William Haddon, Ph.D.

Bill holds degrees in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College and Purdue University.  His careers in plant natural product research, food safety and clinical diagnostics provided experience with complex chemical instrumentation which directly translates to an understanding of modern computer-driven telescopes.  His astronomy interest dates from the age of five when his father dragged him out to observe the Perseid meteors.  Bill has lectured at Taylor Observatory on theories of the chemical origin of life on earth and on Near Earth Objects.   Bill served as president of Friends of Taylor from 2011 to 2022 with the goal to maintain a first-rate STEM resource for Lake County’s K-12 students through upgrades to Taylor’s physical building and telescope resources. As board president he planned and carried out approximately eighty Window to the Universe fund-raising programs, including a now yearly outreach program at the Clear Lake State Park.   Using funds from the Charles Neiman Trust, Bill and the FOTO BOD oversaw construction of the Nieman Star Deck and the FOTO Office and the purchase of an 18” Teeter Dobsonian telescope for observing Deep Sky Objects.  He established the FSTAR program for lending telescopes to qualified students.  With his FOTO group and community support Bill sought to establish Dark Sky Certification for Lake County both to maintain dark skies for future generations of students and to promote an astro-tourism industry for the county

Eduardo Alatorre-Acevedo

Eduardo came to Taylor through Kelseyville High School’s community service program and was trained by former Observatory Coordinator Barbara McIntyre. At Taylor, he pursued his intense interest in all things solar system-related. Eduardo had read all of the Lakeport Library’s astronomy books by about the age of 12. In addition to his numerous solar system talks at Taylor, Eduardo has presented lectures at the Lakeport Library, the Sonoma County Astronomical Society, and the Ukiah Latitude Observatory. Eduardo directs the Friends of Taylor Observatory Spanish language program at Taylor. As a Taylor docent, Eduardo interacted with student visitors on a daily basis and was active in teaching robotics workshops. Eduardo completed his A.S. in Earth Science and Geology at Mendocino College. Eduardo completed a B.A. in Geology at UC Davis with a focus on geobiology and sedimentology. Eduardo was able to incorporate his love of teaching science to K–12th grade students in Lake County and his newfound love of astrobiology with the creation of an activity on the search for evidence of life with fossils. His activity received a 2024 NASA Astrobiology Travel Grant to present the activity in person at the 2024 Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) in Providence, Rhode Island. Eduardo is currently a geobiology master’s student at UC Davis, conducting research on Cambrian oncolites and interpreting the bio-geochemistry of Archaean microbialites. Along with with his work with Taylor Observatory, Eduardo is also involved with the Clear Lake Environmental Research Center as a member of their board of directors.
Links to 2024 Abscicon abstract and poster:
Paper_1499003_extendedabstract_139192_0-9

Juan Leal

Barbara McIntyre

Barbara has her degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buffalo (SUNYAB).  She worked more than 27 years at Praxair (formerly Linde-Union Carbide) ultimately working as a Global Leader for Excellence in Operations and Advanced Control Systems.  In 2006, she retired to Lake County, along with her husband astronomer Edward Giannelli.  It was Edward’s involvement as a Taylor docent that introduced Barbara to our Lake County Gem. Barbara’s love of science and children led her to accept the position of Taylor Observatory Coordinator in 2008. While coordinator, at Taylor she secured funding for upgrades to the Norton Planetarium, for solar energy installation and for purchase of new technologies for the classroom.  Barbara initiated the “Future Astronomers” and “FIRST” Robotics STEM programs at Taylor.  Community donations and grants were used to purchase telescopes for winning students and 20 robot kits and laptops for robotics camps. Barbara received the Stars of Lake County Women of the Year Award in 2014.

Angelo Parisi

Angelo has been sharing his love of the night sky with the public for over 35 years. He is one of the founding member of the Robert Ferguson Observatory (RFO) in Sonoma County. As a member of RFO he created the PlanetWalk, a scale model of the solar system set up as a permanent display in Sugar Loaf Ridge State Park. He also was a member of the award winning Big Bang Band Traveling Star Show, an outreach program for RFO using music to teach astronomy in elementary schools throughout Sonoma County and California.
Angelo has been living in Lake County for the last fourteen years. He currently works for the Lake County Office of Education developing educational programs for Taylor Observatory. Angelo has a degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University.

Chris Nettles

Tom Schleif

Tom is an anthopologist with a degree from the University of Wisconsin.  He has worked as a professional exhibit designer at the Field Museum in Chicago.   For most of his career Tom managed the restoration of a Lake Michigan Lighthouse Museum , “The Southport Museum”,  in Kenosha, Wisconsin and served as its director. Tom is a master wood craftsman.  In 2016 he constructed a Steampunk-design Dobsonian scope using mirrors from an abandoned  30-year old Taylor Observatory Newtonian instrument.  Visitors can see and use Tom’s telescope at Taylor.  Tom’s recent interest in astrophotography has produced high quality photographs of nebulas and galaxies; he is becoming nationally known in this complex hobby.

David Velasquez, Ph.D.

David has an undergraduate degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of New Mexico and a graduate degree in Biophysics from the University of Rochester, NY.  He worked in medical R&D for 3M in Minnesota, and has resided in Lake County since 2014.  David and his wife, MerryJo are Lake County Master Gardeners.  David is also President of the Lake County Symphony.  For FOTO he organized the very successful “Pluto Palooza” event at Taylor and is a frequent lecturer at Taylor Public Night programs.  David heads FOTO’s building committee.

J. David Markham, Esq.

David Markham grew up in Lake County and has lived here most of his life.
As Treasurer of FOTO David is responsible for managing accounts and tracking and fulfilling the numerous reporting requirements for public organizations to maintain tax-exempt status.