"...when the last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another Heaven and another Earth must pass before such a one can be again."
-William Beebe

ALBC Staff || Board of Directors

ALBC Staff Bios

Charles R. Bassett, Executive Director

Chuck was selected by the ALBC Board of Directors to serve as the organization's Executive Director in July 2002. He has over 30 years experience in biodiversity conservation, non-profit management, and fundraising. Most of that experience has come over the last 28 years working for The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In his last position with TNC he acted as the Chief Financial and Program Officer for the Conservancy's United States Conservation Programs. Chuck states that

"The three keys to long-term success are an unflagging commitment to mission, a clear plan for achieving that mission, and a strong and effective volunteer/staff team that can provide the human and financial resources needed to be successful. A strategic plan for achieving mission success is in place at ALBC now and needs only a sound business plan for implementation. I plan to spend a good deal of my time developing and implementing such a business plan with specific measures and benchmarks for success. A plan, however, is nothing without people to implement it. In this regard ALBC is truly blessed. The existing team, consisting of members serving as ambassadors for ALBC, technical and scientific advisors, academics, government agency partners, and professional staff, is effective and well configured to get the job done. I am delighted to join this team and will work hard to uphold its tradition of excellence."

Marjorie E. F. Bender, Research & Technical Program Director

Marjorie joined the staff in January 1999 and serves as Research and Technical Program Manager. She has a M.Ed. in Agricultural Science from the University of California-Davis, has been involved in sustainable agriculture since 1991, and has over 20 years of experience in the non-profit sector. Marjorie’s responsibilities include coordinating the poultry census, promoting rare breeds into appropriate habitats, and working closely with other staff on timely conservation activities. She has led ALBC’s heritage turkey conservation effort. During her free time, Marjorie enjoys riding her Choctaw pony, a line of Colonial Spanish.

Jeannette Beranger, Research & Technical Program Manager

Jeannette joined the ALBC team in August of 2005. She comes to the organization with over 20 years experience working with animals in the non-profit sector. Beginning her career as a veterinary technician, Jeannette progressed to become a head zookeeper at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island. Her responsibilities included managing a wide variety of species, and in particular the animals within the rare breeds farm of the zoo. Through her work for the American Association of Zookeepers, Inc., she developed international outreach programs that included zookeeper training workshops and the first-ever international conference on zookeeping. Jeannette's experience facilitating research, organizing workshops and conferences, applying technology to improve animal husbandry, combined with her skills in outreach and networking make her a welcome fit to research, plan, develop and implement important breed conservation programs for ALBC.

Donald E. Bixby, DVM, Technical Program Manager

As ALBC's Executive Director from August 1988 through July 2002, Don was responsible for providing the vision and overseeing the implementation of the conservation activities of ALBC. Don has been involved with the organization since the 1980s, organizing the first North American rare breeds show and sale and establishing the ALBC Rare Breeds Gene Bank, which has expanded over the years. He has been the liaison to the USDA National Animal Germplasm Program and a leader in founding Rare Breeds International. He has overseen the livestock and poultry research, and promoted rare breeds to the sustainable agriculture community. He was honored in 2000 by Slow Food International for the work of ALBC in conserving genetic diversity in the farm animal species. In his new position as Technical Program Manager, Don will be able to devote more time to technical outreach to promote sustainable integration of livestock and poultry.

Michele Brane, Information Manager

Michele joined the ALBC staff in February 2002 to serve as ALBC's Information Manager. She has a background in technical writing, editing, and documentation of medical and accounting software. She is responsible for managing the database and fine-tuning the capacity of this software.

Anneke Jakes, Breed Registry Manager

Anneke has worked for ALBC since July 1992. She served as Office Manager until October 2006, responsible for maintaining the day-to-day operation of the office, welcoming visitors and callers, and responding to requests from members and the public. In her new role as Breed Registry Manager, Anneke serves as ALBC’s liaison to breed associations as well as registrar for several rare breed registries maintained by ALBC.

Don T. Schrider, Communication Director

Don joined the ALBC staff in February 2004 and serves as the Communication Director. Don has nearly two decades of experience working within the visual communication and marketing fields. He also brings firsthand experience of breed conservation to this position, having raised Tunis sheep and Brown Leghorn chickens for more than a decade. These attributes make him a unique fit to research, plan, develop and implement programs and communication strategies that will increase and sustain awareness and encourage support of the ALBC.

D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, Ph.D., Technical Advisor

Phil has served as the Technical Advisor for ALBC since 1978. He is employed as a veterinary pathologist and geneticist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. He has written several books on color genetics and rare breed conservation. He is sought after as a speaker on genetics as well as rare breed conservation. Phil has taken the lead on Spanish horse rescues and is a conservation breeder of Spanish horses, and Tennessee Fainting goats. He works closely with several breed organizations as well as individual breeders of several different breeds.

Debby Wechsler, Publication Design

Debby has worked with ALBC since 1986 providing expertise in combining text and art in the production of ALBC's publications. She owns and operates Wordsmith Services, providing desktop publishing, writing, and editing skills for various local agricultural organizations including ALBC.

Angelique Thompson, Office Manager

Angelique joined ALBC in May 2005 and is currently working as the Office Manager. Her duties include managing with the day-to-day operation of the office, welcoming visitors and callers, and responding to requests from members and the public. Angelique has a background in sales and customer service, having worked with the public at various retail agencies, as a personal trainer, and in the airline industry.