On the Board Walk: Meet Bill Whitmer

​I’m not a birder. My wife of nearly 57 years, Jan, is the family Sibley master. While I may not keep a life list, I’ve really enjoyed our many opportunities to appreciate birds and watch their behavior. Most recently, our annual trip to the Central Valley, once again, gave us the joy of watching the mating dance of a pair of Sandhill Cranes and up-close looks at a lovely pair of Hooded Mergansers and many ...

other waterfowl.
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Since I retired from a tech career in 1997, I’ve enjoyed volunteering with local environmentally oriented nonprofits. My focus in this work has been on finding ways I could help preserve and protect our wonderful Bay Area open spaces.

I believe environmental education of young people is critical to the future of our world. Education for adults and, especially, decision makers, is also extremely important. In my short time at SFBBO, I’ve come to value the way we balance our careful documentation of the state of local avian life with efforts to protect their environment through hands-on rehabilitation projects and land use advocacy.

It was a joy to be able to experience the bird banding work at Coyote Creek Field Station knowing that our current data combined with that gathered over many years helps us understand, factually, how species populations have been changed by human activities. Our work offers highly credible insight to help land use planners with their decisions.

Watching the enjoyment of a group of underserved children as they learned about birds and invasive plant control was also special for me. They had a chance to apply what they were learning to help restore Alviso Marina County Park while they had fun with each other in nature. What a great example of how we help youngsters discover the joy of nature and come to treasure it.
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When I joined SFBBO in 2022. my aim was to help preserve challenged natural habitats in our immediate area. I also hoped to share some of my business experience working to help find ways to improve our financial reporting systems. It’s been a rewarding and engaging experience with a lot more coming as we implement our new strategic plan. Please join me to supporting SFBBO by volunteering and providing the financial capacity to extend our mission.

Bill retired as a high tech manufacturing executive in 1997. Since then, he has volunteered with a variety of organizations in roles ranging from board service at Hidden Villa and Green Foothills to teaching basic computer skills and preparing taxes for seniors at Avenida, building homes at Habitat for Humanity, and consulting on business practices with other local nonprofits. He was trained in Chemical Engineering at Ohio State. Bill and his family moved to the Bay Area in 1972 and settled in Palo Alto in 1978. His interests include jazz music, 19th & 20th century art, scuba diving, countryside day walks, travel and theater.