By Jessica Wilson, Executive Director, and Mike Yuan, Board President | June 1, 2026

At NYC Bird Alliance, conservation is a collective effort. Protecting birds and biodiversity in a city as large and complex as New York takes scientists, advocates, educators, volunteers, donors, and members all working toward a shared goal. It also takes people willing to volunteer their time, ask hard questions, and help guide an organization through change.

This spring, we say thank you to five extraordinary members of our Board of Directors whose board service is coming to a close and who have guided the organization through a period of remarkable change: Marcy Boyle, Shawn Cargil, Chris Cooper, Deborah Laurel, and Mike Tannen.

Collectively, these five leaders have contributed more than 60 years of board service to NYC Bird Alliance. Their tenure spans a period of tremendous growth and change for our organization, with  expanded scientific research and advocacy, deeper community engagement, a larger staff and broader impact, and even a new name. Each brought unique expertise, perspective, and passion to our work, helping shape NYC Bird Alliance in meaningful ways. 

Marcy Boyle first joined our board in 2000 after responding to an advertisement in The Urban Audubon newsletter seeking new directors. More than two decades later, it is hard to imagine NYC Bird Alliance without her creativity, passion, and drive.

Over 26 years, Marcy has served as a board member, officer, committee chair, and advisory council member. She chaired both our Conservation and Advocacy Committees, served as Corresponding Secretary and a Vice President of the Board, and has long been an active advisor to Audubon New York and the broader bird conservation community. In 2021, she received the Norman I. Stotz Award from the Audubon Council of New York State for her extraordinary contributions to bird conservation.

Her conservation leadership extends well beyond our organization. As a longtime resident of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, she played a key role in restoring McGolrick Park and championing the creation of the Kingsland Wildflowers green roof at Broadway Stages, now a nationally recognized example of urban habitat.

Marcy brought not only deep conservation commitment, but also a practical understanding of how cities work. Through her professional expertise in real estate, she helped us better understand the perspectives of developers and property owners, making us more effective advocates for bird-friendly buildings and smarter urban growth. She also generously advised on practical organizational matters, including our office space and lease negotiations.

Anyone who has served on a committee with Marcy knows she brings sharp thinking and a willingness to push hard for birds. She has never hesitated to ask tough questions about our future, challenge assumptions, or speak up when something matters. Through leadership transitions and periods of growth, Marcy has been a constant source of perspective, candor, and institutional memory.

When Shawn Cargil joined the board in 2019, he brought something invaluable: a deep understanding of what it means to steward nature in the middle of New York City.

Shawn’s passion for birds grew out of his work as administrator of Crotona Park in the Bronx, where he built a reputation as a respected leader and mentor – an experience that now informs his work at Little Island. Longtime board member Jeff Kimball still talks about first meeting Shawn for lunch near Crotona and coming away thinking: we should get this guy involved.

Shawn brought an important connection to New York City’s parks world and consistently grounded our conversations in the realities of caring for public green space. He has also consistently reminded us that conservation and community engagement go hand in hand, and that public spaces work best when people feel connected to nature and to one another.

As Chair of NYC Bird Alliance’s Public Programs Committee and a member of the Science, EDIA, and Executive Director Search Committees, Shawn helped strengthen the bridge between conservation and community engagement in ways that continue to shape our work today.

Long before joining our board, Chris Cooper was already a familiar face to many birders in Central Park. Some members may remember him from Birders: The Central Park Effect, the 2012 documentary in which longtime board member Jeff Kimball featured Chris as one of the park’s memorable “regulars.” Jeff recognized in Chris a kindred spirit and soon encouraged him to join the board. Fortunately for us, Chris said yes.

Chris has been one of NYC Bird Alliance’s most recognizable and enthusiastic ambassadors for birds and conservation. A longtime educator and advocate, he helped introduce young people to birds through programs like For the Birds! and later founded NYC Bird Alliance’s Feathered Friends program for middle school students, introducing many young New Yorkers to birding and the natural world.

Chris also challenged our organization, thoughtfully and constructively, to think more expansively about who belongs in conservation. His now-famous phrase, shared often during our transition from NYC Audubon to NYC Bird Alliance, captured both our name change and our broader vision: “A diversity of birds requires a diversity of birders.”

As Chair of our board’s EDIA Committee, and a member of nearly every committee imaginable, Chris helped make NYC Bird Alliance more welcoming, more reflective of New York City, and better equipped to grow the conservation movement.

Deborah Laurel’s commitment to bird conservation began decades ago, sparked by a moment that shaped both her professional work and her involvement with NYC Bird Alliance. As an architectural intern in the 1980s, Deborah witnessed a flock of birds collide with a mirrored glass building in San Antonio. The experience stayed with her and helped shape a career focused on bird-friendly design.

That expertise turned out to be exactly what NYC Bird Alliance needed as our collision advocacy began to grow.

Deborah helped shape early conversations and partnerships around bird-friendly buildings, lending critical architectural expertise to advocacy efforts that ultimately contributed to bird-friendly building legislation becoming law in New York City.

Just as importantly, she helped bring architects into the movement. Through NYC Bird Alliance educational programs, Deborah helped train approximately 500 New York City architects on bird-friendly design, helping bring bird-safe practices into the professional mainstream.

A former Board Secretary and member of both the Science and Public Programs Committees, Deborah brought a thoughtful, practical voice to our work and helped translate science into solutions that make New York safer for migratory birds.

Since joining the board in 2016, Mike Tannen has been a steady, pragmatic voice during a period of rapid organizational growth. With experience spanning law, business strategy, media production, and environmental leadership, Mike brought a broad perspective to NYC Bird Alliance at an important moment in our evolution.

Mike was often the person in the room willing to ask the hard questions about financial risk, opportunity, sustainability, and what success actually looks like. He helped ensure that ambition was paired with discipline.  

Mike played an important role shaping our 2020–2025 Strategic Plan, chaired the Fundraising Committee, and helped formalize committee structure and governance at a time when NYC Bird Alliance was becoming a larger and more complex organization. He has also been generous with his wisdom, professional connections, and steady counsel – always helping us think a few steps ahead.

Over the last decade, NYC Bird Alliance has grown and changed in ways that would have been hard to imagine ten years ago. Through all of that – new programs, bigger ambitions, stronger advocacy, deeper partnerships, and a new name – strong board leadership mattered. 

Marcy, Shawn, Chris, Deborah, and Mike each played an important role in that story. We are deeply grateful for their service, partnership, and lasting contributions to NYC Bird Alliance.

_{^{Lead photo: Members of NYC Bird Alliance's board of directors at the 2025 Fall Roost Gala at Tavern on the Green / Cyrus Gonzeles}}