Welcome New BGO BOD Members!
In the last couple of years remote work and remote meetings has become normalized. While I look forward to getting back to in-person events, workshops, and meetings - I’m happy for the door this has opened to be able to widen the scope of out board to match our mission and our work.
Over the winter we put out the call for interested bee lovers to apply for a seat on our volunteer board. The call was met with touching enthusiasm, and we were able to bring a few new worker bees into the hive from the next town over all the way to Australia!
Please join me in welcoming Hattie, Mike, Desiree, and Tony. They all come with a unique set of experience, as well as passions, that will serve our organization well! Read on to learn more about these stellar individuals, and check out the whole board at beegirl.org/bod.
Hattie Berg: Living in Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley for twenty years, Hattie has long been familiar with The Bee Girl Organization as part of the local community. Having a passion for environmental stewardship of all sorts, including conservation and regenerative agriculture, she is drawn to The BGO’s work and its alignment with her own personal mission to help make a difference.
Over the past fourteen years working at a BCorp using business as a force for good, Hattie has held several leadership positions, managing teams and working with clients and their customers to access renewable energy and climate solutions. Through community engagement campaigns, outreach and education, she has helped people, organizations and municipalities take action to reduce their carbon footprints. For the past few years, she has served as chair of 3DGives, the company’s business resource group overseeing an annual budget for employee-directed philanthropy, volunteerism as well as partnerships with nonprofits focused on Just Transition. Teaching a Natural Gardening class and founding a Kids’ Climate Club are just two ways that she’s helped educate kids about our relationship with the natural world.
Outside of work and serving on the board, Hattie enjoys raising her two amazing sons, adventuring with her family in the outdoors, tending their backyard chickens and growing a little food. At various points, she has lived in New York City, Seattle, Kaua’i, Istanbul and off-grid in the woods of Eastern WA.
Mike Klem: Mike and his wife Kim live in Canfield Ohio where he was born and raised. Although he has always had an interest in Honey Bees since he was young, Mike finally got into beekeeping in 2018. He has been very active ever since. Mike completed his 3-year Master Beekeeping certificate from the University of Montana program in the spring of 2021. He is an active member of the American Beeping Federation (ABF) where he has volunteered his time on the Membership/Marketing and Conference committees. He has also been a presenter at ABF. Mike has worked with Sarah with the ABF Kid’s and Bees program as well as her Minecraft bee education program. Mike has also held several Board positions in local bee associations. He loves teaching children and new beekeepers about Honey Bees. He is currently an adult education beekeeping instructor at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center (MCCTC).
Mike has served on various boards over the years and professionally brings nearly 30 years of management, sales, marketing, and leadership experience to the Bee Girl Organization board. Mike spent 28 years working in the facility supplies industry where he specialized in infection control with healthcare accounts. Mike is currently the Regional Sales Director for the east region of DASCO Home Medical Equipment, a DME company that specializes in medical equipment in respiratory, sleep, orthopedic and wound care . Mike has been supporting the front lines throughout the COVID pandemic.
Mike is very enthusiastic about joining Sarah and the rest of the Bee Girl Organization board!
Desiree Shank: Desiree was born and raised in Washington State, graduating from the University of Washington. She's lived all around the US, from California, to Hawaii, to Arizona, and Colorado. She's currently a Senior Program Manager at Shopify with over 20 years of digital media agency experience. She’s an entrepreneur, single mom, founder, and business owner. She’s been featured on CNBC, Forbes, and Nerdwallet and even pitched her former startup on National TV for funding. Desiree has helped scale and rapidly grow some of the top performing online stores on Shopify and she enjoys teaching startups through workshops and online courses in the Shopify for Startups community. You can also find her as an instructor on 100 Million Academy, an ongoing contributor to Modern Mom Magazine, as well as an expert panelist and educator for Single Moms Planet. She is also a speaker/host and moderator for events like Shopify’s Sustainability Series, SHEEO World Summit Digital by Default, Thinkific’s Amplify Summit, The Mom Economy and more. She sits on the board of advisors to a handful of startups and has over 5 years helping non-profits.
Tony McNamara: Tony and his family have lived in the seaside town of Torquay on the south coast of Australia for 25 years and is passionate about bees, the environment and educating younger generations on the importance of both. Having been a beekeeper for nearly 10 years he has been a long-time supporter and advocate of the Bee Girl Organization with its commitment to education, the importance of bees and sustainable bee habitats. His interests outside of beekeeping and serving on the BGO Board include music, writing, kayaking, ocean swimming, reading, long coastal walks and educating children on everything bee related.
