The Washington Ornithological Society 2025 election featured five candidates for three positions on the board of directors, with the top three vote-getters elected as directors. Raphael Fennimore was elected to a second term as director. Toby Ross and Kim Thorburn were elected to fill two director positions previously held by Jody Hess and Jon Houghton. Both Jody and Jon will continue to be active with WOS, Jon as secretary and Jody as chair of the Patrick Sullivan Young Birders Fund. (See the personal statements and short biographies for these three new directors at the bottom of this page.)
Rob Faucett was elected WOS president for the 2025-2026 term, Dick Holcomb will continue as treasurer, and Jon Houghton will serve as secretary. The vice presidential slot is currently vacant.
Note: For personal reasons, Rob resigned as president October 29, 2025. The position is currently vacant as the WOS board searches for new leadership.
Voting took place online September 23 – 29, 2025. Elected officers and directors began their new terms October 1, 2025.
A total of 61 WOS members voted, but four voted outside the voting period, so their votes could not be counted.
Here are the voting results:
- President Rob Faucett: 55 votes
- Treasurer Dick Holcomb: 57 votes
- Secretary Jon Houghton: 57 votes
- Director Raphael Fennimore: 48 votes
- Director Kevin Murphy: 10 votes
- Director Toby Ross: 38 votes
- Director Doug Santoni: 20 votes
- Director Kim Thorburn: 45 votes
Officer positions are one-year terms; persons may hold the position for a maximum of three consecutive terms. The WOS Board has five Director positions. These positions are two-year terms, and the terms are staggered to help provide continuity between elections. A person may hold a Director position for no more than three consecutive terms.
Below are the statements and biographical information for the candidates.
Rob Faucett – President, 1-year-term
I’ve spent my entire life studying birds around the world and sharing my knowledge about them with other people. As long-term member of WOS, I believe in the mission and service that WOS provides. Best memories include birding the Darien Gap, Panama in 1983 and my first long museum expedition with the University of Kansas to Paraguay in 1995 and teaching the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Sound recording Class in the Sierra Nevadas (1989-1995).
Relevant professional experience includes Ornithology Collections Manager, Burke Museum, University of Washington (retired); former Instructor, Louisiana State University, Department of Biological Sciences; Board Member and Science Committee Chair, Seattle Audubon Society; former Treasurer, Washington Ornithological Society; member, fundraising committee, Burke Museum Association. Board Member, Seattle Audubon Society and member and fund-raising committee member, Audubon Washington. PhD. candidate, Ecology and Evolution, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; BS in Biology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Vacant, Vice President – 1-year term
Please contact President Rob Faucett at presidentATwos.org if you are interested or know someone who might be interested in the vice president position.
Dick Holcomb, Treasurer – 1-year term
No statement submitted.
Jon Houghton – Secretary, 1-year term
In 2019, Jon retired after over 45 years as a consulting marine biologist in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. During this time, he had the great privilege of studying aquatic and marine life (including birds) in some of the most gorgeous places on the planet. Jon began birding at the age of about 3 when his mother took him on Audubon bird trips in Vermont and introduced him to amazing naturalists and birds. Since the kids went off on their own, Jon and his spouse have spent a lot of their leisure time birding in the US and around the world. He was fortunate to be accepted into and complete the Seattle Audubon (SAS) Master Birder program with the 2013 class and transitioned from being a bird watcher, to becoming a birder. Over the last 12 years he has enjoyed leading field trips for SAS (now BCS) and WOS. He served as WOS Secretary from 2020 through 2023 and has been on the WOS Board since. He has volunteered to run again for Secretary to fill a void in the organization.
Vote (or write in names) for no more than three directors.
Raphael Fennimore – Director, 2-year term
Hello WOS! It has been a privilege to serve on the WOS Board over the past two years and I would be honored to continue for another term if given your vote. It has been an exciting time for the organization – we have achieved a lot together during my term including a memorable joint conference with Western Field Ornithologists, expanding the impact of the Patrick Sullivan Young Birders Fund, and reviving our social media presence (although we’re currently in search of a new Social Media Manager!). We also resumed monthly meetings, which will be back soon with an increased honorarium for our speakers, and we have just announced a new Editor for our newsletter who I identified and approached about the opportunity – welcome Alex Sowers! The future looks bright, and as we transition from Dave Kreft’s awesome leadership as President, I am excited to see what Rob Faucett brings to the role, if he is elected.
A bit about me: I have been moderating the King County Rare Bird Alert and King County Birding Chat groups on WhatsApp for the past five years and professionally I work as a Protected Species Observer (PSO) and Lead PSO, monitoring for endangered and federally protected species and leading PSO teams locally. I have also joined the guiding teams at Washington Birding Guides and Oregon Birding Guides where I help clients find and photograph target species across the region. Excitingly, my partner has recently joined the leadership team at BECU, so we are happily rooted here in Washington for the foreseeable future. I am passionate about supporting and growing our local birding community and I hope to earn your vote for re-election so I can continue helping to guide WOS and its programs statewide!
Kim Thorburn, Director, 2-year term
Kim Thorburn, a retired public health physician, enjoys the birder camaraderie and information gathering and sharing of the Washington Ornithological Society. Kim previously served as the organization’s treasurer and two terms as director. Drawn to birding by canyon wren’s fluting echo while hiking in a mountain ravine, Kim pursued the interest by volunteering for the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department prairie grouse recovery efforts and served eight years as a fish and wildlife commissioner.
Doug Santoni, Director, 2-year term
Doug lives in Seattle and is a former board chair of Audubon Washington. Prior to moving to Seattle, Doug lived in Miami for 16 years and was a board member, Treasurer, and Executive Committee member of Audubon Florida. Doug spent much of his career as an executive in travel and transportation businesses, with leadership positions at Royal Caribbean Cruises, American Airlines, Boeing, and Windstar Cruises. Doug currently provides independent consulting services, often focused on dynamic pricing, revenue optimization, demand forecasting, and revenue management. Doug attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, and advanced degrees in Operations Research and Business.
Toby Ross, Director, 2-year term
Toby holds a BS in Zoology and an MSc in Applied Ecology and Conservation from UK universities and has dedicated 30 years to global conservation efforts. His work spans invasive species eradication in the Caribbean, lizard research in Mauritius, and protected area development for Tree Kangaroos in Papua New Guinea. Toby’s passion for ornithology grew during his eight years as Science Manager at Seattle Audubon (now Birds Connect Seattle), overseeing community science programs. Today, he leads the Puget Sound Seabird Survey while running Alight Tours, guiding birding adventures worldwide with a focus on conservation and community engagement.
Kevin Murphy, Director, 2-year term
Kevin is a plant breeder at Washington State University and recently re-located to the beautiful Skagit Valley (from Idaho) to run the WSU Breadlab. Kevin has worked with farmers over the last 20+ years to grow a diversity of food crops in ecologically friendly ways that emphasize ecosystem services and promote habitat conservation. He grew up mostly in the Philippines and Arkansas, where his spark birds were the Philippine (Monkey-eating) Eagle and Northern Cardinal respectively, before landing in the PNW 30 years ago. Kevin has been a member of WOS for two years and greatly appreciates the society’s mission and the experiences he’s had at the meetings and field trips getting to know the community of birders in Washington.