 | Dr. Danielle Adams is a cultural astronomer, dark sky advocate and astrotourism consultant whose work inhabits the intersections of art and science. Danielle was appointed Interim Executive Director for FDSC in September 2024 after having served on the FDSC Board of Directors since January 2022. With a background in cultural astronomy research, strategic marketing, revenue generation and science communications, she has been instrumental in advancing the renewed vision of FDSC and making the case for starlit skies wherever she goes. Danielle earned her PhD in 2018 from the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona (with a minor in Cultural Anthropology from the School of Anthropology) after earning an MA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Arkansas in 2000 and studying classical Arabic literature at the American University of Beirut and Princeton University. Danielle is an Organizing Member of the International Astronomical Union’s Commission C5 on Cultural Astronomy (IAU C5) and a member of IAU’s Working Group on Star Names (WGSN), where she lends her expertise on Arabian and Islamic astronomical traditions and nomenclature. Danielle has lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, since January 2019, when she arrived to work at Lowell Observatory as their Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer, a role she held until 2023 |
 | Chris is a retired astronomer specializing in the quantification and modeling of the effects of outdoor artificial lighting on the night sky, and lighting codes and their effect on controlling sky glow. He is recognized as one of the foremost authorities on light pollution and dark sky lighting. Chris was a principal author of the innovative 1989 Flagstaff and Coconino County (AZ) outdoor lighting codes, as well as the IDA Outdoor Lighting Code Handbook and Pattern Code. He is a founding member of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition. He has assisted over two dozen communities with the development of outdoor lighting codes, at least six of which are now recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association as International Dark-Sky Communities (Flagstaff Arizona, Sedona Arizona, Camp Verde Arizona, Village of Oak Creek Arizona, Cottonwood Arizona, Homer Glen Illinois) For over 30 years he has been seeking to preserve the highest quality dark skies through education and research. His efforts focus not only on research to improve our understanding of how light pollution is produced and how it may be limited, but to raise awareness of the value of star-filled skies to everyone. |
 | Robert G. Breunig is President Emeritus of the Museum of Northern Arizona and the museum’s former Director and CEO, a position he held from 2003-2014. A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Dr. Breunig holds a BA degree from Indiana University and a Ph. D. from the University of Kansas, both in Anthropology. In the early 1970's he served as an anthropology professor at Northern Arizona University and from 1975 to 1982 as an Educator and Curator at the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA). In 1982 he became the Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Heard Museum of Anthropology, Phoenix, Arizona. He also served as Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at Arizona State University from 1986 to 1994. In 1985 he became the Executive Director of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona and served as director of the garden until 1994 when he accepted a position as Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, in Santa Barbara, California. In 1997 he became the executive director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. Throughout his museum career Dr. Breunig has been active in many professional organizations and has served on many boards. In 1991 President George Bush appointed Dr. Breunig to the fifteen-member National Museum Services Board, the governing board of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. In 1994 President Bill Clinton re-appointed him to this board, on which he served until November 2002. More recently Dr. Breunig served six years as a Commissioner of the Arizona Commission on the Arts. In December 2013 he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Northern Arizona University. In May 2015, Dr. Breunig accepted the National Medal for Museum Service on behalf of the Museum of Northern Arizona from Michele Obama at a White House ceremony. On joining the board of the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition Dr. Breunig said: “One of the great joys in my life is being able to look up and see the heavens. It puts so much in perspective for me. I grieve that what humankind all shared together for millennia is slipping away from most of humanity today. I want to do whatever I can to help preserve the dark sky for the people of Flagstaff and northern Arizona so that we may show what humanity can preserve and recover.” |
 | Drew Carhart is a life-long enthusiast regarding everything to do with natural history; he co-founded a Chicago area amateur astronomy club (1973), which he still helps run today. He is retired from a career in horticulture, and volunteers extensively at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, in diverse areas including the curation of the insect collection, assisting in research in meteorites, and doing field work in paleontology. Drew’s love of the night and stargazing brought him to witness the disappearance of the natural night in northern Illinois over the decades. He co-founded the Illinois Coalition for Responsible Outdoor Lighting (2009) as a result, and has subsequently helped communities, businesses, and organizations in addressing outdoor lighting issues. His roots in biology and natural science have led him to a special interest in the subject of how man-made light is disrupting ecosystems around the globe – a conservation issue that he feels is extremely underappreciated, and critically important. |
 | Ed Anderson is a retired systems analyst, observatory manager and astronomy instructor, with a 28 year career at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He has for many years devoted significant time to promoting connections of people with astronomy and night skies with astronomy outreach programs around Northern Arizona including annual Flagstaff Star Party and Grand Canyon National Park. |
 | David Koerner is an emeritus astronomy professor with interests in astrobiology, cultural astronomy and the arts. Past research areas included astronomical observation of the origin of stars and planets. Teaching, public outreach and authorship focuses on the origin and history of life in the universe, its discovery and cultural impact (e.g., https://www.amazon.com/Here-Be-Dragons-Scientific-Extraterrestrial/dp/0195128524/). He is also a performing musician and manager of Dark Sky Music and recently appeared at NAU's Kitt Recital Hall in a concert piano recital of works referencing the night sky. He is violist with Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra and violinist/arranger with Dark Sky Quartet (DSQ; http://grandcanyonmusic.org/string-quartet). DSQ recently performed at Grand Canyon and Flagstaff Star Parties and as a host quartet for the Canyoneers raft trip through Grand Canyon. His highest artistic aspirations are to magnify human regard for our place in the cosmos. |
