Trans-Pecos Bird Conservation, Inc. Board Members
Trans-Pecos Bird Conservation, Inc. (TBC) is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization incorporated on January 28, 2019.
Cecilia Riley- President
Cecilia Riley is a proud native Texan, biologist and avid bird watcher and has spent her lifetime –both on the job and in her personal life conducting avian research and habitat conservation across the Americas. Her career included positions at UT Marine Science Institute, Texas Parks & Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, and the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory. Cecilia’s educational background includes a B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington and an MS in Zoology from the University of Arkansas. Now retired, Cecilia is President of TBC and serves as Coordinator for the Davis Mountains Hummingbird Celebration.
Maggi Gunnels- Vice-President
Dr. Maggi Gunnels spent nearly 24 years in Federal government service, recently serving as
Regional Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2017-2024). In this
role, she led the Federal highway safety programs in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas, and the Indian Nations. She came to the United States Department of
Transportation in 2002, after working more than fifteen years in clinical care, emergency and
trauma program administration, and in academia, in Texas and Oregon. Dr. Gunnels was a
member of the Federal Senior Executive Service for more than a decade, as the Associate
Administrator for the NHTSA Office of Regional Operations and Program Delivery in
Washington, DC. Dr. Gunnels’s expertise ranges from public policy and educational and
evaluation programming to leadership development and mentorship programs, especially for
graduate students. Among her proudest awards include the Secretary of Transportation Gold
Medal and U.S. DOT Outstanding Mentor awards. Maggi has a strong record of volunteer
service and has authored/co-authored more than 50 scientific publications. Among her favorite
experiences are service as a National Park Service volunteer in the Washington, DC area; as a
kayak trip leader for the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center on Chesapeake Bay; and
as a longtime volunteer with the Junior League in various cities. In 2020, Dr. Gunnels received
her certification as a Texas Master Naturalist, where she currently services as Membership and
Outreach Director. Maggi is a native Texan, and a lifelong visitor with her father to Big Bend
country. Maggi resides near Alpine, Texas with her family, and enjoys everything about birds,
wildlife photography and outdoor adventure.
Linda Hedges- Secretary
Linda Hedges, originally from Independence, MO, has lived in Fort Davis, TX, since 1994. She holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from University of Missouri – Kansas City and a Master of Science in Biology from Sul Ross State University. Linda worked for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for over 18 years, serving first as a biologist in the Natural Resources Program and later as Regional Interpretive Specialist, a position in which she worked with 20 state parks on educational programs, literature and exhibits. A lifelong birder, Linda currently serves on the TBC board as member-at-large and supports the Hummingbird Celebration and other projects as a volunteer.
Michael Gray- Treasurer
Mike Gray has been an avid birder and wildlife photographer for over 35 years and has photographed many thousands of birds across the US, including efforts in New Jersey, Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Colorado, Maine, and California. His international photography experience includes Mexico, Cuba, Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, England, France, Norway, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Qatar, and most recently, Thailand. Retired from Chemical engineering and now living in Fort Davis, Mike serves as the TBC Treasurer and works tirelessly on our Habitat Enhancement projects.
Madge Lindsay- Member at Large
Madge worked for National Audubon Society (2002-2009) retiring as V.P. State Director for Audubon Mississippi to live in Fort Davis, TX. She graduated from Texas A&M with a Bachelors in Recreation, Parks & Tourism Sciences followed by an eleven-year career at Texas Parks and Wildlife as Outreach Director for Non-Game Wildlife. Her work projects included coordination of the first public document for Texas Nature Tourism, the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail (first birding trail in the U.S.) and World Birding Center in the Lower Rio Grande Valley with new birding sites and economic development for local communities. Madge organized the Great Texas Birding Classic, and co-authored Hummingbirds of Texas and the Southwest. In Fort Davis, she worked to re-launch the local Davis Mountains hummingbird festival and is currently a volunteer for Trans-Pecos Bird Conservation. Cerro Colibri, her twenty-year old bird garden, is filled with native birds and occasional rare species. It is on-tour during the semi-annual Hummingbird Celebration.
Donna L. Dittmann – Member at Large
Donna grew up in San Francisco and became involved in birding as a teenager, volunteering with the California Academy of Sciences’ Ornithology Department. She later served as a director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society and helped organize pelagic trips and the 1978 Western Field Ornithologists Convention. She earned a BA in Zoology from UC Berkeley in 1979 and joined an LSU Museum of Natural Science expedition to Peru in 1983. In 1984, she moved to Louisiana with her husband, Steven Cardiff, and began working at LSU, eventually becoming Collections Manager of the Genetic Resources Collection in 1992. Throughout her career, Donna participated in expeditions to Bolivia, Peru, Panama, and Cameroon and conducted fieldwork across the United States and Gulf of Mexico. She contributed more than 13,000 research specimens, mostly birds, and published scientific papers and bird identification articles. She served as Secretary of the Louisiana Bird Records Committee, editor of birding newsletters, a Birding Magazine reviewer, and a member of the ABA Check-list Committee. Donna also helped organize pelagic trips, co-founded the Yellow Rails and Rice Festival, and worked with several conservation organizations. She is also a wildlife artist. Donna retired from LSU in 2024 and moved to Fort Davis, where she lives at the Davis Mountains Resort.
Steven Cardiff – Member at Large
Steve grew up in California birding and helping his father curate bird collections at the San Bernardino County Museum. He earned a BS in Biology from UC Riverside in 1979 and studied Zoology at LSU from 1979–83 before becoming Collections Manager for Birds and Mammals at the LSU Museum of Natural Science, where he worked until retiring in 2024. Steve participated in expeditions to Bolivia, Peru, and Panama and conducted extensive fieldwork in the United States and Gulf of Mexico, contributing over 9,000 research specimens, mostly birds. He served as chair of the Louisiana Ornithological Society’s Bird Records Committee and as LOS president. Since 2018, he has volunteered as an eBird reviewer for Louisiana and much of the Texas Trans-Pecos. His research focuses on bird distribution, migration, plumage, hybridization, and conservation, particularly in Louisiana, the Trans-Pecos, and other desert regions. He has also co-authored Birds of North America species accounts for Brown-crested and Ash-throated flycatchers with Donna L. Dittmann.
