>> Liam was recently interviewed on KQED-FM’s Forum about his life in lepidoptery (2/7/14). LISTEN
A trained stage actor (who appeared in Les Miserables on Broadway), Liam O’Brien now uses his “stage presence” and self-described “loud voice” to champion the cause of local lepidoptera. His encyclopedic knowledge of butterflies and moths is entirely self-taught, his seemingly boundless enthusiasm for sharing that knowledge is thoroughly infectious, and his ability to foster projects that bring together humans and butterflies is unique. On any given day, Liam might be found surveying butterfly host plants on San Bruno Mountain, leading a butterfly walk on Mount Tam, organizing volunteers in San Francisco to plant natives for the Green Hairstreak Corridor (a project he started in 2007), sketching wood nymphs on Mount Diablo, or persuading civic leaders to alter construction plans for Market Street to protect the local tiger swallowtail population. A Bay Area native, Liam was born in Redwood City, raised in San Jose, and now lives in San Francisco’s Castro District, in the shadow of Mission Blue butterfly habitat on Twin Peaks. Liam’s blog is at SFButterfly.com.
Read about our other 2014 Local Heroes:
Join us in celebrating Bay Nature’s Local Heroes at our 2015 Annual Awards Dinner on March 22, 2015 at Scott’s Seafood Pavilion in Oakland’s Jack London Square.
>> Click here to nominate our 2015 Local Heroes — and for more details about Bay Nature’s Annual Awards Dinner, including tickets and sponsorship opportunities.
