Dr. Geoff Patton is currently acting as President of MAGIC and has been a Board member for over three years. Geoff has deep environmental credentials. After earning a Bachelor's degree in marine biology during the height of the environmental movement of the mid-1970's, he taught one of the first high school ecology courses in Florida. After 3 years and yearning to pursue his interest in marine biology, he ran a fishing pier for a year before joining the non-profit Mote Marine Laboratory. Geoff worked on many studies of the Florida coastal environment over a period of 7 years; he then chose to develop a marine mammal research program after helping a co-worker start a sea turtle program. Geoff ran the marine mammal program for another 7 years, performing aerial surveys for manatees, dolphins and sea turtles, rescuing and studying stranded dolphins, whales, and manatees, and advancing technology to apply toward the study of these animals. He returned to college to pursue a graduate degree in Medical Sciences, earning a Master's degree, and then his doctorate from the College of Medicine at the University of South Florida. While employed in a range of subsequent science jobs, he has stayed active in several professional and activist organizations working to protect natural resources. Dr. Patton is serving as Acting President of MAGIC while a search is underway to find a permanent President after losing the Founding President, Bob DeGroot, to cancer in
September of 2007.
(301) 946-5233
As Vice President of MAGIC, John Trone is an avid believer in the concept of concentrating the organization's efforts on the overall forest ecosystem, instead of trying to protect small fragments individually. He believes MAGIC must be actively involved in land planning/protection in Maryland to provide a hub and corridor system as described in the state's GreenPrint program. His involvement with MAGIC began a number of years ago, when he assisted on GIS projects, technical issues, and legislation development. Currently Chief Information Officer of a retail beverage chain, John brings to MAGIC over two decades of business experience and his Masters in Business degree from Carnegie Mellon University. In his spare time John enjoys being an advocate of forest and environmental issues, assisting MAGIC with the web site, and spending time outdoors with his wife and three sons hiking, biking, skiing, and backpacking.
(301) 946-5233
Dr. Jane Osburn MAGIC's Secretary. When she moved to MD in 2000, a woman from the local garden club took her on a walk through Northwest Branch forest and pointed out the native plants, sparking her interest in Maryland's native plants. She has long been interested in environmental preservation and became the Recording Secretary for the Maryland Native Plant Society. During that same period, she held monthly invasive weed pulling events, removing a variety of invasive plants from the forested areas near her home. She met Bob DeGroot, MAGIC's dedicated founder and deceased President, when an activist from a local watershed group asked her to provide venue for him to make a presentation on Maryland's forest issues. Jane holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin, and works at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in program development research.
Phone:(301)754-1564
Doris Fausey is a MAGIC Board member who brings a wealth of knowledge from her various past experiences. She has developed and supervised a data processing for WUSA (WTOP) TV and Radio stations; been an advisor for WMAL Data Processing (channel 7); served as Director and Spay Program Supervisor for Noah's Ark Animal Society of Bethesda; and provided important services to the area's blind citizens through her weekly book and newspaper reading services. Doris currently directs MAGIC's grant and proposal writing efforts.
(301) 949-5057
Stan Hopkins has been a MAGIC Board member for several years and serves as the organization's GIS specialist. Stan has surveyed the logging roads of Maryland's Green Ridge State Forest and prepared maps showing their adverse impact on wildlife habitat. He has made presentations in support of old-growth forests to the Maryland Legislature. Stan has just begun a multi-year effort to identify and preserve wildlife areas and corridors to connect them. Stan also has prepared databases, maps, and statistical studies for The Nature Conservancy and the Landscape Ecology department of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. He is a graduate of the USDA Grad school certificate program in Natural History Field Studies and has a M.S. in Computer Management from the U of MD. He retired in 2004 from a forty-year career as data analyst, database administrator and information systems manager.
Frank Lipson serves as MAGIC's Legal Advisor and is a Board member. He retired from the Federal government in October 2007 after serving as a staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commission for 36 years. He has been on the MAGIC board since 2000. He has represented MAGIC at DNR briefings on annual forest plans, lobbied members of the State legislature regarding forest legislation, and testified before the Maryland State House and Senate committees on proposed legislation. Every chance he gets, Frank takes his family to the public lands in Western Maryland to enjoy their natural beauty and he wants to ensure that his grandchildren are able to do the same.
A MAGIC Board member for several years, Perrie 'Lee Prouty serves as our advisor on Maryland wildlife biology and rehabilitation. After attending the University of Vermont, Lee came to the Washington, D.C. area where she spent 28 years on Capitol Hill as a Staff Assistant to three Members of Congress. Environmental issues have always been a passion of hers, and in addition to her current work in waterfowl rescue and wildlife transport, she is a member of a Delaware team of wildlife oil spill responders. Lee serves on the Animal Services Committee of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, and is environmental liaison Board member of her Civic Association. Lee's involvement in whitewater slalom racing gave her an opportunity to observe human-caused damage to our region's watersheds. She was outraged to observe sloppy mining practices, unbridled development, pollution and trash in rivers and creeks. Lee was drawn to MAGIC after reading several of Bob DeGroot’s articles in various newspapers and local environmental publications. As a Maryland licensed wildlife rehabilitator, Lee has had a firsthand view of habitat loss and its effects on wildlife, steeling her commitment to developing and protecting wildlife corridors to preserve plant and animal diversity.
2208 Parker Ave
Wheaton, MD 20902
Email: magicalliance@live.com