Urban Butterfly Initiative

The People of UBI

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.

Paul V Switzer, PhD

Founder and Director

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 was 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.

Paul's favorite butterfly is the
Zebra Swallowtail
(Eurytides marcellus)

Dr Eric Bollinger was a professor in the Biology Department 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.

Eric K Bollinger, PhD

Director

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.

Eric's favorite butterfly is the
Zebra Swallowtail
(Eurytides marcellus)

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.

Britto P Nathan, PhD

Director

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.

Britto's favorite butterfly is the
Pipevine Swallowtail
(Battus philenor)

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.

Chad M Franks

Graphic Designer

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

Chad's favorite butterfly is the
Red Admiral
(Vanessa atalanta)

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.

Annalisa M Switzer, DVM

Treasurer, Graphic Artist,

and Webmaster

Besides photographing butterflies & moths, Dr Annalisa Switzer also enjoys keeping 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.

Annalisa's favorite butterfly is the
Hackberry Emperor
(Asterocampa celtis)

Hackberry Emperor (Asterocampa celtis) 2022-08-26 Jewelwing (1) copy.jpg

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.

Dave R Switzer

Marketing Director

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.

Dave's favorite butterfly is the
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
(Papilio glaucus)

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.

David Frye

Concept Promotion and

Site Maintenance

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.

David's favorite butterfly is the
Mourning Cloak
(Nymphalis antiopa)

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.

Alex Kerley

Summer 2025 - present

Student Intern

Hello all. My name's Alex. I'm a student at Eastern Illinois University getting a second bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology (first is in Human Geography). I've always been passionate about conservation, and I'm excited for this summer and ready to start working with UBI. Fun tidbit: during my childhood migrating Monarch butterflies stopped in my backyard. It was awesome seeing every square inch covered in them.

Alex's favorite butterfly is the
Red-spotted Purple
(Limenitis arthemis ssp. astyanax)

Arizona Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis arizonensis) 2023-08-05 General Hitchcock C

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.

Esmé Violet Bryson

Resident Artist

Summer 2026 Student Intern

Esmé Violet Bryson is a studio art major and biology minor at Eastern Illinois University with a passion for wildlife illustration. As UBI's Resident Artist, Esmé writes and illustrates educational artworks to share her love of pollinators and prairie restoration with the world (or, at least for now, the Charleston area). Sometimes she gets her hands dirty with something other than paint and aids UBI in their planting efforts, too!

Esmé's favorite butterfly is the
Cabbage White
(Pieris rapae)

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.

And of course

Many Valuable Volunteers!!

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.