Danielle Downey
Executive Director
South Dakota

Danielle was an entomologist by the time she was 5 years old, hunting bugs under rocks in South Dakota. She has has been working with honey bees and the parasites that plague them for over 25 years.Her background includes training and research from bee labs in Minnesota, Canada and France; beekeeper education, work with commercial beekeepers and queen breeders, regulatory work as a State Apiarist in Utah and Hawaii, and wrangling bees for TV and film.

Danielle has worked closely with the Apiary Inspectors of America, Bee Informed Project and a bee breeding project with collaborators in Hawaii, Louisiana and Europe selecting and refining Varroa resistant bees.

​Please direct any questions or feedback regarding Project Apis m. to: danielle@projectapism.org

Patty Shreve
​Director of Operations
Utah

Patty is the keeper of operational sanity at Project Apis m. Fiercely advocating for our
mission, and keeping us all accountable and on track towards goals year after year. In
addition to running PAm's operations, Patty facilitates the movement of all grants through Project Apis m.-ensuring that we remain a swift and accountable partner for our
sponsors and the researchers we fund.

Patty brings a unique and rich combination of experience in animal husbandry and nonprofit management. She has B.S. in Biology from the University of Utah, and additional certificates in Management and Fundraising. She has field experience primarily with avian species, but is a keen naturalist and gardener. 
patty@projectapism.org

Rory Crowley
Director of
​Habitat Programs
California

Rory is boldly leading programs that bolster bee and soil health in California, and he comes to Project Apis m. with a rich farming and research background. For many years he farmed almonds and walnuts in the Northern Sacramento Valley, being an early adopter and advocate of cover crops in perennial tree nut systems. Rory has dedicated much of his time to serving California’s agriculture community by partnering with commodity boards and university researchers to study cover crop’s impacts on pollinator and soil health.

Rory is interested in helping growers, agricultural stakeholders, and consumers understand the positive impacts of cover crops on carbon, water systems, pollinators, and soil. By advancing scientific inquiry in those areas, and making those results understandable, adoptable, and profitable for growers and beekeepers, Rory believes that cover crops will be integrated in the farm of the future and is boldly taking steps to ensure this outlook for California's Central Valley. 
rory@projectapism.org  @ClimateSmart4Ag

Stetcyn Maldonado
Climate Smart Habitat Manager
California

​Stetcyn's drive and tenacity for sustainability is unmatched. Her extensive history working in orchard crops managing 250 acres of almonds and walnuts makes her a perfect fit to act as the Blue Diamond liaison for their recently awarded grant to expand climate smart orchard programs. 

A California native, Stetcyn holds a master of science degree in agriculture education and is licensed both as a PCA and CCA. She is passionate about the environment and agriculture and views every day as a chance to learn something new and to share what she discovers with others.
stetcyn@projectapism.org

Sara Brown
Development Manager
Minnesota

​It may have killed the cat, but it also opens a wide, wonderful, world of career experiences! Sara’s development experience ranges from hands on, boots-on-the-ground relationship building, to advisory, mentoring and training roles. Her favorite projects are the ones tinted with a hint uncertainty but spark enough curiosity to utter three little words, “Let’s try it!”
sara@projectapism.org

Grace Kunkel
Communications Manager
Virginia

​Grace is our champion for grad students and researchers. Her studies at the University of Maryland and subsequent Masters Degree studying honey bee toxicology and hive
dynamics, connect her to the unique challenges that researchers face in the field. Her supportive approach to communications helps PAm connect with researchers and share their findings with beekeepers. 

Grace has supported several bee related projects including the APHIS National Honey Bee Survey and the Bee Informed Partnership. She has worked for companies studying honey bee nutrition and toxicology. 
Grace@ProjectApism.org