ABOUT > STAFF
Executive Director | Research Director | Education Director
Deniz Aygen
Education Director

Deniz joined IBO in the spring of 2005. She received her B.S. in Biology from Michigan State University in 1997. Field research and environmental education opportunities have led Deniz around the world from the coast of Georgia to Appalachian Mountains of Virginia where she worked as a naturalist, to Israel, Italy, and Massachusetts banding migratory passerines and waterbirds, to the shores of Lake Superior and the Chesapeake Bay where she banded owls and ran a hawk trapping station. For Deniz, the best aspect of being a nomadic field biologist was the opportunity to combine her enthusiasm for scientific research and her passion for teaching to ‘students’ of all ages. In 2005 she earned her M.S. from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. Her graduate research assessed the diet composition of Royal Tern chicks in the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia.

As the Education Director for IBO, Deniz organizes public wildlife events (such as Bald Eagle Days and International Migratory Bird Day), leads school and nature groups up to Lucky Peak to witness the splendor of migration, assists with the banding efforts, and is the official photographer of the IBO.

While not out in the field, Deniz can be found instilling the beauty of the natural world to her daughter, Ayla, as she and her husband (Greg) hike, travel, and photograph their escapades in Idaho and beyond.