Meet the Team

Michelle is the founder and president of Balk Biological. She has over seventeen years of experience in the environmental consulting field in Southern California. Her specialties include vegetation community mapping, special-status plant surveys, project management, and training and leading other botanists in large-scale floristic surveys. She also performs wetlands delineations and general wildlife surveys and is an experienced environmental monitor of linear construction projects. She has participated in the preparation of a wide variety of environmental documents, including biotechnical reports in support of CEQA documents and habitat conservation plans pursuant to Section 10 of the federal Endangered Species Act. Ms. Balk regularly teaches botany classes for the California Native Plant Society.

Michelle enjoys reading, camping, and trying to teach her two-year-old about plants and wildlife while he ignores her to focus on trains and trucks. Michelle’s favorite plants are the spineflowers (Chorizanthe species), or really anything teeny tiny that requires one to slow down and look closely to appreciate its intricate beauty.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from Iowa State University and a Master of Science from the University of Akron (Ohio) (emphasis in Ecology and Evolution).

Will graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology in 2010 but began his career in environmental consulting about three years ago.  In the intervening years, he worked on National Science Foundation research projects in Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, and Colorado looking at the interaction between ecology and evolution as well as the effects of climate change on organisms in temperate regions versus the tropics.

The most appealing part of environmental consulting for Will is the ability to work primarily outdoors, sometimes in places where people go to enjoy their weekends.  Also, when the job calls for animal behavior observations, it can be a lot like watching a nature documentary.  It’s not snow leopards or tigers we get to observe, but the struggle and drama that occurs every day in the life of animals is still there.

Will’s favorite animal is a dog.  His favorite animal native to San Diego, however, is the coast horned lizard.  This animal possesses the ability to squirt blood out of its eyes as a defensive mechanism to avoid being eaten.  It’s a great example of the extreme sorts of adaptations that can develop to avoid predation.

Brynne Mulrooney’s qualifications as a biologist include 19 years of experience as a wildlife biologist specializing in avian studies. Brynne has worked as a biological consultant for the last 10 years and has expanded her experience to include botany, environmental compliance, and wetland delineations. Brynne has worked in a variety of locations including Florida, Texas, Arizona, Mississippi, Alabama, New Jersey and California.

Brynne currently works as a biologist conducting wildlife habitat assessments, avian presence/absence surveys, vegetation mapping, rare plant surveys, wetland delineations, and biological monitoring on various construction projects. Brynne’s project management duties include preparation of scopes of work, keeping projects within their allotted budgets, management of staff on projects, and maintaining strong relationships with clients.

Brynne enjoys traveling, camping, and spending time outside with her family, and sharing her appreciation of nature with her two children (a budding marine biologist and botanist/pop star in the making!). Brynne loves conducting biological surveys off the beaten path, in remote places not regularly visited by others; learning new things by spending time in the field with other biologists; and keeping her clients happy. Brynne’s favorite animal is the vermilion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus), a remarkable little songbird commonly found in riparian areas and desert scrub in the arid southwest. These birds shine like ornaments when perched against the bright green of a willow or cottonwood tree (the males are strikingly red and black, while the females are a more subtle salmon and grayish brown), which is how the breeding males spend almost 90% of their day. Brynne’s favorite observation of these birds is when the males perform their spectacular courtship display during the breeding season: males puff up their bodies while fluttering up to 30 feet above the canopy, singing their delightful song in hopes of impressing a prospective mate.

Brynne holds a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida.

Amy Trexler has over seven years of project experience throughout the southwest performing biological compliance monitoring and consulting for large-scale construction projects. She also has extensive experience conducting endangered and special-status species protocol-level surveys and nesting bird surveys. Amy has a background in studying human-wildlife conflict resolution and draws on this knowledge to help clients to come up with creative solutions to minimize environmental impacts. Amy holds a B.S. in Biology. The thing Amy loves most about her job is getting the chance to explore new places and being outside every day. Her favorite animal is the desert tortoise. They can survive for a year without water!