
Welcome to the IDA’s new Directors and Officers!

We hope that you will join us in welcoming these new additions to the International Dark-Sky Association Board of Directors!
Our New Board Officers:
Diane Knutson, President | USA
Diane emphasizes, “Night sky quality is important, and it’s about much more than viewing the cosmos. While access to the night sky is marvelous in itself; natural night conditions are essential to the wellbeing of all life on Earth.”
Diane began to advocate for the reduction of light pollution by connecting policymakers with night-sky preservation advocates within South Dakota, founding an IDA Chapter in South Dakota. The chapter coordinates events in the Black Hills (Paha Sapa), such as the Mickelson Star Trail nights and city-wide dark sky festivals.
Diane earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Iowa, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Community Health Education from the University of Nebraska. Diane believes some of her best education comes from connecting with others under a sky full of stars. “The stars have great knowledge, and they have it for you.”
As a business owner and currently an involved parent, Diane brings business experience and leadership skills to the board.
Diane’s faith, family, and friends serve vital roles in fulfilling her life’s purpose. Diane is reminded of Matthew 2:10. “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” and finds assurance in Psalm 19. “.…night after night they (heavens) reveal knowledge.”
Diane wants us to remember that a portion of our time belongs under a star-filled sky.
Brad Schlesselman, Secretary | USA
Other Board Members:
Tom Reinert | USA
Tom is a retired Washington, D.C. lawyer who spent most of his career representing airlines and railroads in labor and employment matters, including extensive experience translating scientific experts for lay decisionmakers. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Law School. His environmental activism included a decade fighting water pollution with local riverkeeper organizations on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. In 2013, seeing the Andromeda Galaxy for the first time with his naked eyes from atop Kitt Peak rekindled an interest in astronomy and a desire to eliminate light pollution. Currently residing in Northern Virginia, he and his wife Chris travel extensively in the Western United States seeking dark sky locations. For several years he has assisted IDA as a volunteer on legal and public policy issues at the national level.
Connie Walker | USA
Connie has been a Scientist at NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (or NSF’s NOIRLab, basically your national observatory) for almost 20 years, creating innovative programs on dark skies education (like Globe at Night) and sharing them via workshops, talks, and events all over the world.
She holds a Bachelors’s degree in Physics and Astronomy from Smith College, a Master’s Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Arizona. She is president of the International Astronomical Union (IAU)’s commission on light pollution, and chair of the IAU Executive Council Working Group on Dark & Quiet Skies Protection. She is co-chair of the SATCON workshops and chair of the Dark & Quiet Skies workshop & conference. She is past-president of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Board of Directors and is thrilled now to be back on the board of directors of the IDA. For her efforts in bringing dark skies awareness to the public, the IDA awarded her their Hoag-Robinson award in 2011. Asteroid 29292 ConnieWalker was named by discoverers, David Levy and Carolyn Shoemaker, for her efforts in educational outreach. Her amazing astronomer-husband, daughter, son, and cat thankfully tolerate her interest in the dark side of astronomy.
Kevin Gaston Ph.D. | U.K.
Sibylle Schroer | Germany

Since 2010, Sibylle Schroer is scientific coordinator of the working group “Light Pollution and Ecophysiology” at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin, Germany. Among other projects, she has coordinated the COST-Action “Loss of the Night Network” (ES1204, 2012-2016) and contributed to develop guidelines for environmental friendly outdoor lighting. Today she is transferring this knowledge into practice within the project “Species protection through environmental friendly lighting”. She is committee member of the ALAN conference series. Her research focus is the protection of insects and biodiversity. She has studied biological alternatives for chemical pesticides in projects at the German Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (JKI) and at the University of Florida (Fort Lauderdale, US). Sibylle Schroer holds a doctorate in agricultural science from the Christian-Albrecht University (CAU) of Kiel and a diploma of horticultural science from the Humboldt University of Berlin.
Sergio Montúfar Codoñer | Guatemala
Mike Simmons | USA
You can view the entire Board of Directors, here.