she can manage to go.

German Perilla, Apiarist and Native Bee Pollinator Research Biologist

German Perilla originally hails from Bogota, Columbia. He earned his B.S. in Biology from University of Maryland and became a naturalized U.S. citiizen in 1987.

After obtaining his B.S., German returned to Columbia and worked on pollination projects for several years. Among them he worked for the large, well-known Columbian fruit and flower growers and exporters, Delagro and Flores de los Andes, where he and his colleagues pioneered the method of using africanized bees to pollinate the crops grown in the extensive greenhouse system. (Note, each greenhouse covers approximately one hectare of an intensively farmed monoculture.)

German and his beekeeping colleagues founded ASOAPICUN, an association of beekeepers open to everyone, to establish a high standard of quality in beekeeping and bee products, and to provide educational programs in apiculture. ASOAPICUN worked with Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros (National Federation of Coffee Growers), staging beekeeping workshops to train beekeepers in keeping the newly africanized European honeybee. These workshops covered all facets of beekeeping, from setting up hive colonies and harvesting products, to africanized bee behavior, working safely with the africanized bee, and explaining genetic selection techniques to produce manageable and highly productive bee lines.

German's work with ASOAPICUN also initiated collaboration with CORPOICA (la Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuariaan, the important Columbian government agricultural research body), on the most efficient methods to collect pollen, including construction of pollen traps. He also led studies of proper pollen drying and packaging which led to the establishment of government industry standards. In the forefront of discovering the first infestations of the Varroa Mite in Columbia, German with his colleagues, pioneered the management of the Varroa Mite parasite in Columbia.

Before leaving Columbia, German was hired by the Columbian Presidency to work as a consultant and training facilitator to the United Nations' la Oficina para los Desplazados de la Violencia (Office for Displaced Persons of Violence) to develop programs for self sufficiency for the country's large population of refugees. German was in charge of teaching apiculture and business skills to these refugees and reported directly to the Columbian President's staff.

At the invitation of the Israeli government, German became a member of a select multi-national group of university-educated apiarists representing all continents (except Antarctica). He travelled the country and explored all aspects of the beekeeping industry from the classroom to practical field work. The purpose was to facilitate exchange of beekeeping experience from apiarists around the world, and to promote apiculture in Third World countries as a profitable enterprise.

Returning to the United States in 1998 with his wife and two sons, German eventually came to work for Dr. Wood in the Master of Arts of Independent Studies (MAIS) in the Zoo and Aquarium Leadership (ZAL) Master's Program at George Mason University. He came to Environmental Studies at Airlie in 2000 to start an apiculture program for research and education. In 2004 German added the additional facet of researching competition of the European honeybee with native bee pollinators on ESA's field station.

German enjoys spending time with his family and anything bee-related.

Sarah Itoh, Beekeeper

Though born in Japan, Sarah grew up on the island of Oahu, HI. It was there that she learned to love the ocean and natural beauty that surrounded her. She moved to Northern Virginia in 1996 and though, not quite as exotic as the tropics, she still loved the surrounding landscape and wildlife. While driving across country with her family, from California to their new home in Virginia, she kept her eyes glued to the window, searching for her first glimpse of mainland wildlife. It was the o'possum that they first encountered, roadkill on some back-country road. Next were the chipmunk, squirrel, raccoon, snake, and white-tailed deer- they were all extremely fascinating!

After settling in Great Falls, VA, Sarah took a job on the Potomac River as a counselor for a summer camp. There she learned to canoe, kayak, rock climb and most importantly, mountain bike. It was the mountain biking program that she settled into, for 3 summers running.

Sarah's love of the outdoors led her to work in conservation. Now, she is a recent graduate of George Mason University, with a B.S. in Conservation Studies. Her final semester included the Smithsonian Mason Semester in Front Royal, VA. at the Conservation and Research Center.

She never imagined she'd be working with honeybees, and since volunteering with ES in 2007, she hasn't lost interest in the amazing little creatures. When not working at ES, Sarah loves being outside, running around in the sun with her ultimate Frisbee team or playing indoor soccer with her family.

H.T. Anderson, Field Station Manager

Originally from the south Texas Gulf Coast, H.T. grew up in the farming and fishing industry, where he learned to appreciate the world around him and the importance of conservation and natural resource management. He is the longest-lived on our team, with roots dating back to 1998, when be came to work on our field station. He not only manages and maintains our equipment, our fields and trails, he is always there to assist in a thousand other ways; from catching the errant swan or snake to helping with our educational program, eradicating invasives from our fields, identifying and documenting wildlife or whatever the newest challenge might be.

Sean Campbell, Field Station Biologist

Born and raised in Fauquier County, Virginia, Sean has a deeply rooted passion for conservation of the Piedmont’s natural resources. For nearly ten years Sean worked on a local farm in Fauquier County, where he developed skills and appreciation for conservation-oriented land management practices. Sean is a lifelong hunter, angler, and outdoorsman, who has general interests in game-species management, white-tailed deer ecology, and waterfowl identification.

After volunteering and interning for Environmental Studies through college, Sean was hired shortly after graduation in May of 2006 as a waterfowl research technician. Sean earned a B.A. in Integrative Studies with a concentration in Conservation Studies from George Mason University. Sean is currently pursuing his master’s degree at GMU with his thesis focusing on how environmental conditions of weather and mast crop influence white-tailed deer body mass.

Sean serves as the Curator for our collection of over 90 swans, made up of five different species and a diversity of hybrid swans. Sean is the white-tailed deer manager and DMAP (Deer Management Assistance Program) coordinator for the E.S. field station. He has also initiated a Northern Bobwhite Quail restoration project at E.S. which is directly linked to early successional field management. Sean’s responsibilities at Environmental Studies also include Wood Duck box installation and maintenance, waterfowl surveys, camera-trapping elusive and nocturnal wildlife, trail maintenance, assisting in educational lectures on habitats and wildlife, and coordinating volunteers for field maintenance and restoration.

In his spare time Sean enjoys hunting, fly-fishing, kayaking, playing soccer, wildlife watching, and hiking in the wilderness.

Lisa LaCivita, Environmental Education Program Specialist

Lisa enjoys sharing her love of the natural world with people of all ages. She currently develops curriculum and leads student groups for 3rd through 5th graders as well as high school students. Lisa volunteers with the butterfly census, wildflower walks and bird banding at the field station.

Lisa has been a volunteer with Potomac Valley Audubon Society serving four years as membership chair, and with the Nature Conservancy serving as a docent at the Ice Mountain Preserve for ten years. She has an Associate of Applied Science in Recreation & Parks, a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology and a Master of Science in Geographic and Cartographic Science. Lisa is working on a PhD in Environmental Science & Public Policy from George Mason University. She taught at the community college level for 14 years and has completed contract work for the Smithsonian Institution, and currently works part time for USGS and George Mason University.