Our Guides
Troy Bynum is a wildlife photographer and avid birder local to the Philadelphia area. He grew up in Mt. Airy and spent a lot of time exploring Wissahickon Valley Park as a kid, where his interest and love for nature began. As Troy grew, so did his admiration for nature – wildlife to be more specific.
Now, Troy spends most of his free time exploring natural areas around the tri-state area in search of beautiful birds. He specializes in showcasing the beautiful patterns, textures, and colors found throughout nature. We oftentimes overlook a lot of these things that nature has to offer and Troy is on a mission to spark interest in others to go outside and explore the world around them.
Based in Philadelphia, Keith Russell works on a variety of bird conservation issues including bird collisions with man-made structures, birds and nocturnal lights, non-native plants, and migration stopover habitat. His work has used education, monitoring, research, advocacy, and habitat restoration to improve conditions for birds in ways that have also broadened engagement in the environmental movement. Previously he worked as a Program Assistant for National Audubon’s Important Bird Area Program (2003-2005), Assistant Editor for the landmark publication The Birds of North America (1992-2003), and Collections Manager for the Exhibits Department of the Academy of Natural Science of Drexel University (1982-1992). He is also a research associate of the Academy of Natural Sciences and he has received a number of awards, including the 2016 American Birding Association’s Ludlow Griscom Award for Outstanding Contributions to Regional Ornithology.
Prior to joining Audubon Pennsylvania, Robin Irizarry served as the Philadelphia Watershed Coordinator for the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership. Robin has a BS in Landscape Architecture from Temple University and has previously worked in ecological landscape design and construction across southeast PA. He has also taught landscape design graphics classes at Longwood Gardens. Robin is a woodworker and avid birder and enjoys exploring around his hometown of Philadelphia.
Damien Ruffner has been involved with education for ten years, and specifically environmental education for the past eight. He received his BS in Biology from Francis Marion University. After growing up primarily in the Southeast, Damien spent time in the Lone Star State teaching at-risk youth science in and after-school settings for kids. After moving to Philadelphia in the summer of 2011, he took on the role of Environmental Educator with the Schuylkill Center, as well as a mentor for the Philly based program, EducationWorks. Damien’s passion for teaching environmental issues comes from his background of wanting to break down perceived barriers between people in nature. He hopes to take his background and use it to create a supportive learning environment for the Strawberry Mansion community and the Philadelphia region.
Aaron Pond is a musician, educator, and aviary appreciator. His love of birding comes from his childhood near the Everglades, where many a day was spent watching wading birds. You can find him by following the joyful noise.
Steve Jones is a naturalist who has helped organize ecological restoration projects with Wissahickon Restoration Volunteers for the past 25 years. He manages a recovering urban brownfield (including a native plant nursery) for LandHealth Institute. Steve is active in the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist program and serves as the president of the Philadelphia Botanical Club.