Presentations, Saturday and Sunday,  included companion parrot and parrot conservation topics. Lectures will be presented

by world class experts from around the globe. A representative sampling of the lectures and

presentations by world renowned experts:

Mark L. Stafford,  President of Parrots International, Introductions and more.

                            Alphabetically:

Dra. Yara de Melo Barros:        Brazil

                Dr. Barros is the captivity coordinator of the Committee for the Conservation and

                Management of the Lear’s Macaw, a member of the Working Group for the

                Recovery of the Spix’s Macaw and a member of the Committee for Conservation

                and Management of the Hyacinth Macaw. Lin each group she is responsible for the

                activities, meeting, eleaboration and/or revision of action plans, reports, funding

                proposals and participation in field activities.

                            Yara recived her Masters degree in Zoology from the University of Sao Paulo State

                            in 1994, and she received her Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of San Paulo State in 2001.

                            Currently, she works with  endangered species (birds) at the as General Fauna Coordinator

                            for IBAMA (the Brazilian counterpart to the US Fish and Wildlife Service)

Dr. Donald Brightsmith, PhD.: Tambopata, Peru 

                            Dr. Brightsmith is Research Director of the Tambopata Research Center

                           and Rainforest Expeditions, Peru.

                            Dr. Brightsmith is a research associate at Duke University and parrot conservation consultant.

                            He has worked in the tropical forests of Peru since 1993. Dr. Brightsmith’s research includes a

                            wide range of parrot and macaw related topics including clay lick use, landscape level

                            movements, diet, reintroduction, habitat management, nesting ecology, and conservation.

                            Dr. Brightsmith also serves as a Parrots International Board Member.

Dr. Nigel Collar, PhD.:         Cambridge, United Kingdom

                            Senior Research Associate, Cambridge University Dept of  Zoology,

                            the Conservation Sciences Group. Nigel Collar has worked with

                            Bird Life International since 1981 and has consulted  in the

                            Bird Life International Red List of endangered parrot species.Throughout his 25 years with

                            BirdLife, he has worked on the documentation and conservation of threatened birds, writing

                            the international Red Data Book, which so far has resulted in three large volumes, for Africa,

                            the Americas and Asia. He has served BirdLife as Director of Science, Director of Development

                            and Deputy Director, and now works as Leventis Fellow in Conservation Biology, a position

                            part-shared with Cambridge University. He currently has PhD students in Cambodia and the

                            Philippines, but his research interests extend to all tropical areas where threatened birds are in

                            need of study. His particular interest in parrots stems from the time 10 years ago when he was

                            asked to contribute the parrot family to the “Handbook of the Birds of the World”.

Dr. Frank Lavac, DVM:  Santa Monica, CA

                            Dr. Lavac is a board certified Avian specialty Veterinarian with a private

                            practice in Santa Monica, CA. Avian Diplomate. Medical Director, Wilshire Animal

                            Hospital, AAHA certified, Santa Monica, CA.

                            Dr. Lavac also serves as a Parrots International Board Member.

Phoebe Greene Linden: Santa Barbara, CA

                            Phoebe is a world renowned lecturer on companion parrot behavior.

                            Phoebe is an author of innumerable articles on understanding, and modifying

                            pet parrot behavior including "Abundantly Avian: The Compiled Works of

                            Phoebe Green Linden" .  Phoebe and her husband Harry own and manage

                            the world class breeding aviary,  Santa Barbara Bird Farm.

Caroline Stahala:  Florida                             

                            Project Leader for the Bahama Parrot Project, a PI supported project

                            working to save this rapidly declining sub-species of the Cuban Amazon.

                            Caroline is currently an ecologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Panama

                            City. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of North

                            Carolina and a Masters degree in Zoology from North Carolina State University. 

                            Her primary research interests are in population ecology as it relates to health of animal

                            populations and their habitats.  Caroline has been working with the Bahamas since 2003

                            to implement research and conservation efforts for the Bahama Parrot.

Marie E. Stafford: Santa Monica, CA

                Co-Founder and Board Member of Parrots International. Marie donates her time,

                energies and resources to support Parrots International, parrot conservation and

                field research. An accomplished photographer, many of Marie's photos can be

                found on the PI site. Marie also tends to her happy flock of 15 companion parrots.

Dr. Mark L. Stafford, DDS: Santa Monica, CA

                Co-Founder and President of Parrots International. A dentist with a conservation

                background. Dr. Stafford received BA degrees in both Environmental Biology

                and Environmental Studies.

                            Mark and his wife, Marie, have traveled extensively throughout Central and South

                            America, and the Caribbean to view, photograph and film wild parrots. The goal

                            of these trips has been to gain an understanding of the natural history of endangered

                            parrot species, the environmental and human derived pressures relating to their

                            endangered status, and to understand the possible steps that can be taken to bring

                            these beautiful parrots back from the brink of extinction.

Dr. Darrel Styles, DVM.: College Station, TX

                            Dr. Styles  is a member of Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine

                            & Biological Sciences at the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center.

                            Dr. Styles is currently serving on the USDA Avian Flu Task Force to develop and

                            plan possible contingencies for the eminent arrival of the Bird Flu in the US.

                            Dr. Styles also serves as a Parrots International Board of Director member.

Jafet Velez-Valenin, M.S.: Puerto Rico

                            Supervisor of the USFWS Luquillo Aviary for the captive breeding of the Puerto Rican

                            Parrot. Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Project

Dr. Thomas White Jr, PhD: Puerto Rico

                            Dr. White is a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

                            Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Project. Dr. White is responsible for planning and

                            conducting releases of captive-reared Puerto Rican Parrots, and conducting telemetry

                            studies of the wild population. Since 2000, Dr. White has authored or co-authored 9

                            publications on Amazona parrots, as well as several conference and symposia

                            presentations.

                            (Note: The Puerto Rican Parrot is the only parrot found within the US and its territories

                            and one of the rarest parrots in the world).

Directions/Map to Symposium 2006