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.
GIS and Database Professional
Population Ecologist and Conservation Biologist
Director of Communications & Media and Managing Editor of WBISR
Professor of Cognitive Science
Finance Director & Partner Support
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 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.
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 is a hands-on, creative marketing professional specializing in email and social media. Tapping two decades of expertise, Laura founded LRGWORKS in 2009, after eight years with then start-up, now industry email marketing leader, Fishbowl Marketing. Leading client success as Fishbowl’s first creative director and head of its award-winning creative team, Laura served as Fishbowl’s marketing director and oversaw key industry partnerships. Laura has provided marketing services to B2C, B2B, and nonprofit organizations – big and small. She joins WellBeing International’s team, combining her marketing skills with her passion for the cause.
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 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.