As the Biodiversity Heritage Library enters its new chapter following the completion of its transition to a new fiscal sponsor, it is important to acknowledge that BHL’s biggest strength lies not in its platform, nor in its 63 million pages, but in its people.
For nearly two decades, a small, deeply committed team has carried the responsibility of keeping BHL online, stable, and accessible to a global community. Much of that work happens behind the scenes, often invisible to the users who rely on BHL every day. Securing that expertise and institutional knowledge has been a central goal of the BHL transition.
That goal has been achieved: this week marks the completion of staff transitions from the Smithsonian Institution to BHL’s fiscal sponsor, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). All of BHL’s existing staff positions have been secured, preserving the leadership, institutional knowledge, and operational continuity that underpin BHL’s work.
Together, the BHL staff are responsible for implementing the Consortium’s vision, mission, and strategic goals, under the direction of the Members Council and Executive Committee. As BHL moves forward, the people who know the organization best remain at its core. BHL is in excellent hands.
Meet the BHL Team
Colleen Funkhouser
Managing Director (transitioning from BHL Program Manager)
Colleen Funkhouser, BHL Managing Director
Since joining BHL in 2020, Colleen Funkhouser has provided steady, strategic leadership across BHL’s programmatic, administrative, and financial operations. She brings deep expertise in library and nonprofit program management, and plays a central role in coordinating day-to-day operations across a complex, global consortium.
In her role as Program Manager, Colleen has overseen financial management, contracts, compliance, reporting, and project coordination across BHL’s global consortium. Her work has been especially critical during periods of disruption and change, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the departure of BHL’s Program Director in 2024, and BHL’s recent transition planning.
Colleen’s calm, measured leadership has been central to effective crisis response, sustainability planning, operational restructuring, and the practical work of moving BHL into a new fiscal and organizational model. As she moves into the role of BHL Managing Director under CLIR, Colleen will continue to provide strategic and operational leadership, ensuring that BHL remains stable, accountable, and well positioned for the future.
Bianca Crowley
Digital Collections Manager
Bianca Crowley, Digital Collections Manager
Bianca Crowley has worked on almost every aspect of the BHL collection. Starting as BHL’s Collections Coordinator in 2009, she has facilitated the workflows, policies, and partnerships that make it possible for BHL to aggregate and steward biodiversity literature and archival materials from institutions around the world.
As Digital Collections Manager and Chair of BHL’s Collections Committee, Bianca works at the intersection of collections, copyright, metadata, and community practice. She supports a global network of partners by providing training and documentation, and ensuring that BHL’s collection is as accessible, discoverable, usable, and comprehensive as possible.
Bianca is an indispensable bridge between policy, technology, and practice. She led the development of BHL’s Collection Development Policy and the Acknowledgment of Harmful Content, helping BHL respond thoughtfully and responsibly to its historical collections. Her deep knowledge of BHL systems and history, along with her steady stewardship of the collection, has been essential throughout BHL’s growth and transition.
Mike Lichtenberg
Lead Software Engineer
Mike Lichtenberg, BHL Lead Software Engineer
Mike Lichtenberg has been BHL’s Software Engineer since 2007, making him one of the longest-serving members of the BHL team. Over nearly two decades, he has designed, built, and maintained the systems that underpin BHL’s platform, transforming ambitious goals into reliable, scalable infrastructure.
With more than 30 years of experience in software engineering, Mike brings deep expertise in application architecture, database design, and system integration. His work has supported everything from large-scale digitization workflows to data extraction, analysis, and reuse, enabling BHL to serve researchers, libraries, and biodiversity infrastructures worldwide.
Mike has worked consistently across BHL’s technical and non-technical teams, translating needs into solutions across nearly 20 years of BHL’s technical evolution. Throughout the transition, his technical leadership and continuity have been critical to ensuring that BHL’s core systems remain stable and robust as the organization plans for future infrastructure development.
Joel Richard
BHL Technical Coordinator
Joel Richard, BHL Technical Coordinator
Joel Richard has supported BHL’s technical operations since 2009 and continues to play a vital role as BHL Technical Coordinator. Based at the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, where he serves as Head of Web and IT, Joel brings more than three decades of experience in software engineering, web development, and infrastructure design.
Joel is the lead developer and maintainer of Macaw, BHL’s content integration and metadata collection system, which has enabled millions of pages to flow into BHL from partners around the world. He has overseen the reliability and integration of BHL’s technical systems, providing continuity and deep institutional knowledge across a complex, long-running technical platform.
As BHL moves forward, Joel will continue to support BHL in his role as Technical Coordinator, ensuring technical stability and continuity. He remains a key part of BHL’s operational ecosystem, and his long-standing commitment to BHL, alongside his broader advocacy for open and accessible infrastructure, will continue to shape and strengthen BHL’s technical future.
Kelli Trei
BHL Transition Director
Kelli Trei, BHL Transition Director
Kelli Trei has played a central leadership role in guiding BHL through the most significant change in its history. Before taking on the temporary role of BHL Transition Director in mid-2025, Kelli served as Vice Chair of BHL’s Executive Committee, providing strategic oversight and helping guide BHL’s governance.
As Transition Director, she has helped steer BHL from its long-standing administrative home at the Smithsonian Institution to a new operational model. She has worked closely with BHL’s Secretariat, Executive Committee, and partners to ensure continuity, clarity, and stability throughout the process.
In her professional role as Biosciences Librarian at the Funk ACES Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Kelli brings deep experience in supporting scientific research communities and understanding the information needs of scientists. That perspective has been invaluable during the transition, informing both strategic decision-making and the practical work of re-establishing BHL’s administrative, governance, and operational foundations.
Kelli’s long-standing commitment to BHL’s mission has been a steady guiding force throughout the transition, helping position BHL for a confident and resilient next chapter.
Nicole Kearney
BHL Communications Director
Nicole Kearney, BHL Communications Director
As BHL’s Communications Director, Nicole Kearney is responsible for internal and external communications across the global consortium. Throughout the transition, she helped articulate complex change and maintain trust by shaping advocacy messaging, delivering regular transition updates, and leading BHL’s fundraising campaign.
Nicole also manages BHL Australia, where she oversees digitization operations, copyright clearance, contributor liaison, strategic planning, reporting, staffing, and stakeholder engagement. Under her leadership, BHL Australia has grown from four contributing organizations into a national consortium of 64.
Nicole also chairs BHL’s Persistent Identifier Working Group, which she established in 2020 to bring BHL content into the modern, linked network of scholarly research. A passionate advocate for open access and interoperable data, she works to ensure biodiversity literature remains discoverable, trackable, and connected.
Looking Ahead
The transition to CLIR secures BHL’s staff, expertise, and operational capacity. The people who understand BHL’s history, systems, and community are still doing the work. Core services continue, and BHL’s relationships across its global community remain intact.
BHL’s future depends on infrastructure, governance, and funding, but it also depends on people. It depends on long-term commitment, deep institutional knowledge, and steady leadership. This team has carried that responsibility tirelessly and consistently, through growth, change, and uncertainty.
As BHL looks ahead to the next phase of its development, we do so with confidence and gratitude. The foundations are strong, the people are in place, and BHL is well positioned to continue serving the global biodiversity community for years to come.
