Paul Hicks: Vice President

Paul Hicks is an avid and experienced birder who recently retired to St. George with his wife Colleen to be near grandchildren and take in Southern Utah’s excellent birding. He has been birding since age 13 and learned to recognize birds by their vocalizations before his first pair of binoculars. He has birded in 30 states and 15 countries on 4 continents with extensive birding in southern Spain. “I love to teach people to bird-by-ear,” says Hicks. “Becoming attuned to the sounds of nature opens a whole new world of enjoying and appreciating God’s incredible creation.” Before moving to Southern Utah from Olympia, Washington, Paul was a frequent field trip leader for church groups and Black Hills Audubon and instructed several birding-by-ear classes.

Paul Jaussi: Director

Paul was introduced to birding in college when he first saw a Western Tanager through a pair of binoculars and was hooked. That event started a passion for birding that has followed him throughout his life. While a native of Utah, he lived in Oregon for 22 years where he helped grow the Friends of the Refuge for the newly founded Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, serving as both as a Board member and Vice President for several years.

He is a Manufacturing Engineer by profession with both a Bachelors and Masters degree from Brigham Young University.

He and his family recently moved to St. George where he quickly discovered the wildlife diversity of the area. His reason for volunteering with the Audubon is to give back a little portion to the birding community of what he has received from so many in the past.

Bill Griffiths: Treasurer

Two important influences affected me growing up in Las Vegas.  At a young age, I was “exposed” to photography since my father was a very good amateur photographer, winning many awards in local contests.  I also made annual summer trips to northern Utah (Brigham City) to spend a week with my Grandparents.  My grandfather would always take my sister and I to visit the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.  I found out that I loved nature and really loved birds.  A few years later, in pursuit of my Eagle Scout Badge, I earned two Merit Badges – Photography and Bird Study.  And what am I still doing 60+ years later…taking photos of birds!

Tasha Griffiths: Director

I grew up in St. George, where I loved looking for lizards under rocks and on canyon walls. However, I began birding many years later in Boston, MA during the pandemic. It was winter - cold, dreary, and difficult - but after getting a bird feeder, I had a chance to live vicariously through these new feathered-friends and became hooked on birding.

My favorite birding experience was during grad school for Forestry and Environmental Management at Duke, when I banded hundreds of Sooty Terns at Dry Tortugas National Park as part of long-term research study with the National Park Service. After catching a 19-year old Tern that felt as delicate and light as a paper plane, I gained such an appreciation for Birds' resilience and beauty.  

I moved back to St. George about a year ago to be closer to family and have greatly enjoyed joining the Red Cliffs Audubon on Saturday bird walks, weekend field trips, and monthly guest speaker events.
 
I've worked over the last few years as an Operations Forester, helping landowners maintain certification that protects water quality, species habitat, local communities, and maintains long-term sustainable harvesting levels. I am excited to bring this same conservation mindset to the Red Cliffs Audubon Board. 

Donalda Day: Director

Donalda Day has always had an interest in nature, curious to know the name of a mountain or insect she was looking at, the type of rock she was holding, or what kind of tree she was standing under. So, in 1979, when a western tanager landed on a branch outside her kitchen window, she rushed out to buy a field guide and has been hooked on birds ever since. Born and raised in Southern California and living in San Dimas where she first saw the tanager, she joined the Pomona Valley Audubon Society where she was membership chair, field trip leader, and served one year as president. Her next stop was the Eastern Sierra area in California and actively birded there. She has traveled to Costa Rica, Colombia, Texas, and Arizona on birding tours and birded Europe, Peru, Galapagos, eastern Australia, the Caribbean, and Alaska while on family vacations. She particularly enjoys watching and studying bird behavior and answering bird questions from family and friends.

Joseph Platt, Ph.D.: Director

Joe Platt is an ecologist based in St. George, UT. He has spent more than thirty years in environmental work in Arctic Canada, Arabia, East Africa and throughout the US. He has extensively studied nesting behavior of protected species and been an active bander of raptors and numerous shorebird and passerine species. Along with over a dozen published peer reviewed scientific articles and three book chapters, he has presented scientific papers in 13 countries.

He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Peregrine Fund and the World Center for Birds of Prey. He also served on

the editing board of the Journal for the Raptor Research Foundation and a member of the California Burrowing Owl Consortium.

Joe is a graduate of Utah State University, Brigham Young University, and received his Ph.D. from Cornell University.

Jill Wright: Newsletter Editor

Jill has been an outdoor enthusiast all of her adult life. While always a casual admirer of birds, her first true birding experience was right here at the 2023 Red Cliffs Bird Fest. Mind blown, she began regularly attending Wednesday Bird Walks and became the Editor of the Roadrunner News (RCA newsletter) shortly thereafter. This has resulted in greatly increasing her knowledge of birds and introducing her to the many wonderful local birders. Jill splits her time between St George and Idaho Falls, where she worked as a Metallurgical Engineer for the Idaho National Laboratory, a career that included writing and editing numerous technical journal articles, experience that has paid off in an unanticipated way.