Fieldwork requires a lot of equipment, but photography requires even more! During our June 2024 photography workshop, we transported over 100 lbs. of equipment — by hand — through working permaculture farms and up and down steep, rain-soaked limestone trails to protected caves. We partnered with Proyecto CUBABAT, a conservation project I’ve been involved with […]
As I rappelled down a sheer rock wall to reach the entrance to America’s most important remaining bat hibernation cave, I couldn’t believe my good luck. I’d finally achieved my life’s dream of becoming a full-time bat biologist, and in my first week of employment I’d become part of a film crew documenting highlights from […]
How does a community scientist from Toronto, Canada suddenly end up relocating to Austin, Texas, to work as a full-time bat biologist for Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation? The answer begins a few years back. One day, as a little girl of six, I looked into the sky above our backyard and saw my first bats. […]
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Madelline Mathis has a degree in environmental studies from Rollins College and a passion for wildlife conservation. She is an outstanding nature photographer who has worked extensively with Merlin and other MTBC staff studying and photographing bats in Mozambique, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Texas. Following college graduation, she was employed as an environmental specialist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. She subsequently founded the Florida chapter of the International DarkSky Association and currently serves on the board of DarkSky Texas. She also serves on the board of Houston Wilderness and was appointed to the Austin Water Resource Community Planning Task Force.
Michael Lazari Karapetian has over twenty years of investment management experience. He has a degree in business management, is a certified NBA agent, and gained early experience as a money manager for the Bank of America where he established model portfolios for high-net-worth clients. In 2003 he founded Lazari Capital Management, Inc. and Lazari Asset Management, Inc. He is President and CIO of both and manages over a half a billion in assets. In his personal time he champions philanthropic causes. He serves on the board of Moravian College and has a strong affinity for wildlife, both funding and volunteering on behalf of endangered species.
