Our People

Margaret O’Gorman operates at the intersection of business and nature. As President of the Wildlife Habitat Council, she helps companies find value in natural resources conservation and mainstream biodiversity across operations. She works with multinational corporations to develop integrated strategies to implement conservation projects to meet business needs and, in so doing, enhance ecosystems, connect communities and engage employees. She helps WHC members build conservation into their sustainability efforts and helps sustain conservation efforts through WHC’s signature Conservation Certification recognition, which serves to define the standard for corporate conservation worldwide.

Prior to joining WHC, she served as the Executive Director of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey where she transformed the little-known statewide non-profit into a well-respected and effective organization focused on rare and imperiled wildlife protection and recovery in the Garden State. Margaret’s extensive fundraising and development experience comes from almost a decade in lead development roles at New Jersey Future and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. She began her career in education publishing, developing an expertise in secondary and university STEM education.

Margaret is a compelling writer and speaker on the power of natural resource conservation to restore ecosystems, recover species, connect people and make a positive difference to business, people and planet. She is the author of Strategic Corporate Conservation Planning (Island Press) which lays out a road map for companies of all sizes to mainstream conservation and biodiversity.

She holds a BSc in geology and geophysics from University College Ireland, Galway and a Masters in Micropaleontology from the University of Southampton, UK.

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Watch Margaret speak at the Smithsonian Earth Optimism Summit:

Watch Margaret discuss corporate conservation on CCTV America:

Since joining the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2005, Josiane has occupied various positions within the organization, as Biologist, Director of Field Programs, Senior Director, Conservation Strategy & Planning, and, currently, Chief Operating Officer. Josiane focuses on the development of mechanisms and launch of industry strategies for corporations to embrace conservation as a tried and tested business value.  With her team, she maintains a technical support system to translate this value into tailored contemporary conservation actions across the globe.

Josiane specializes in natural resources management in the mining industry, linear infrastructure planning and remediation projects. She balances her passion for biodiversity with participation in industry committees and focus groups, including the Board of Director of the Right-of-Way Stewardship Council.  While attending Université du Québec à Montréal, Josiane received a Bachelor of Science in Ecology. Prior to joining WHC, she dedicated close to a decade to the field of emergency management before joining the timber industry as a scientific consultant.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Monica leads WHC’s branding, content and public relations efforts. This includes the development and activation of multi-channel marketing campaigns to promote WHC initiatives, services and products, including membership, WHC Consulting, Conservation Conference and Conservation Certification.

Prior to joining WHC, Monica held senior level marketing positions at multi-national corporations, ACE Group (now Chubb) and AXA, as well as at non-profits including the American Lung Association and the National MS Society.

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

As Director, Conservation Certification and Technology, Emily specializes in sustainability certification, including development, implementation, and impact assessment. She joined the Wildlife Habitat Council in 2009, creating reports to help companies enhance their land for wildlife before moving into WHC’s certification department in 2010 where she worked on WHC’s original certification programs. Emily then spearheaded the development of WHC’s new Conservation Certification as well as its online presence.

Prior to joining WHC, Emily did wildlife research at Zoo Atlanta and landscaping work in New England. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Skidmore College and a Master’s degree in Zoo Conservation Biology from the University of Plymouth in the UK.

As a Sr. Manager, Conservation Strategies at the Wildlife Habitat Council, Rob works closely with an array of member companies to deliver targeted products and services aimed at supporting each company’s pursuit of unique sustainability goals. In his role, Rob serves as liaison to member representatives across industry sectors assuring they are kept appraised of information relative to their company’s initiatives.

While earning a MS in Environmental Studies at the College of Charleston, Rob worked with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources as an environmental educator to develop curriculum for local primary schools and to teach on estuarine topics. As a native Marylander, he has developed a knowledge base on coastal topics and aquatic ecosystems. Complimenting his passion for the natural world, Rob has extensively studied anthropogenic effects on the environment and holds a graduate certificate in Urban and Regional Development, as well as a BA in Economics and Psychology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

As Conservation Coordinator, Mary represents a strategic position to support and coordinate efforts across the Conservation Strategy and Planning department. She assists in the designs and implementation of WHC programs and strategies for corporate conservation.

Mary previously worked as a Research Assistant for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, where she focused on hypoxia’s effects on marine invertebrates in the Bocas del Toro bay area. Prior to that, she worked for a Costa Rican Eco-Lodge as a Biologist conducting amphibian habitat assessments and species distribution analysis. She has also completed a Fellowship with the Piedmont Environmental Council, where she generated a native pollinator habitat assessment and recommendation for restoration. Mary earned her BA from the University of Virginia, where she studied Environmental Science with a focus in conservation and ecology.

As Conservation Specialist, Doreen provides site-level technical advice and support to new corporate conservation programs, as well as assisting with the improvement and maintenance of certified programs. Doreen has previously worked as Conservation Coordinator and Certification Coordinator at WHC.

In 2008, Doreen earned a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA and in 2014 she earned an M.S. in Earth Sciences from the University of North Carolina Charlotte. While in graduate school Doreen worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences. The focus of Doreen’s research was on Urban and Landscape Ecology as well as Biogeography.

As Manager, Conservation Planning, Sydney focuses on corporate conservation in regulated industries such as Utilities and Remediation, and works collaboratively with other members of the department, the entire WHC staff, and partners.

Prior to joining the Wildlife Habitat Council, Sydney worked as a an Environmental Scientist at a consulting firm helping government clients comply with environmental compliance regulations and sustainability goals. Before that she worked as a research and teaching assistant at American University where she also earned her MS in Environmental Science with a focus in green infrastructure and sustainability. Complimenting her love of sustainability, Sydney also actively maintains her LEED Green Associate Certification and volunteers at the National Zoo.

Sydney also earned her BA in Environmental Science and Sustainability Studies from Davis & Elkins College.

As Conservation Specialist, Candace provides site-level technical advice and support to new corporate conservation programs, and assists with the improvement and maintenance of certified programs.

Prior to joining WHC, Candace worked as a biological consultant for a California-based environmental consulting company in the San Joaquin Valley. Additionally, she has worked for various ornithological NGOs/non-profits, including the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis, Point Blue Conservation Science, and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. Primary tasks for these organizations included nest surveying and monitoring, capturing and banding birds, tracking bird movements with radio telemetry and GIS, land and vegetation surveys, public outreach, and educational programming.

She received her M.S. in Biology from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and her B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Stevens Point, WI. While in graduate school, Candace spent time in the Peruvian Amazon studying saki monkey distribution and anti-predator behavior for her thesis research, and also worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Biology.

As Manager of Conservation Certification, Caitlin serves as the primary point of contact for applicants with questions about Conservation Certification and the WHC Conservation Certification website. Growing up in Newport, Rhode Island her passion for the ocean led her to receive a B.S. in Biology and Marine Science from the University of Tampa in Tampa, FL. It was at UT where her interest in conservation grew. Wanting to explore the anthropogenic impacts on the ocean, she focused her graduate studies on the causes and consequences of Scyphozoan bloom phenomenon. These efforts resulted in a M.S. in Coastal Zone Management from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

As Senior Manager, Conservation Projects, Daniel works with Wildlife Habitat Council member companies and their communities develops partnerships on habitat restoration and land stewardship bringing about community participation and increasing ecosystem values for natural or degraded areas. He works to advance ecosystem management and restoration in the Chicago Wilderness Region by assembling and managing conservation and education partnerships between industries, environmental agencies, and conservation NGOs.

He is a Restoration Ecologist with 20 years of ecological reuse and restoration experience in urban lands and waters, industrial properties, and low-income communities. Daniel helped found and generates programs for Groundwork Gary and Calumet is My Backyard, a partnership between the Chicago Public Schools, Field Museum and WHC dedicated to school and community environmental stewardship.

Daniel received his BS in Natural Resources Management and Fresh Water Ecology from Cornell University, MS in Forest Ecology from Michigan State University, and MFA in Design and Ecology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Colleen has been with WHC since 2006, and currently leads development of WHC webinars and creates a variety of other content including white papers, technical reports and blogs. Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Colleen has been working as a writer and naturalist in the Mid-Atlantic region for 15 years, with expertise in writing and editing, webinars, wildlife identification, and habitat management. Her previous employers include McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Riverbend Environmental Education Center, and Hudsonia, Ltd.

Colleen has been published in BATS Magazine and GenBank and holds a BS in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Delaware and a Professional Certificate in Environmental Policy from Bard College.

As the Public Relations Manager, Emily works as a liason between WHC and the media. This includes pitching WHC news to various TV, radio and print news publications, drafting press releases, answering questions from reporters, and arranging interviews between WHC staff and news organizations. Emily also manages WHC’s social media pages.

Prior to joining WHC, Emily was a TV reporter and producer, working at Fox News Channel in Washington, Fios 1 News in New York, and local channels in upstate New York and central Virginia.

She received her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Towson University.

As Manager, Marketing and Communications, Patricia works on WHC’s branding, public relations and media efforts.

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, in College Park.

As Manager, Corporate Relations, Daniel Litow is responsible for member recruitment and fundraising. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Salisbury University.

Melissa began her career at WHC as the Conservation Coordinator for Strategy and Planning, where she helped to develop and implement the CRM, represented WHC at member events, worked closely with member sites on their application and program details, and coordinated meetings the department. In her current position as Coordinator, Content and Partnerships, Melissa manages the WHC-certified Woodlawn program in Maryland, as well as the partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. She also works to develop and implement programs for Conservation Academy and manages technical aspects of online learning events as well as assisting in implementing all details of Conservation Conference, from program to logistics.

Melissa graduated from Stonybrook University with a BA in Environmental Humanities, with studies focused on environmental education, politics, art and literature. She also holds a degree in Hospitality Marketing and Management.

As Payroll and Benefits Coordinator, LaVerne is responsible for computing, classifying, recording, and verifying numerical data for use in payroll and benefits.

Prior to joining WHC, LaVerne served as Receptionist/Administrative Assistant for a commercial real estate company in Washington, D.C. for 21 years. She also worked as a Facilities Coordinator with Icon Clinical Research in Bethesda, MD. She has completed accounting courses at Southeastern University in Washington, D.C.

As Accounting Coordinator, Kurt is responsible for accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, reconciliations, data management, and expense reporting and billing.

Kurt received his BS in Aviation Business Administration from Emby Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.