Biographies
Photo by Dr. John Griffioen .
Catherine King
Flamingo Specialist group Chair
After finishing a BSc in Wildlife Biology at Kansas State University, USA Cathy started her career as a bird keeper in San Antonio Zoo in 1981, where there was a colony of breeding Caribbean flamingos and a bird supervisor who was part flamingo that fostered her interest in these birds. Thereafter she completed a dissertation on ethology of three species of storks (Ciconia ciconia, C. boyciana and C. maguari) for her MSc. at Oklahoma State University. After moving to The Netherlands, she worked as the bird biologist for 16 years at Rotterdam Zoo. A volunteer observation team and several MSc students helped with an intensive ten-year study of flamingo behavior in the Rotterdam Zoo colony that greatly augmented Cathy’s knowledge of flamingos in captivity, although comparison with other colonies led her to conclude that no two are the same!
In 1992 Cathy became the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria Ciconiiformes, and Phoenicopteriformes Taxon Advisory Group Chair, a role that involves encouraging and facilitating improvements in management, research, and conservation of flamingos within this association, and working with other regions and organizations on both in situ and ex situ endeavors. Cathy became a member of the Flamingo Specialist Group in 1997 and was head organizer of the 2nd International Flamingo Symposium. She marveled as a member of the organizational team for the 3rd international symposium at how much easier it is when everyone has internet! In 2017 Cathy became co-chair of the FSG and sole chair in 2022.
Frank Espinoza
Caribbean Representative
Frank completed an Animal Science study at Utah State University, United States. Thereafter he worked for 30 years at the Ministry of Environment, Venezuela, mainly in wildlife inventories and design of management plans for creation of protected areas. Frank did postgraduate courses in Wildlife Management. He received training in aerial surveys of shorebirds and other waterfowl with the Fish and Wildlife Service of Canada and participated in a forest and aquatic birds research and monitoring course at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Virginia, USA. Frank obtained a diploma for a Wetland Research and Management course at Lelystad, the Netherlands. He was head of the Caribbean Flamingo Project in Venezuela, coordinating the first simultaneous terrestrial and aerial censuses.
Frank received training in monitoring of reproductive activity and ringing of flamingos at Fuente de Piedra Reserve, Spain. He coordinated flamingo ringing in Venezuela and participated in flamingo ringing in Cuba, Mexico and Bahamas. Frank was director of Cuare Wildlife Refuge, Falcón state. He has contributed to Venezuelan and international ornithology with several flamingo publications and presentations at national and international congresses and workshops. He worked as an advisor to the Direction of Biological Diversity Office of Minec (Environmental Ministry) and is a member of the Venezuelan Union of Ornithologists and Ecology. Frank coordinated the simultaneous flamingo census in Venezuela and in the southern Caribbean in December 2023 and February 2024.
Felicity Arengo
South American Representative
Dr. Felicity Arengo is a conservation biologist with experience in applied scientific research, outreach, and conservation planning. She has thirty years of field research and project management experience and has been the Americas coordinator of the IUCN Flamingo Specialist Group since 1998. She obtained her graduate degrees from the State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry conducting research on flamingos in coastal wetlands in Mexico.
In South America, she is working with partners monitoring flamingo populations and wetland habitats to develop and implement site-based and regional conservation strategies that promote conservation of these systems. She is an advisor to the AZA Ciconiiformes/ Phoenicopteriformes/ Pelecaniformes Taxon Advisory Group and the AZA SAFE–Saving Animals from Extinction–for the Andean Flamingo. She is also a member of the Florida Flamingo Working Group.
Arnaud Bechet
Europe, NORTH & West Africa, MidDLE East Representative
Arnaud Béchet took over from Alan Johnson as head of the Tour du Valat’s flamingo study and conservation program in 2002. He helped consolidate a Mediterranean and West African network to produce the first estimates of the species’ dispersal rate between colonies in this region.
This work, combining population dynamics (capture-marking-recapture) and genetic approaches, has enabled a better understanding of the species’ trajectory in the region. Today, Arnaud continues to support this long-term study by exploring what it can tell us about senescence in long-lived species. Arnaud has served on the FSG steering committee since 2004 and became a vice-chair in 2022.
Nita Shah
ASia Representative
Nita Shah studied wild ass in the Rann of Kutch, for her Ph.D. program conducted at the Wildlife Institute of India. The Rann of Kutch is also the sole breeding location for lesser flamingos in south Asia and Nita has engaged in long-term research, documentation of biodiversity, monitoring, and conservation initiatives aimed at protecting this site. Because of her knowledge of the Rann of Kutch landscape and its diverse species Nita has been able to provide valuable insights for crafting policies and decisions favoring them.
Nita developed protocols for aerial monitoring and population counts, assessing the distribution, status, and breeding and foraging habitats of greater and lesser flamingos in the Rann of Kutch through a study supported by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). She continues to promote long-term ecological studies on these species and institutionalization of flamingo distribution monitoring across India.
Nita served as Head of Conservation Advocacy and Policy for the Bombay Natural History Society, engaging with various levels of governance. She was appointed by MoEF&CC, Govt. of India to prepare the Central Asian Flyway National Action Plan, and still serves on the MoEF&CC Regional Committee for the Central Asian Flyway. She raised funds, initiated and established a research station for monitoring migratory birds.
In 2022 Nita developed the technical framework and training protocols for the first annual waterbird counts in Bihar State. This count was implemented with participation of local bird experts, forest department officials and volunteers.
Emmanuel Mgimwa
East Africa & SOUTHERN Africa Representative
Mr. Emmanuel Mgimwa is a wildlife ecologist working for Nature Tanzania, the BirdLife International partner in Tanzania. From a young age, he has loved birds and therefore working to conserve birds and their habitats is a mission that fits his passion. His position includes working with communities including children, the government, the private sector and international partners. He loves flamingos and has been working with communities, government and the private sector to conserve and protect Lake Natron, a Ramsar Site.
His work at Nature Tanzania involves supporting local partners, youth fellows, students, academic institutions and the government in waterbird census, bird research and capacity building among other activities. He is currently working as the Executive Director of Nature Tanzania and has worked for BirdLife International previously. He is looking forward to supporting raising awareness of the flamingos in Tanzania and beyond in his role as a FSG steering committee member.
Brad Hazelton
EX-Situ Representative
Mr. Hazelton has 34 years of zoo experience and has worked with over 150 species of waterfowl during his employment at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park and the Fort Worth Zoo. In addition to his extensive knowledge of waterfowl, Mr. Hazelton is a studied and active ornithologist with avian resume work including but not limited to Texas bird banding; flamingo counts and banding in the Yucatan and Bolivia; work with Roseate spoonbills in the Gulf of Mexico to help create captive reserve populations in AZA institutions; and a partnership with the La Paz Zoo in Bolivia to create a reserve population of Andean and Puna Flamingos.
Mr. Hazelton is a lifetime member of the International Wild Waterfowl Association and has actively served on their Board of Directors since 1994.
Paul Rose
facebook & Twitter Coordinator
Dr. Paul Rose gained his PhD in 2018, investigating the behavior and welfare of captive flamingos. He is a lecturer at the University of Exeter, and he also works for the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and for University Centre Sparsholt. Paul is the author of the textbook “The behavioral biology of zoo animals” and has published extensively on zoo animal behavior and welfare.
Paul has managed the Flamingo Specialist Group’s social media platforms (Facebook and X / Twitter) since 2012 and he directed the creation and launch of International Flamingo Day in 2020.
Laurie Conrad
FSG AdVISOR & COMMUNICATIONS LIAISON
Ms. Conrad ‘s bio will be placed shortly.
Shelly Collinsworth
media developer, Strategist, & Instagram Coordinator
Mrs. Collinsworth has her undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology from Texas A&M University and her Master of Science in Biology from Angelo State University with thesis publications studying native passerines. In addition to her over 25 years of wild and captive avian management with more than 250 species, she successfully advocated establishing assurance populations for both Green Jays and Roseate Spoonbills in concert with Texas Fish and Wildlife and US Fish and Wildlife agencies.
Since 2010, she has worked as the Asst. Curator of Birds at the Fort Worth Zoo where avian specialists have successfully dedicated themselves to conserving all six flamingo species both in assurance populations and in the wild. These efforts include work in South Africa, Bolivia and the Caribbean- surveying, banding, sponsoring, advancing reintroduction efforts, providing expertise, developing and sharing effective protocols, aiding flamingo populations in crisis, and supporting AZA’s flamingo conservation programs.
To further support flamingo conservation, she assists as the IUCN SSC Flamingo Specialist Group strategist and maintains the FSG website to reach and connect flamingo specialists globally. Shelly managed the AZA Species Survival Plan and studbook for King Vultures for 13 years as the program coordinator and currently serves as a program advisor.