Bailey, Francis P.
Sanibel, Florida

Beckmann, Clair
Lousiville, Colorado, and Sanibel, Florida
Clair Beckmann grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated first in her class with a degree in finance from the University of Missouri many many years ago. She moved to Colorado in 1975 and enjoyed a 30-year career with JPMorganChase and various predecessor institutions serving in many capacities including many years as Regional President for Boulder County. Currently she is the Planned Giving Officer for the Boulder Community Hospital Foundation. Non-profit work has been a hallmark of her life and she has served on dozens of Boards and served as Board Chair of non-profits such as the Community Foundation serving Boulder County, Community Food Share, the Boulder Economic Council, the Louisville Chamber of Commerce and others. Clair has been instrumental in raising funds for Hospice, Impact on Education, the Women’s Foundation of Colorado, Community Food Share and other institutions. Passions include reading, eating, gardening, travel, PEOPLE, and seashell collecting. Clair and her spouse, Ron Nixon, reside in Louisville, Colorado and Sanibel, Florida.

Bunnell, Rodger R.
Sanibel, Florida
Mr. Bunnell is a Florida native and graduate of Stetson University. He served in the Army for five years before returning to do post-graduate work in Finance at the University of Massachusetts. A career in the electronics industry with several companies took him to Massachusetts, Arizona, Mexico, and eventually back to Florida. He and his wife, Mary Jo, moved to Sanibel in 2001 where he is retired and does seasonal taxwork for a local firm. He is an active member of Kiwanis, the US Power Squadron, the Captiva Island Yacht Club and the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club. He and Mary Jo are Charter Members of The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum where he frequently volunteers in the Collections area. The Bunnells are active shellers, specializing in Florida and Bahamian seashells. In addition to shell collecting, hobbies include scuba diving, fishing, and boating.

English, Betty (Secretary)
Sanibel, Florida
After ten successful years of selling real estate, attending seminars and management courses Betty attained her GRI designation and Brokers license. Deciding to make a career change, Betty started a Manufactures Sales Representative Agency in 1979 English Associates. Betty’s husband John joined her two years later when they decided to specialize in selling pet supplies. By 1983, Betty’s' company had eight employees, and was selling for fifteen companies in twelve states. Betty first visited Sanibel in 1984 and fell in love with shells. She knew then that Sanibel would some day be their home. Betty moved from New Jersey to Sanibel in 1998. Not having a lot of experience with leisure time, she decided to apply for a Real Estate Appraisal License and appraised real estate for several years. Betty also volunteered to pick up food from local restaurants for the Twelve Baskets women’s shelter program in Fort Myers, served as V.P. of their Homeowners Assoc., served five years on the board of the Schoolhouse Theater before coming to the board of The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. Her favorite activities are shelling, reading, and gardening. Betty resides in Sanibel with her husband John.

Hinojosa, Ava
Sanibel, Florida
Ava Hinojosa, a Sanibel Island resident since 1993, is the former Director of Operations and interim Executive Director for Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce. Before her long tenure with the Chamber, Ava brought a rich business acumen garnered over 16 years as President and Founder of her New Jersey based business, Body-Tone Fitness, Inc. as well as President and co-Founder of Jersey Fitness Association. Ms. Hinojosa has received the American Business Women Association (ABWA) “Wizard Award”, and was awarded a City of Sanibel Proclamation for her service in the Independence Day Celebration. Additionally, Ava has served as a community leader for the City of Sanibel Emergency Management Team, City of Sanibel Vegetation Committee, served as President of Belding Drive Property Owners Association, Instructor for Community CPR with Sanibel Fire Department, co-Chair and Editor ABWA Newsletter publication, volunteer and current member of many non-profit island organizations.

Joffe, Anne (President)
Sanibel, Florida
Anne has judged scientific and artistic categories at shell shows for more than 25 years. She is a Past-president of Conchologists of America; Past-treasurer of the American Malacological Society; President of the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club; Shell Show Chairman; Past-president of the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce; owns and operates "She Sells Sea Shells" on Sanibel Island; has authored a craft book,” Shellcrafting;” board of directors member for the Conchologists of America; along with two partners, Harlan Wittkoff and S. Peter Dance, she is the secretary-treasurer of "C Shells 3", a shell book publishing company; Anne has led shelling trips all over the world.

Jones, Douglas S.
Gainesville, Florida
Douglas S. Jones is the Director and Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, Florida. He received his Ph.D. in Geological and Geophysical Sciences from Princeton University in 1980. Dr. Jones is a board member, among other organizations, of the Natural Science Collection Alliance, Florida Association of Museums, and the University of Florida Foundation. In addition to his administrative duties as Director of FLMNH, Dr. Jones remains interested in the broad fields of molluscan ecology and paleoecology. His research focuses primarily on the use of growth increments and stable isotopes in the shells of marine mollusks to interpret life history information as well as to reconstruct paleoenvironments and paleoclimates.

Lai, Ellen
Fort Myers, Florida
Ellen is the immediate past chairman of the Board of the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce; Vice-president, Business Development, Colonial Bank; 27 years in the financial services industry; NASD Series 6 and 63-licensed.

Lee, Harry G. (Member-at-large)
Jacksonville, Florida
Harry G. Lee is a resident of Jacksonville, FL, where he practiced Internal Medicine until his retirement in April, 2006. He is a honors graduate in biology from Williams College and received his MD at Cornell University Medical College. He started collecting shells at age six has continued that pursuit essentially uninterrupted. Harry has published over 100 popular articles on shells and shelling and has authored or co-authored about a dozen scientific papers and book reviews on malacological topics.
Harry has been active in the creation the long-term strategic plan and the accreditation process for the BMSM. He also serves as a Trustee Emeritus for the Paleontological Research Institution, Field Associate of the Florida Museum of Natural History, Trustee-at-Large for the Conchologists of America, and on the editorial Boards of The Nautilus and American Conchologist. Harry is especially passionate about the role of BMSM in advancing knowledge of the regional molluscan fauna.

Luft, Jack
Sanibel, Florida
Jack was born in Iowa and got his masters at Iowa State University. He is married to Perla and has three girls and one boy. He has resided on Sanibel since 2003. Jack is a member of the Lee County Smart Growth Committee, past-president of the Sanibel School Fund, a member of Florida Governor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, and third-time Panel Member of the Urban Land Institute Advisory Services. Jack is one of South Florida’s highest profile urban planners. Shaping the dynamic and complex growth of urban Miami over three decades, Jack has served in widely varying and challenging roles of urban designer, master plan author, and director of the City of Miami Development and Planning Departments and for ten years as Vice-chairman of the Miami Beach Design Review Board.

Lyons, William G.
St. Petersburg, Florida

Pyle, Richard E. (Treasurer)
Captiva, Florida
Executive Vice-president and Chief Investment Officer, Sanibel-Captiva Trust Company. Prior to joining the Trust Company, Mr. Pyle was co-founder, Executive Vice-president, and Portfolio Manager at Winslow Capital Management, Inc., in Minneapolis. From 1982 to 1992, Mr. Pyle served as Managing Director and Research Analyst at Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis. He began his investment manager career as a Trust Investment Analyst for U.S. Bank in St. Paul before becoming a Portfolio Manager and Senior Research Analyst for Wells Fargo and American Express Financial Advisors from 1973 to 1982. Mr. Pyle earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from Macalester College in 9169 and did graduate work in economics at the University of Minnesota. HE was awarded a Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1976. Mr. Pyle has served on committees for several non-profit organizations; he and his wife, Nathallie, live on Captiva Island.

Schlosser, Wil
Sanibel, Florida

Schmelz, Gary (Vice-president)
Naples, Florida
Dr. Schmelz received his Ph.D. in marine biology from the University of Delaware. He is a former director of the Big Cypress Nature Center and director of education for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. He helped establish the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Environmental Education Center on Key Biscayne, supervised the Conservancy's sea-turtle nesting program, and developed a national environmental education program for school teachers. In 1985, Dr. Schmelz received the Elsie M. B. Naumberg Award as the Best Environmental Educator in the United States.

Schuyler, Dan
Sanibel, Florida
Dan Schuyler has been a prominent fixture in the American jewelry industry for more than 26 years. A native of Maryland, Schuyler has dealt in nearly every aspect of the jewelry business—from sales and advertising to buying and designing.  Schuyler had his first foray into the jewelry business at the age of 19, when he worked as an engraver at a local jeweler, while attending college. During the course of his education, Schuyler became a GIA diamond and pearl course graduate. In 2002, he set his sights on Southwest Florida and worked with some of the regions' leading jewelry companies. Schuyler met well-known Captiva Realtor Karen Bell in 2002.  In 2006, Schuyler and Bell opened Lily & Co. Jewelers on Sanibel Island. Named after Bell's Labradoodle, Lily & Co. is Sanibel's first jewelry gallery, offering couture jewelry lines and fine art at one location.

Shaak, Graig
Gainesville, Florida
Graig D. Shaak received his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh in 1972. He has been on the faculty of the Florida Museum and University of Florida since 1972. He is a member of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), and American Association of Museums (AAM). Graig has participated in seven Museum Assessment Program (MAP) surveys for the AAM and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). He has served on three AAM Accreditation surveys including one as team leader.

Thompson, Jon L. (Past-president)
Sanibel, Florida
Jon L. Thompson is a native of Jacksonville, Florida. He graduated with honors in the field of Geological Sciences from the University of Florida in 1961 and received a Master's degree in 1962. In 1991 he was named president of Exxon Exploration Co., which was responsible for all oil and gas exploration worldwide. When Exxon Corp. merged with Mobil Corp. in 1999, he was named Vice-president of ExxonMobil Corporation and President of ExxonMobil Exploration Co. Mr. Thompson has served on the Board of Trustees of the Houston Museum of Natural Science and has served two terms on the Board of Trustees of the Shell Museum and Educational Foundation Inc. In addition he served as President of the Board of Trustees from 2004-2006. He currently resides in Sanibel with his wife, Beverly.

Williams, Kirk
Sanibel, Florida