Founder and Executive Director, BRI

Chris Biro has enjoyed a lifelong passion for parrots, and has been flying and training parrots since 1993. He is nationally and internationally recognized as an educational speaker and trainer with expertise in free flight training, Ethology-based training, and Operant Conditioning training methods. He is a pioneer in the field of teaching other avian enthusiasts about successfully living with and training free-flighted birds. Chris has written numerous articles on these subjects and is sought out as an expert by trainers, ornithologist, researchers, and bird enthusiast.

Chris has been a guest speaker on free flight training at events including the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) Conference, National Parrot Rescue & Preservation Foundation (NPRPF), International Association of Avian Trainers and Educators (IAATE) Conference, and Parrots International Symposium. He has also presented seminars in France, Portugal and the Netherlands.

Chris founded BRI in 2011 with the vision of applying successful new approaches to saving endangered bird species in the U.S and around the word. He serves as BRI’s full time Executive Director.

Chris is a veteran (U.S. Army Paratrooper and Drill Sergeant), and lives near Portal, Arizona.

Vice President & Secretary, Board of Directors, BRI

Constance Woodman, PhD, is the American Federation of Aviculture (AFA) State Coordinator, Rhode Island. She has been working with the conservation community since 2001. She is particularly interested in the transition of animals from human environments into wild environments. Relating to that area of knowledge she has successfully participated in the breeding, rearing, and released extirpated native owls under government permit, as well as practiced licensed rehabilitation of human impacted wildlife for release.

Her area of academic research is the transfer of predator-related information between animals. She has a strong background in public education and public participation in conservation and scientific programs, having developed conservation education programming with museums, zoos, institutes, two universities, and a National Park.

Connie has her PhD program from Texas A & M.

Interim Board Member of Directors, BRI

Humberto Mendes, PhD, is a former entomologist with over 20 years’ experience in natural sciences describing over a hundred new species. He holds a PhD in Zoology from the University of Bergen (Norway), and an MS and PhD in Entomology from the University of São Paulo.

He is a lifelong parrot owner and has been dedicated to free-flight training since 2017. In 2018, he started a group with undergraduate students to study the major factors involved in the process of free-flight training.

He is presently on a research sabbatical and dedicated fulltime to this project.