Toni Kruszka serves as the director of development at the College of Southern Maryland (home of the Hawks!), where she has proudly worked for 36 years. A CSM alumna, Toni is deeply committed to advancing opportunities for students and strengthening the community she calls home.
A lifelong resident of Southern Maryland, Toni lives in St. Mary’s County with her husband, Steve, and their son, Vinny, who is currently a Gull at Salisbury University. She loves the region’s natural beauty and wildlife and takes an active interest in local efforts to preserve habitats and foster environmental stewardship. In her free time, Toni enjoys fishing, kayaking, crocheting, exploring local trails, and adding new species to her “life list.”
Lynne Wheeler has been a member of the Southern Maryland Audubon Society since 2009. She has held multiple positions on the board – President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Membership Chair, and currently holds the position Interim President. She is also the Vice-President for the Port Tobacco River Conservancy, Membership Chair for Wild Ones Chesapeake Bay, serves as an Advisory Council Member for Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary, and is a member of the Beautification Commission/Keep La Plata Beautiful Committee for the Town of La Plata, our FIRST Bird City Maryland.
She was born and raised in Indian Head, Charles County, and graduated from the University of Maryland with a BS degree in Medical Technology. She worked as a technical supervisor in hospital clinical laboratories in La Plata, Maryland, and Boca Raton, Florida; a territory manager for Fisher Scientific in south Florida; and in her final working years with Grainger Industrial Supply in southern Maryland. Her hobbies are gardening and propagating native plants, birding, reading, nature, cooking, fishing, crabbing, and good wine. She resides in Chicamuxen with her husband, John Wheeler, a retired Indian Head business owner.
Ben Springer was born and raised in southern Maryland and has always been a nature lover. He began actively birding in 7th grade and has continued ever since. He works at Pax River Naval Air Station as a bird survey intern collecting data for the MD/DC Breeding Bird Atlas. He is also currently earning a degree at St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in Biology.
Julie grew up in Anne Arundel County and graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park. She worked at the National Weather Service for about 10 years before deciding to become a stay-at-home mom. Julie’s interest in bird watching was piqued by her former boss at the weather service. She has enjoyed adding birds to her life list while traveling and instilling a love of nature in her children. Julie lives in Bryantown with her husband, Will, and her three children.
Barbara Hill was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Cottage City, MD. She went to Bladensburg High School and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Maryland with a BS in Business Management. Each home move brought her a little further south, and she now resides in Port Tobacco, MD. Barbara firmly believes that if you have an interest in something, go do it! She retired after 30 years with the federal government as a CPA. She is also a Master Scuba Diver, a Master Gardener; she holds a private pilot license, has a yoga instructor certification, and even tried competing as a body builder, although she didn’t care for that much. When COVID hit and travel was curtailed, she bought a nice camera and took pictures during many bird walks. She became a very active participant each year handling the Port Tobacco River Park Eagle Nest Cam. This new interest led to joining the Southern Maryland Audubon Society and eventually becoming the Secretary for three years (2022 to 2025). In addition, a need arose for a new Program Chair, and without another volunteer, Barbara took that on as well. In 2025, when Lynne Wheeler had to take on the interim president position, Barbara returned to the Secretary position (in addition to keeping her Program Chair duties!) to keep continuity in our group.
Pam Brumbley was raised in Charles County and now resides in southern Prince George’s. Her interests include many outdoor activities in addition to birding, such as camping, canoeing, monitoring bluebird boxes, and hiking. She has a fine art background with a BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design and has been a photo editor in the DC and Baltimore area for fifteen years. Pam now works with art reproductions, restorations, and vintage and antique fine art and decor. She is familiar with many parks and trails in Charles and Prince George’s Counties, and has found an interest in exploring not only local birds and plants, but fungi as well.
Pam loves to learn and share knowledge, is passionate about conservation, and likes to get her hands dirty. Pam was awarded a Field Ornithology Audubon Hog Island scholarship in 2024 from the Southern Maryland Audubon Society. She has shared her passion and interest in birds, and the importance of incorporating native plants into our landscape, by helping to lead field trips, as well as participating in Christmas Bird Counts and May Count. Her goal is to help increase and support our bird population by educating nature lovers to provide proper habitat, food, and shelter for our feathered friends and insects.
Phin Rouland is currently a college student whose passion for birds and the general outdoors convinced him to switch from a nursing degree to pursue environmental science. Born into a Navy family, he’s lived across the United States, including Florida, Kansas, and California.
Birding since age 14, Phin credits his encounter with an Acorn Woodpecker colony for sparking his love of birds. After moving back to Southern Maryland in 2020, he settled with his family on a small farm in St Inigoes, in south St. Mary’s County, MD. Later that year, he and a couple of friends started Southern Maryland Youth Birders, in association with Southern Maryland Audubon. He helps lead walks for the club and hopes to continue increasing these opportunities for more kids to explore the outdoors.
Phin has developed a particular interest in the past few years in bird photography. His favorite bird is the Purple Martin. Other hobbies include running, drawing, and singing. Phin also counts himself a big Washington DC sports fan.