Leadership Team members can be reached through our Contact Us page.

Project Lead – Manoma Sirisena

Manoma was part of the Spring 2023 ARMN class and has been active with the Barcroft nest box trail since then. Manoma also helps with the park steward program helping with administrative duties and facilitating the monthly meeting. She is an avid birder and is excited to make a meaningful contribution to the native birds of Arlington. 

Her role is to:

• Serve as Arlington Regional Master Naturalist (ARMN) Project Lead for “Native Bird Conservation and Nest Box Monitoring.”
• Serve as Virginia Bluebird Society County Coordinator for Arlington. Receives County Coordinator info from VBS and shares on Arlington Bluebirds listserv.
• Handle email inquiries from the public and refers people to the correct members of the leadership team.
• Document project goals and communicates request to other leadership team members.
• Call occasional meetings of leadership team.
• Manage the arlingtonbluebirds.org website.
• Answer questions with help from the past Project Lead.
• Manage the annual budget requests to ARMN.
• Ensure that we have an active wildlife salvage permit on file at all times.

Volunteer Coordinator – Lou Ott

Lou was in the second ARMN graduating class in 2009, and started nest box monitoring in 2020 at Long Bridge Park. She now monitors at two nest box trails in Arlington and is looking forward to helping and getting to know other nest box monitors and volunteers as volunteer coordinator. Her role is to:

• Field inquiries from interested volunteers.
• Manage list of monitors and add new monitors to the Arlington a bluebird listserv.
• Remind monitors of what to do various times of years and ensures that the trail leads have the monitors that they need. 
• Keep extra monitoring supplies – portable nest box cameras, Vaseline, diatomaceous earth, etc. – to share with trail leads.
• Coordinate with Education Lead to plan new monitor trainings in early March and as needed. 

Reporting Lead – Katherine Wychulis

Katherine started nest box monitoring in 2021 and was in the ARMN class of Fall 2021. Like several other monitors, Katherine is an avid birder and likes to say that birding was her gateway to ARMN and native habitats. Katherine designed and implemented Google Forms to collect nest box data, replacing the paper forms. Katherine also volunteers as a phenology monitor at Central Library. Katherine works part-time as an attorney and in 2025 started serving on the ARMN Board as secretary. 

Her role is to:

• Manage the Google forms and data for monitoring.
• Collect Trail Annual Summary Form from Trail Leads and Submits County Coordinator Annual Summary Form to the Virginia Bluebird Society.
• Each year, add annual numbers to the Native Birds Fledged by Trail and Species Since 2008.

Construction & Grants Lead – Jon Fleuchaus

One of Jon’s first “jobs” with ARMN after being certified in 2024 was helping with the monitoring of a nest box trail in Arlington.  He enjoyed that work so much that he applied for and was accepted as the Trail Lead for Gunston Hall in Fairfax County.  Jon is busy rehabilitating the three trails at Gunston Hall so that they will be ready in the Spring.

His role is to:

• Track requests for new boxes, guards, and poles and to coordinate with the carpenters to get them built. 
• Provide invoices to scouts or other trail builder/monitors, so that the carpenters can receive reimbursement for their costs.
• Identify a construction team member to supervise scouts on construction day – assembling kits made by the carpenters – and for installation day.
• Help people navigate applying for VBS grants. 
• Know the VBS grants that are available and where to get them.

New Trail Site Suitability Co-leads – Tamara Larned, Joanne Hutton & Alonso Abugattas

Tamara was in the ARMN Spring 2023 class.  For as long as she can remember, Tamara’s family instilled a commitment to volunteering and a sense of wonder at the natural world.  She is a lifelong birder and gardener.  Tamara volunteers at Earth Sangha, the VNPS propagation beds at Green Springs, the PORP native plant demonstration garden, and as a NVBA Wildlife Sanctuary Ambassador.

Joanne is a Master Gardener and Master Naturalist as well as a Wildlife Sanctuary Ambassador for NVBA who serves as Co-Chair for the Plant NOVA Natives Campaign.  She has monitored nest boxes at her local park, Ft. C. F. Smith since 2017, ever hoping to find bluebirds will establish there.  She birds as often as she can, locally and wherever she goes.

Alonso is a long-time naturalist and the Natural Resources Manager for Arlington County Parks, Alonso loves learning and spending times outdoors. He is an award-winning naturalist and you can follow him on social media by looking his Capital Naturalist community: Capital Naturalist Facebook Group, Capital Naturalist Blog, and the Capital Naturalist YouTube Channel. He also writes for the Bay Journal.

Their role is to:

• Check potential sites for habitat suitability and coordinate with Scout and APS Liaisons to choose the exact location of each nest box. 
• Coordinate with county park manager to get locations approved.

Schools Liaison – Kathleen Freeman

Kathleen started as the School Liaison this year after her kids learned more about the nest box trail at Glebe Elementary School. She’s excited to utilize her 20 years of experience as an environmental educator and her ARMN training from the spring class of 2017. Her role is to:

• Lead educational programs for students.
• Coordinate with K-12 staff regarding new trails, existing trails, and schools with existing boxes that need guards and improvements.
• Coordinate with Volunteer Coordinator to match monitors to K-12 nest box trails.
• Facilitate any on-site activities such as construction or installation day for any new nest box trails.
• TBD: Maintain the VBS Nest Box Monitoring Guide. Develop training materials/offerings for new and existing nest box monitors.

Scout Liaison – Mary McLean

Mary was in the ARMN class of 2008. She serves as the Tuckahoe Park Steward and the Trail Lead of the Ft. C.F. Smith nest box trail. She helped coordinate several Eagle projects as well Gold Award and is part of ARMN Explorer’s Club for AHC’s T. Henry Garden’s Apartments. She received the Bill Thomas Award. 

Her role is to:

• Make a list of potential scout projects including nest box trail construction locations and education projects.
• Coordinate with scout or scout troop lead(s) for new nest box trail projects.
• Coordinate with Volunteer Coordinator to match monitors with any new nest box trail. 
• Participate on installation day.