WBI team members represent a page out of our business plan – very talented with relevant specialized knowledge; collaborative, congenial and effective team members; uses, integrates and leverages technology to maximize impact; and very committed to the WBI mission. WBI is privileged to have them as team members.
Josh Coefer
GIS and Database Professional
Tyler Flockhart, PhD
Population Ecologist and Conservation Biologist
Laura Gosse
Director of Communications & Media and Managing Editor of WBISR
Steven Hansch
Media Reviewer
Stevan Harnad, PhD
Professor of Cognitive Science
Haytham Nakhleh
Finance Director & Partner Support
John Boone, PhD
John D. Boone received his PhD in Ecology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was on the research faculty of the University of Nevada, Reno, for ten years and then moved to the Great Basin Bird Observatory, also in Reno, where he has led or contributed to nearly 100 applied conservation initiatives and population monitoring programs. In 2012 Dr. Boone began consulting for several animal welfare and rabies control organizations to support their dog and cat management programs through collection of survey data. To date, he has contributed to over forty of these programs worldwide.
Josh Coefer
Josh Coefer is a spatial data and software professional with over 15 years of experience in technology management and hands-on geographic information systems (GIS), database, and programming work. He has led GIS, data, and software efforts of many types (needs assessment, requirements analysis, design, development, implementation, maintenance, support, etc.) for a diverse array of clients, including governments, utilities, businesses, and nonprofits. Josh has started a spatial data and software solutions firm, EquipGIS, where he leads efforts ranging from data processing and map making to full-scale enterprise GIS implementation and management. EquipGIS is an official partner of Esri, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services. Josh has experience with the leading established GIS platforms, such as Esri ArcGIS, MapBox, and Carto, and custom and open-source alternatives, such as OpenLayers, Leaflet, GDAL/OGR, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, GeoServer and QGIS, on-premises or in the cloud.
Tyler Flockhart, PhD
Dr. Tyler Flockhart is a population ecologist and conservation biologist. His interdisciplinary research seeks to understand the factors that influence changes in animal populations and using decision-theory to design optimal management strategies for species of concern in the face of global change. He uses sampling data and statistical models to estimate animal abundance at landscape scales, animal monitoring data to estimate survival and reproduction, and mathematical models to understand population dynamics across space and time. He is interested in developing evidence-based population models for dogs, cats, and birds to make optimal decisions to improve animal welfare, mitigate environmental impacts, and minimize human-animal conflicts at the lowest possible cost.
Laura Gosse
With nearly two decades of experience, Laura brings a versatile marketing and communications skillset spanning social media, email, website content, print materials, webinars, and podcasts. She is a hands‑on creative professional who founded her own agency, LRGWORKS, in 2009 after eight years leading award-winning email marketing at Fishbowl Marketing, honing expertise in brand messaging and audience engagement across B2C, B2B, and nonprofit sectors. At Fishbowl, she served as Creative Director and Marketing Director
In her role at WellBeing International, Laura leads the organization’s external communications—developing and executing digital campaigns, managing email newsletters and social media outreach, refreshing website content, designing print collateral, and coordinating webinars and podcasts. For instance, during the Global Dog Campaign, she drove outreach via social and web channels to promote webinars aimed at ending dog homelessness. Her work combines strategic messaging, creative assets, and multi-channel execution to advance WellBeing International’s mission of improving the welfare of people, animals, and the environment.
Steven Hansch
Steven Hansch is a long term contributor to Well Being International’s reviews and analysis, including book and other media reviews. He studied biology at Stanford University and has been engaged in evaluating United States foreign aid programs in environmental conservation. He serves on the board of Trees for the Future, which plants trees, restores ecosystems and protects biodiversity. When running for student body senate as an undergraduate his campaign platform was “friend of all animals.” He attributes most of what he learned about life to his Labrador retriever and other dogs.
Stevan Harnad, PhD
Stevan Harnad is Professor of cognitive science at Université du Québec à Montréal and the University of Southampton. His research is on category learning, language evolution, consciousness, and open access. He is the founder and former editor-in-chief of the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and the current editor-in-chief of Animal Sentience. Harnad is becoming increasingly active in the problems of animal welfare, animal rights and animal law.
Haytham Nakhleh
Haytham is a University of Texas at Dallas graduate with an M.S. in Management and a B.A. in Business Administration, with a minor in accounting. He is an expert in providing accounting and administrative support for small and medium businesses since 2007. Haytham has been involved in the operations of a U.S. nonprofit organization providing medical services in the Middle East since 2015. His responsibilities included, among other things, overseeing the finances of the organization, compliance and reporting, human resources, and managing an overseas regional office in a most challenging environment.