IDA Staff
Photograph © Guillaume Poulin
Washington, DC Office
Bob Parks is founder of the Virginia Outdoor Lighting Taskforce (VOLT), an all-volunteer, non-profit, grassroots advocacy group since 2000. Its mission is to promote safe and efficient outdoor lighting. VOLT has been successful helping localities in Virginia to enact lighting ordinances and was instrumental in the passage of legislation to require that all state facilities purchase only full cut-off fixtures.
Mr. Parks is an avid amateur astronomer and past president of the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, the largest of its kind in the United States. He has been a member of International Dark-Sky Association since 2000. In 2005, he founded the Almost Heaven Star Party at Spruce Knob, WV, one of the darkest observing sites on the East Coast.
In March of 2009, Mr. Parks joined IDA to launch the Washington Office for Public Policy and Government Affairs. As managing director, he was charged with keeping Congress and federal agencies up-to-date regarding IDA’s mission and its issues. In addition, he is working to build a coalition of environmental and energy organizations that have parallel goals to reduce light pollution, conserve energy, and preserve the natural environment.
In June 2010 the IDA Board appointed Mr. Parks as Executive Director. Follow Bob on Twitter @darkskyone
Tucson, AZ Office
Scott Kardel has always had a love for astronomy and the universe. Growing up in the desert on the edge of Tucson, Arizona gave him a strong connection to the sky and the environment. He used that connection first to become a high school earth science teacher, where he installed an observatory for his school. After completing a Master’s Degree in astronomy from the University of Arizona, Scott took his passion for the stars to Kansas, where he served as assistant director for the Lake Afton Public Observatory. Prior to coming to IDA, Scott served for eight years as the public affairs coordinator for Palomar Observatory. He directed their public outreach program and was the observatory’s representative on light pollution issues. He is a lifetime member of the IDA and was awarded the IDA’s Executive Director Special Award in 2007. Follow Scott on Twitter @DarkSkyScott
Matt has been with IDA since 2006. He currently works with lighting manufacturers, designers, and distributors to certify products through the IDA Fixture Seal of Approval (FSA) program. Knowledgeable in photometry with a keen interest in the aesthetics of fixture design, Matt enjoys seeing the innovation of lighting experts firsthand. Well aware that a variety of lighting must be used to achieve any quality outdoor lighting plan, Matt has worked to expand the FSA program from public and commercial lighting to include residential applications and dark sky friendly devices. Matt helps promote this and other IDA programs at lighting trade shows and conferences across the country. Matt grew up in Maryland and received a bachelor’s degree in art and design at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. His interest in architecture and green design is applied in both his professional and his personal life. In his spare time, he enjoys working on architectural paintings which he shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the UK.
Ameé spent her childhood stargazing with her father and translating everything she saw into poetry. In college she pursued a Bachelor of Science in physics, but halfway through she couldn’t leave the poetry behind. Five years later, she graduated from the University of Arkansas with a B.S. in both physics and English, creative writing. Now she uses the skills she learned in college at IDA as two-sides of the same coin to write for Nightscape and the e-news while also working with the International Dark Sky Places Program. While in college Ameé did research at the University of Arkansas, McDonald Observatory in West Texas, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, and also worked as an astronomy education intern at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Her favorite place being the peaks of Torres del Paine in southern Chile just as the snow starts to fall.
She hopes to visit every national park on the map with her husband who is happy to let her ramble on-and-on about the stars, lighting and nature in general (he’s got most of it memorized by now). Perhaps someday she will even have her astro-poetry published in a literary journal.
Follow Ameé on Twitter @AstropoetAmee
Susan has worked for IDA since 2004. The longest-serving current employee, she has enjoyed seeing the tremendous change in public awareness of the issues regarding light pollution. As Membership Director, Susan organizes the IDA database and interfaces directly with general membership. Most anyone who calls during business hours will hear Susan’s pleasant voice on the telephone. Members and volunteers often remark on Susan’s competence and polite demeanor. Her broad business background, encompassing sales, purchasing, and administration helps Susan slowly but surely increase IDA’s member base. In an effort to expand IDA’s sphere of influence, she has started to restructure membership retention efforts, and has initiated several successful campaign drives. In addition to managing our active membership system, Susan has recently taken on the role of Office Manager. Her bachelor’s degree in business administration from George Washington University has helped hail changes in IDA’s accounting system that will expedite the public posting of public financial records and have already prevented numerous headaches from donors and financial administrators. Originally from New York, Susan has been a Tucson transplant for 22 years. A dedicated mother of two, she is happy to share her children’s interest in sports and exercise, and can discourse endlessly on football.
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