Meet The Team

Holly will be a senior in high school for the upcoming school year and is attending an online/homeschool hybrid school called The Potter’s School.  She is an aspiring artist and ornithologist with a passion for any bird she can set her sights on,, but particularly vultures/condors, raptors, and pigeons. She is an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist, animal lover, instrumentalist, and enthusiastic conservationist.  After being a part of last year’s summit, being able to plan it again excites her.  Aside from conservation and ornithology, she enjoys participating in a variety of activities such as pigeon racing, music making/writing, drawing, reading, and writing - in that order.

Kirstin Hayes is a senior at Cincinnati Country Day School in Indian Hill. She is the captain of her school’s cheer team, an editor on the school newspaper, and a board member of her school’s Equity Diversity and Inclusion Council. Kirstin spent her first three years of high school researching pollinators and native plants, and is passionate about increasing pollinator habitats around her community. Kirstin also enjoys playing guitar, sewing, knitting, and other forms of crafting. 

Margaret is excited to be a part of the Summit planning committee. Her passions include conservation, activism, and using technology to be a positive influence. Her main form of expression is writing, but she has begun exploring other types of media. She and a few other conservation-minded teens recently created a sustainability podcast where they discuss how an individual can make an impact on their world. She is also involved with several organizations. She volunteers at the Cincinnati Zoo, works with a local Sustainability Council, and is on the board of Tellus Zine - a local art publication. 

Maya loves all things conservation, from finding ways to reduce plastic to being an overly enthusiastic composter. She is a big fan of sports, mainly running and basketball. She loves the outdoors with walks, runs, hikes, swimming, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, cornhole, and any other games being some of her favorite activities. She is the Special Events Director of her school’s Key Club and served over 100 hours last year. She is a Student Council representative as well. She loves Indian food, hanging out with friends, and having deep talks. She always enjoys meeting new people and is excited to do just that with this committee!  

Meredith Suddendorf is very excited to be a part of the Summit planning committee. She is an incoming freshman at Ursuline Academy. She loves all things that have to do with science and history. She loves to play volleyball and she paints and does all forms of art in her free time. She is hoping that being a part of the Summit planning committee will help her to begin her journey and passion for conservation and wildlife protection. 

Pierce is currently a senior at Sycamore High School. He is the President of the Biology Club, where he has headed the Turtle Telemetry project – the club tracks turtles through a local nature preserve – for the last three years. He is an Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist, and has designed and taught a course to 5-8 year olds about basic concepts of nature and the environment, ending with a hike at CNC. Throughout this last year, he has been working with a professor at the Ohio State University on a Credit Flex ArcGIS course. Outside of nature and the environment his other academic interests include the Classics and Physics.

Vishva Ilavelan is currently a junior at Skyline Highschool in Sammamish, Washington. He is an aspiring ornithologist who is involved in research programs with the Eastside Audubon Society and the Puget Sound Bird Observatory. He also enjoys wildlife photography and participating in the Science Olympiad. He is eager to spread his love for wildlife to others and demonstrate the intersectionalities between environmental science and conservation through planning the Youth Conservation Summit!