Senior Management
Dr. Steven C. Amstrup
Chief Scientist & Vice President, Conservation Science
Dr. Steven C. Amstrup joined PBI's staff in July of 2010 after retiring after 30 years as project leader for Polar Bear Research at the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK. He earned a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Washington (1972), a M.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Idaho (1975), and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (1995). He has been conducting research on all aspects of polar bear ecology in the Beaufort Sea since 1980. He is a past chairman of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group and has been an active member of the group for 30 years. He has authored or coauthored over 100 peer reviewed articles on movements, distribution and population dynamics of large mammals, and is the senior editor of a recent text on population estimation methods. Dr. Amstrup led the team of researchers that prepared nine reports that became the basis for the recent decision to list polar bears as a threatened species in 2008. He also is an adjunct professor at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, and an associate professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.
Kathryn A. Foat
Vice President, Conservation Education & Stewardship Strategies
Kathryn Foat provides leadership and oversight in developing programs that emphasize audience participation and stewardship. She has extensive experience with outreach in informal learning environments as well as strategic planning. She helped developed PBI fall leadership camps for students, zoo keepers, and communicators to motivate action on climate change. She also serves as our stewardship liaison with zoos and other like-minded organizations. Foat previously held positions with the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore; the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History; and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, among others. She earned a B.S. in Biology and Teacher’s Certificate 7-12 in Natural Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, an M.A.T. in Museum Education at The George Washington University, and certification in Instructional Systems Design and Distance Education at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
Krista Wright
Executive Vice President and Chief of Operations
Krista Wright has worked with nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years, after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1991 with a degree in Outdoor Education. These include six years as director of education with the Montana Outdoor Science School and eight years with Sanborn Western Camps, where she taught wilderness survival skills. She joined the PBI team in March 2009 and hit the ground running. Wright is a passionate conservationist who is deeply concerned about the effects of global warming on polar bears, the Arctic, and the planet. She lives in Bozeman, Montana.
Staff
Amy Cutting
Co-Chair, PBI Sustainability Alliance
Amy Cutting is an inspiring leader who chairs our Sustainability Alliance, which is working internationally to help polar bears as the sea ice drives them ashore. This includes working with coastal arctic communities to reduce human-bear conflicts, which are expected to increase as the sea ice melts, and laying the groundwork to assist compromised polar bears in need of care. Cutting was a long-time zookeeper at the Oregon Zoo before joining PBI's staff part-time in 2010. She also works in management at the Oregon Zoo.
BJ Kirschhoffer
Director of Field Operations
BJ Kirschhoffer began working with our remote broadcasting needs in Churchill in the fall of 2007 and quickly proved himself an invaluable member of the team, able to trouble-shoot technical problems in extreme conditions with no corner hardware store. He now ensures the smooth working of our field operations, from our Maternal Den Study on Alaska's North Slope, to our Sound Harvesting Study along western Hudson Bay, and our Tundra Connections webcasts and video conferences. He lives in Bozeman, Montana.
Jane Kudrna Arnold
Online Store Manager
Jane Kudrna Arnold joined the PBI family in December 2010 to help manage the online store and provide development and communications support from the home office. Jane has worked in the outdoor industry for over 20 years, including 10 years at Patagonia, where she ran the grassroots marketing and events programs. She also owns and operates a small fair-trade import company out of Nepal; suppliers include cottage industry and humanitarian aid projects. Her passions include outdoor recreation, gardening, community, family, and the effects of human life on this planet. She lives in Bozeman, Montana, with her two fabulous boys who dream of “everything solar powered” and, well, powder days!
Barbara Nielsen
Director of Communications
Barbara Nielsen is a professional writer whose articles on nature, wildlife, travel, and gardening have appeared in a number of national magazines. She is the author of Hummingbird Gardens, Night Creatures, and Great Barrier Reef and a field editor for Better Homes & Gardens and its garden magazines. Nielsen saw her first polar bear while on assignment in Churchill in 1983. Her article for Modern Maturity on the polar bear migration there, with photos by PBI founder, Dan Guravich, helped jump-start the town's tourism industry. Nielsen has remained passionate about the bears ever since. She lives in hot, humid Louisiana and has been involved with PBI since the organization was founded in 1992.
Amy Shellenberger
Manager, Partnerships & Communications
For the past six years, Amy Shellenberger has worked for Colorado nonprofits supporting a variety of interests, from environmental conservation to youth athletics to arts and culture. In addition to her nonprofit experience, she has also worked as a whitewater rafting guide, French tutor, volleyball coach, conference coordinator, picture framer, and on and on. With an M.F.A. in creative writing and bachelor's degrees in English and French, Shellenberger works closely with the PBI development and communications teams. She lives in Bozeman, Montana.
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