President and CEO – Barry Martin, B. Sc.
Barry Martin is the founder of the Western Tracking Institute and has over 20 years experience with professional wildlife tracking and education. He has attained the highest level of track and sign certification, Track and Sign Specialist, has also earned Tracker III certificate, and holds a B.Sc. from from California State University, Fresno. Barry has founded or aided in the founding of numerous organizations dedicated to the teaching of animal track and sign recognition, animal trailing, and data collection skills. He is the lead instructor for Western Tracking Institute’s training courses, and teaches wildlife corridor ecology at De Anza College and a field biology class at the University of San Diego. He is also a licensed pilot with over 20,000 hours of flight time; he was previously an American Airlines Captain and U.S. Naval Aviator, (S-3A Viking; a carrier-based anti-submarine jet aircraft). He owns a Cessna 170 which he uses to conduct telemetry surveys and animal spotting surveys.
Executive Director – Kimberly Davis, M. Sc.
Kimberly Davis has attained a Track and Sign III certificate and has over 10 years of professional biological experience. She holds a M.Sc. from California State University, San Marcos and has conducted biological work in California, Alaska, and Montana. She has broad range of biological experience including surveys for sensitive mammal, avian, invertebrate and plant species, avian migration and point count studies, general botanical and zoological surveys, habitat assessments, and vegetation and habitat mapping. She has led and coordinated several large and small-scale wildlife surveys, and she has taught both elementary and university science classes.
Assistant Director – Connor O’Malley, B. Sc.
Connor O’Malley has attained a Track and Sign III certificate in Southern California and New England. He is a certified Wilderness First Responder, holds a B.Sc. from Colorado State University and has extensive experience in survival skills and in running children’s nature education programs. He is one of the lead instructors for WTI’s tracking courses, and is the lead instructor/originator of WTI’s survival curriculum. He is also a Kamana graduate, a Hawk Circle Earth Skills Semester graduate and a graduate of White Pine’s Tracking Apprenticeship . Learn more about Connor here: www.naturalskills.wordpress.com. Connor will be leaving us in June to participate in a primitive survival outdoor field course in northern Washington. Following this 3-month experience he will remain a WTI associate and will occasionally conduct survival classes here in San Diego.
WTI Tracker/ Biologist – Jill Cooper, B. Sc.
Jill Cooper is a graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Ms. Cooper has extensive training with professional wildlife tracking methods; she has attained Track and Sign II and is also a graduate of the Wildlife Tracking Intensive course of Wilderness Awareness School and the National Outdoor Leadership School. She conducts wildlife presence/absence surveys and wildlife movement and corridor studies. She also has experience with the care and handling of variety of large animals and with the instruction of tracking and wilderness skills.
WTI Associate – Dale Ritenour, B. Sc.
Dale Ritenour is a senior biologist for a consulting firm in the San Diego area and has attained a Track and Sign III certificate. He is a graduate of San Diego State University (SDSU) and has over 15 years of professional experience. His professional work focuses on habitat restoration and botanical and wildlife surveys, and he specializes in vernal pools and rare plants. He has guided over 50 kayaking, backpacking and canoeing trips as an outdoor adventure trip leader with SDSU and obtained an outdoor leader certification with Wilderness Education Associates. Dale holds a Federal Endangered Species Act survey permit for a variety of sensitive local species and enjoys sharing his knowledge through our plant workshops.
WTI Associate – Erik LaCoste, B. Sc.
Erik LaCoste is a wildlife biologist in the San Diego area with over 15 years of experience. He has earned a Tracker III certification and graduated from San Diego State University. Erik assists with tracking instruction programs and also participates WTI research and monitoring projects. He specializes in bird surveys, and holds a Federal Endangered Species Act permit authorizing him to perform focused, protocol- level surveys for a wide variety of sensitive invertebrate, reptile and avian species.
WTI Associate – Lee Kirchhevel, B. Sc.
Lee Kirchhevel has earned a Track and Sign III certificate and is one of the original San Diego Tracking Team (SDTT) members. He is a graduate of San Diego State University, a lead instructor of the SDTT Tracker/Naturalist course, and created the SDTT Jr. Naturalist Children’s Outdoor Education Program. He is an accomplished outdoor photographer and teaches our Photography for Trackers class. Lee works at the Wild Animal Park in Escondido.
