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She also serves on the boards of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Jeanne is a nature photographer and had given many presentations for a variety of audiences. She remembers the days the water was pristinely clear and became interested many years ago in supporting organizations that invested in the lake’s health.
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She has always had a love for the lake, swam across it a long time ago and was one of the first windsurfers. Jeanne has been an (intermittent) resident of Chautauqua Institution for 28 years. From 2002 until her retirement in 2019 she returned to work with under-served women in Africa, Australia and in various US states (Arizona, Alaska and Washington, DC). She returned to Africa as a specialist in Ob Gyn for 3 years, until she settled in Chautauqua in 1992 and joined a private practice in Jamestown where she was associated with WCA Hospital for 10 years.
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After 3 years working in clinical medicine in developing countries, she moved to the US where she completed a Masters of Public Health degree at Harvard and a residency in ObGyn at SUNY, Buffalo. Jeanne Wiebenga Jeanne was born and raised in The Netherlands, where she completed Medical School at Leiden University. Jonathan wishes to serve as a voice for water protection because of the ecological, scenic, and socioeconomic/cultural value that clean water brings to Earth.
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He also co-owns and operates Royal Fern Nursery, a native plant nursery, with his wife. He is currently working as Manager of Conservation and Restoration at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI) and pursuing his Doctorate degree from the Geography Department at the University at Buffalo where he is investigating the impacts of plastic pollution on bats. Jonathan has worked on environmental projects with various state and local municipalities, private environmental consultants, and non-profits he specializes in bat biology and conservation. His fascination with ecological relationships led him to pursue a BS degree in environmental science and an MS degree in biology, both from SUNY Fredonia. Jonathan Townsend Jonathan grew up near Olean, New York, where he developed a lifelong love and passion for the natural world. When she’s not working on saving the planet, Melanie is usually off exploring its wonders with family and friends. She also lends her expertise to local environmental stewardship initiatives by serving as chair of the Chautauqua Conewango Consortium – A Waterkeeper Alliance Affiliate, and as an active member of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Conservation Committee and Jamestown Community College’s Sustainability Committee. Melanie shares her knowledge and passion through the biology, earth, and environmental science courses she teaches at SUNY Jamestown Community College. Driven by her desire to better understand and to help protect our living planet, she pursued an education in the natural sciences, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a Master’s degree in Biological Oceanography from North Carolina State University. Melanie Smith, Chair Melanie was born and raised in Western New York, where ample time spend outdoors nurtured a strong appreciation for the natural world and cultivated her curiosity about ecological processes.