Dr Paul Switzer received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis and is currently a Professor of Biology at Eastern Illinois University. He started the Grand Prairie Butterfly Club in 2003 and founded UBI in 2018. Dr Switzer is honored to be the Keynote Speaker at the 2023 Texas Butterfly Festival at the National Butterfly Center (a project of NABA, the North American Butterfly Association) in Mission, TX. He has loved butterflies for as long as he can remember.

Dr Eric Bollinger was a professor in the Biology Departement at Eastern Illinois University for nearly 35 years teaching courses in areas such as ornithology, ecology, and conservation biology.

Dr Bollinger is currently devoting his time to various conservation organizations, especially UBI.

Dr Britto Nathan is a Neurobiologist at Eastern Illinois University with a passion for anything related to nature. His favorite hobbies include hiking, biking, and kayaking.

Chad Franks is a member of the Eastern Illinois University Marketing & Communications team, and was instrumental in designing the UBI Butterfly e-Guide.

Besides spending hundreds of hours photographing butterflies & moths, Dr Annalisa Switzer also enjoys keeping backyard chickens, building her house, amassing interesting beads for her micro-macrame jewelry, and wasting time on jigsaw, math, and logic puzzles. Her experiences co-founding and co-chairing a non-profit political organization inspired her involvement in the legal and organizational aspects of UBI, but it is her desire to slow down the Anthropocene Extinction that drives her passion for UBI's mission.

Senior Communications Specialist at the Kansas City National Security Campus, Dave Switzer has been involved in marketing and communications for over 40 years. From broadcast television to non-profit marketing to industrial communications, he enjoys turning complex issues into information to help educate and inform. Dave believes creating butterfly habitat anywhere is good for the eyes, environment, and mental health.

A graduate of Eastern Illinois University, David Frye is a tireless advocate for conservation, and has spent countless hours doing exhausting and often challenging environmental work all over the country, including for UBI. He continues to volunteer his time and efforts to UBI hotspots whenever he visits Coles County.

Hi there! My name is Kayla and I am from one of the northwest suburbs of Chicago called Elk Grove VIllage. I am currently a senior Environmental Biology major studying at EIU. I enjoy hiking, camping, and hammocking when I can. After graduation, I hope to work in the field of Environmental and Conservation Biology! My favorite butterfly is the Eastern Comma, mostly because they look like little leaves when they fold their wings but unfold to show a beautiful pattern!

Hey! My name is Taryn Tarquin and I am a junior EVB major at Eastern Illinois University. I am originally from San Diego CA and am currently on Eastern’s Women’s Track Team. I’ve always grown up with a great appreciation for pollinators and am so excited to be working with UBI! I love hiking, cooking, and exploring nature. My end goal after graduation is to go into Environmental Conservation!

Hello! I am Lucas Grindley and I'm a senior EVB major at Eastern Illinois University. I joined UBI to make a difference in my community and work with pollinators. Currently I serve as the president of the Beekeeping and Biodiversity RSO at EIU! My end goal after graduation is to continue working with pollinators in some aspect, as they are an important part of our environment!

Volunteers help us develop and manage sites, as well as gather data. To learn more about volunteering with UBI, click here or send us an email at UButterflyInitiative@gmail.com.