Meet our Staff
There are many hands that work to make The International Hummingbird Society a success. We each come with different backgrounds but share the same love of these special and amazing birds. Colibri is an international word for hummingbird. Since we are an international organization we find it fitting to call ourselves, "team colibri"!
Male Black-chinned at Hot Lips Salvia - Hilary Joy Morejon - Hummingbirds of Joy
Team Colibri
Alice Madar
Executive Director
September 1, 2023: I am deeply honored to be taking up the position of Executive Director. To me, this feels like a particularly auspicious moment in the history of the International Hummingbird Society (IHS): We are transitioning from management by the founders – Ross and Beth Kingsley Hawkins – to management by a sustainer who was not there at the beginning. It shows that this idea of a society dedicated to teaching about hummingbirds and working to preserve them is a worthy, strong cause – a cause that has a life of its own. A cause that all of you care about.
A little about me: before moving to Sedona, I had a career in writing, editing, and corporate communications in the San Francisco Bay Area. After I settled here with my family, I joined Sedona Charter School. As its director I found great joy in helping it grow into a vital, solid institution with a strong sense of community. I learned a lot about managing a non-profit. But the hummingbirds were always calling to me. I built a hummingbird garden in our yard, complete with two ponds, because I learned hummers love water features. I traveled to Ecuador and Peru and southeastern Arizona to see and photograph as many of them as I could. I have been to every Sedona Hummingbird Festival for the past eight years and have loved every one of them.
And now, I am looking forward to working with all of you to help protect and expand our knowledge of these tiny, otherworldly beings. The board, staff and I are filled with ideas for how to build on what Ross and Beth Kingsley Hawkins have already accomplished – to extend the Society’s reach and influence to do even more in pursuit of the dual mission of education and conservation. At the same time, in all our activities, I want to make sure to preserve the joy that everyone experiences at the Sedona Hummingbird Festival – and each time you see a hummingbird.
If you have not already done so, please join us by clicking on the button below. We need your support in order to continue our mission.
Cheers for the hummers,
Alice Madar
Executive Director
Beth Kingsley Hawkins
Executive Director Emerita
Marblehead, MA High School 1956
Brown University, Providence, R I 1956-58
B S in music education, University of New Hampshire 1960
M A in music and music therapy from Ball State for studies at
the Orff Institute, a division of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria 1977
FAMI Fellow of the Association for Music and Imagery
CMT-Certified Music therapist through the Am. Association of Music Therapy
Elementary Music Teacher, Westtown Friends and Montessori
Music Therapy professor and field supervisor, Immaculata College, PA
Music therapist in Geriatrics, skilled care and Alzheimers
Music psychotherapist in private practice 1978- present
Reiki master
Charter member of North American Nature Association
Professional Nature Photographer specializing in hummingbirds
Sole-proprietor of Sedona Hummingbird Gallery 2006 – present
Author of Anna's in the Snow and Hummy the Magnificent
Presenter at the Hummingbird Festival for 10 years
Mother of 3 sons, 5 grandchildren, married Ross Hawkins in 1987
Co-founder of the International Hummingbird Society
Hilary Joy Morejon
Director of Marketing & Media
EMT - 2010
Dental Assistant - 2014
Associate in Arts Degree
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Hilary writes our monthly Hummingbird Messenger E-newsletter, runs our website, social media, marketing for festival & society, and helps plan the Sedona Hummingbird Festival!
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She is a hummingbird enthusiast who has a strong passion for these phenomenal birds. She started out by handfeeding and reading everything she could about hummingbirds. After attending her first Sedona Hummingbird Festival in 2019 she was hooked. Since moving to the beautiful city of Sedona in the summer of 2021 with her husband, Whitney Morejon, she began working for the International Hummingbird Society in fall 2021.
After two years and two festivals later, she wanted to fulfill another one of her dreams... hummingbird banding. She was accepted to a hummingbird banding program at the Southwestern Research Station in Portal, AZ, in the Chiricahua Mountains. She has since passed the course and will become a sub-permitted bander.
When not at work, Hilary enjoys hummingbird photography, hiking, off-roading, traveling, and being with family (animals included).
You can see her photography on Instagram: hummingbirdsofjoy