Connecticut Parrot Society

THE CONNECTICUT PARROT SOCIETY - PEOPLE FOR PARROTS!

Board Member Biographies

Ned Hurle - President

Ned has had an interest in natural history since he was a young boy. This culminated in his earning a B.S. degree in Natural Resource Conservation (Wildlife Biology Major) from UConn in 1974. Ned has been involved in environmental issues as they relate to transportation for his entire 32+ year career at the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Currently, he is Director of Intermodal and Environmental Planning. Ned and his wife, Bert, didn't realize they needed parrots in their lives until a Peach-faced Lovebird came to live at their home in Middletown a few years ago. Feather lust soon struck, and Ned and Bert now are owned by the lovebird, an eclectus, a cockatiel, and an African grey. Ned's other interests include recreational cycling and astronomy.

Michele Parrett - Vice-President

Michele loves to learn and teach, especially when animals are involved. She credits this to her older brother, who frequently took her hiking and taught her about nature and wildlife. As a child, Michele enjoyed the company of various tame and wild animal friends, including pet parakeets. She was deeply affected by the experience of helping to rehabilitate a magnificent, wild baby screech owl named Popcorn. In September 2005, Michele met a Red-lored Amazon parrot who changed her life. She thought it would be great fun to teach the bird how to behave, talk, and do tricks. The bird had other plans, and now has a well-trained human who cooks, cleans, sings, and is capable of returning various calls, on command. Michele has taught Italian, Spanish, and English as a second language. She has also been responsible for training fellow employees in matters of company policy and workplace safety. Currently, she works in a law firm and shares her home with another human, two dogs, two cats, several tropical and brackish-water fish, a Red-fronted Macaw and, of course, the infamous Amazon parrot.

Barbara Cosgrove - Past President, Adoption Chairperson

Barbara Cosgrove has been an animal lover for her entire life. As a child, she brought home to her mother every type of animal (e.g., lizards, snakes, bats, birds, dogs, cats) to love and care for. This process continued with her husband and children's involvement. Currently, Barbara shares her home with her husband and their beloved feathered friends. She takes pleasure in keeping and caring for a variety of different parrot species - from Senegals to large macaws - both as a pet owner and as a small hobby breeder. Barbara also enjoyed an exciting and rewarding career as a registered nurse for 30 years prior to her life with parrots. Currently, Barbara serves as president of the Connecticut Parrot Society. During the past seven years, she served the Connecticut Association for Aviculture in many capacities: hospitality, refreshments, adoptions, auction proceedings, assisting at special events, arranging open house speakers and vendors, and organizing a field trip and annual picnics. In addition, Barbara was on the board of directors as membership co-chairperson for two years and as program chairperson for two years. She continues to be a member of that association. Barbara is serving her fourth year as Connecticut state coordinator for the American Federation of Aviculture.

Lynne Heim - Fundraising

Lynne never really discovered the animal world until she was in her 30s, married, and had her own home. About four years ago, she bought her children a Guinea pig, and after doing lots of research, discovered there was actually a Guinea pig rescue in Connecticut. Lynne worked with Critter Connection in Durham, CT for about a year, taking in and adopting out unwanted Guinea pigs. About three years ago, Lynne and her family got their first parrot, a Solomon Island Eclectus named Jade. After that, Lynne was hooked. The woman from whom she purchased Jade was a small breeder in Delaware, and they have been friends ever since. She gave Lynne the idea of breeding about a year-and-a-half ago, and she has been at it ever since. Lynne met Allyson Faucher through one of the Yahoo chat groups more than a year ago. Lynne's breeder friend and Allyson have been her mentors. Lynne's husband, Bruce, and their two daughters, Kaitlyn and Sarah, also are bird lovers and members of CPS. In addition to Lynne's breeding pairs, the family shares four dogs, four parrots, and a bunny.

Lisa Smith - Web Administrator

Lisa has loved animals all her life. As a child, she used to tell everyone that one day she was going to have a big house with every animal imaginable. Well, with the help of her family, she almost did just that. Family and friends say they're going to the zoo when they visit the Smith home. From hamsters, guinea pigs, bunnies, ferrets, a poodle, a yorkshire terrier, cats, and several different parrots, there has been quite an assortment. Lisa resides in Southington with her husband Ben and their two children Benjamin and Brittney. Lisa and her family are all members of the Connecticut Parrot Society.

Elizabeth A. Douglas - Newsletter Editor and Historian

A favorite aunt nicknamed May piqued Elizabeth's childhood interest in birds, which began with parakeets and led to her attraction to cockatiels. She has been serving as editor for the North American Cockatiel Society's Tiel Times for 10 years, and previously edited the Avian Fanciers of Western Connecticut's Fancier publication for three years. She is a member of the Connecticut Association for Aviculture and the National Cockatiel Society and currently shares her home with eight cockatiels. Elizabeth collects bird-related items, and during the holidays, displays a tree with hundreds of bird ornaments. "Elizabird" counts genealogy, conchology, antiquing, and ancient history as other hobbies.

Vacant - Program Chairperson

Bob Cosgrove - Publicity Co-Chair

A pet lover since he was a child, Bob never tired of the interaction between his animals and himself. During the past seven years, Bob has enjoyed the companionship of parrots, both as a hobby breeder and as a pet owner. He and his wife share their home with numerous different parrot species. Bob held many board positions (e.g., membership, treasurer, vice president) with another state avian association. He left that group to venture into a new direction with the Connecticut Parrot Society. Bob and his wife are retired and live in Southington.

Barbara Scavotto - Secretary

Barbara Scavotto began her interest in animals when she got her first Pomeranian. Showing in obedience and conformation, she became one of the top junior handlers in the country. Wanting to experience a closer bond with the dogs and hone her training techniques, she began to compete in agility trials. It was there that she was introduced to positive reinforcement and realized how much fun training could be. Now, Barbara has carried over her training philosophies into the bird world. Barbara uses clicker training to teach birds husbandry behaviors, flight skills, and even to run agility courses. Her knowledge of clicker training has enabled her to work with Barbara Heidenreich, submitting footage for a video to train birds to wear a harness. You can see videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/bscavotto1 Barbara is an Office Administrator for an insurance company in Windsor, CT. She shares her life with her husband Jason, a teacher, their Green Cheek Conure, Zephyr and several marine and freshwater fish.

Jason Scavotto - Conservation

Jason Scavotto began his work on conservation projects while being a boy scout. At the age of thirteen he worked with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to build and place nest boxes for the wood duck population of Enfield. The project generated 24 nest boxes that are placed in crucial breeding wetlands and are still maintained today. Jason was the second youngest person to be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in the country. Jason loves nature and teaches Adventure Education as part of his duties as a teacher in Northampton, MA. He is an active bird enthusiast with both parrots and native species of birds. His hope is that the natural environment of birds can be preserved so that all generations to follow ours can enjoy the splendor of seeing wild birds at play and in flight. Along with his wife Barbara, Jason uses positive reinforcement to train parrots and hopes that people can build relationships with their parrots that will last forever.

Margaret Weber - Membership Chairperson

Margaret is a relatively new member of the Connecticut Parrot Society, but a life-long animal lover. Her interest in birds began years ago, when an African Grey chomped on her ear in a local pet store. Since that time, she has been adopted by a Yellow-crowned Amazon and a Congo African Grey (not the same one), and is tolerated by her cockatiels. When she is not at home entertaining the birds, Margaret is employed full time as an office manager handling administrative, accounting, compliance, and receptionist duties in a small office, and is employed part time in a Connecticut YMCA.

Connecticut Parrot Society, Inc
P.O. Box 488
Middletown, CT 06457

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