Staff Members

Patricia Hagen, Ph.D., Vice President/Executive Director - Audubon Missouri; Executive Director - Audubon Center at Riverlands. Patricia led the efforts to establish this Audubon Center in the St. Louis region. She is responsible for the development of partnerships with regional organizations and community leaders, environmental education programming, nature tourism infrastructure, business planning, and fundraising to sustain the Center’s operations. Audubon’s primary partner in this development is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Center is located within the Corps of Engineers’ Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary.  Patricia received her undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri at Columbia, and her Masters in Public Administration, and Doctorate in Public Policy Analysis from Saint Louis University. She spent twenty years of her professional career at Saint Louis University where she served as Associate Provost for Research, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  She remains a faculty member in the Public Policy Department at Saint Louis University. 

Kerstin Landwer, Development and Volunteer Coordinator, Wildcat Glades Conservaton & Audubon Center. Kerstin has worked with nonprofit organizations throughout her career including Joplin Family Y and the American Red Cross. Kerstin is active in the arts in Joplin and serves on the board of directors for Spiva Center for the Arts. Kerstin also volunteers with the Cultural Affairs committee of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, the Joplin Museum Complex and the American Red Cross.

Matthew Magoc, Environmental Education Specialist, Audubon Center at Riverlands. Matthew Magoc serves as the Environmental Education Specialist at the Audubon Center at Riverlands. With a background in education, a B.A. from Saint Louis University and a M.Ed. in Environmental Education from Florida Atlantic University, Matthew is excited to be combining his experience with his passion for environment. Before joining the Audubon Center, Matthew spent two years working at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center while he finished his graduate degree. At Pine Jog, Matthew lived and worked on a 135 acre nature preserve in West Palm Beach, FL. During this time, he enjoyed leading field trips throughout the nature preserve and leading educational programs. As the Audubon Center’s Environmental Education Specialist, Matthew hopes to extend his love of protecting and conserving the environment to others.  In his free time, Matthew enjoys being outdoors fishing, hiking, biking, and playing sports.

Robin McAlester, Executive Director, Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center. Robin graduated from MSSU with a B.A. in communications and has worked with nonprofit organizations throughout her career beginning with the United Way of Southwest Missouri. Before joining Audubon Missouri in 2005, she organized marketing efforts for St. John's Regional Medical Center, Joplin, MO. Prior to becoming the center's executive director in 2008, Robin was the center's development director and was instrumental in the $6.2 million capital campaign.

Debra McStay, Operations Manager, Audubon Center at Riverlands. Prior to joining Audubon, Debra spent four years as an independent project manager working primarily with museums. Clients included the Saint Louis Science Center where she produced the original exhibit “Medicine in the Time of the Civil War”, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.  Prior to that time she served as the Associate Director of the National Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. Debra will assist Dr. Hagen, handle the administrative duties of the office, and manage the volunteer and membership programs. 

Ken Middick, Buildings and Grounds Caretaker, Wildcat Glades Conervation & Audubon Center. Ken has been an Audubon Center Volunteer since 2007 before joining the team in 2011. He has volunteered on projects for the Neosho Fish Hatchery and special events for Children’s Miracle Network. He is a member of Leawood Village Church of Christ where he serves as Teacher and Music Instructor. Ken has taught CROAK (Creeks, Rivers, Oceans, And Kids) summer school classes for several years and has been a Master Naturalist since 2010.

Chris Pistole, Education Director, Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center. Chris, originally from Pittsburg, KS graduated with his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology from Pittsburg State University. After graduating he worked as the Program Director at Naturereach, a nature education outreach program in Pittsburg. During that time he coordinated Raptor Reach, a rehabilitation program for sick, injured and orphaned birds of prey. At the same time he worked for the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center (Greenbush) with the Abernathy Science Ed. Center. Most recently he worked as a park naturalist with the Johnson Co. (KS) Park and Recreation District at the Ernie Miller Nature Center in Olathe, KS. In Chris’s free time you may find him bird feeding, hiking, camping, scuba diving, photographing nature, gardening or mountain biking.

Lane Richter, Naturalist/Educator, Audubon Center at Riverlands. Lane graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville with a M.S. in Environmental Science and a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, and the Environment. His thesis research focused on atmospheric stormwater loss from green roof systems and he conducted a bird survey of bluff forest avifauna in southwest Illinois while in graduate school. Before joining Audubon he served as an AmeriCorps member for two years in conservation-oriented programs. During this time he developed an even greater appreciation for public natural areas in Missouri. At the Center, Lane is working with partners from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Cornell Ornithology Lab to develop and implement a citizen science bird monitoring project for bottomland forests in the Great Rivers IBA.  Lane is an avid birder and enjoys hiking, camping, gardening, and propagating native plants.