Building a website is a team effort. Thanks to the folks who have made this site possible.

Empress Leilia (Asterocampa leilia). Photo credit: Scott Olmstead.

Nancy Riccio

Web design / development

Since 2002, Nancy has run Plateau MediaWorks, a web design firm, and Plateau Technical Communication Services, which specializes in technical writing and editing for the earth science, water resources, and environmental fields. Before that, she spent 14 years as a groundwater consultant in Washington state and Arizona. Nancy currently serves as the communications director for the Arizona Hydrological Society. An avid (but fairly new) birder, she visits the park almost daily.

Jennifer Shopland

Content development and vision

Jennifer is an ecologist and science writer who has been a staff conservation planner for The Nature Conservancy, The Field Museum, and Sky Island Alliance, as well as a consultant. She has done field research in Latin America, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Mascarene Islands, as well as in the United States. Her doctorate in evolutionary biology is from the University of Chicago. Jennifer founded the Rio Vista Conservation Project in 2019 and is the chair of the board of directors of Friends of Rio Vista.

Scott Olmstead

Photography

A high school Spanish teacher during most of the year and part-time birding tour leader during the summer, Scott has been birding at Rio Vista since 2012 and considers the park one of his favorite local birding spots. He volunteers with Tucson Audubon Society on a variety of projects and enjoys documenting the natural world through photography and sound recording. Although Scott has a strong passion for travel, he is also committed to birding locally and exploring what nature can be found within urban Tucson. See more of Scott’s work here.