The Leadership Institute was initiated in 2006 to develop leadership skills in early
career wildlife professionals. Participants include TWS members from universities,
state agencies, federal agencies, provincial agencies, tribal governments, non-profit
organizations, and private firms.

Learn more about The Wildlife Society’s Leadership Institute

Class of 2023

  • Victoria Aguilar, North Cascades Institute, Washington
  • Carly Aulicky, Native Prairies Association of Texas
  • Elaine Barr, Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, West Virginia
  • Alex Beatty, Yukon Government
  • Jonathan Dudko, Brescia University, Kentucky
  • Jason Lombardi, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
  • Erika Schwoyer, University of Delaware
  • Alexandra Turano, Utah State University
  • Arin Underwood, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
  • Shailyn Wiechman, Native American Fish & Wildlife Society, Colorado

Class of 2022

  • Christopher Cleveland, University of Georgia – Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study
  • Andre Delcalzo, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Nevada
  • Alixandra Godar, USGS – Eastern Ecological Science Center, Maryland
  • Katelin Goebel, Minnesota Land Trust
  • Hanna Karevold, Ulteig Engineers Inc., North Dakota
  • Angela Kujawa, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Michigan
  • Summer LaRose, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Virginia
  • Anna Matthews, American Bird Conservancy, Texas
  • Simona Picardi, Utah State University
  • John Vanek, New York Natural Heritage Program

Class of 2020

  • Chalis Bird, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife
  • Matt Gould, New Mexico State University
  • Katie Gundermann, Great Basin Institute, Pennsylvania
  • Sara Kramer, City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, Colorado
  • Jenn Malpass, US Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Maryland
  • Elizabeth Meisman, GHD Inc., California
  • Mariana Nagy-Reis, Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute/University of Alberta
  • Tempe Regan, Idaho Department of Fish and Game
  • Julien St-Amand, Parks Canada, Alberta
  • Lisa Zoromski, USDA APHIS-Wildlife Services, Ohio

Class of 2019

  • Auriel Fournier, Forbes Biological Station–Bellrose Waterfowl Research Center, Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • John Kinsey, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
  • Jake Haus, Bemidji State University, Minnesota
  • Angie Larsen, National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, South Carolina
  • Molly O’Grady, Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii
  • Julia Nawrocki, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
  • Dustin Ranglack, University of Nebraska at Kearney
  • Bill Severud, University of Minnesota
  • Justin Shew, Lewis and Clark Community College/The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center
  • Phillip Stephenson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Class of 2018

  • Kristen Black, Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois
  • Colter Chitwood, University of Montana, Montana
  • Kristi Confortin, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina
  • Andrea Darracq, Murray State University, Kentucky
  • Charles Evans, Georgia Wildlife Federation, Georgia
  • Daniel Greene, Weyerhaeuser Company, Mississippi
  • Megan Linske, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Connecticut
  • Kyle McLean, U.S. Geological Survey, North Dakota
  • Jessica Tapp, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri
  • Emily Williams, National Park Service, Alaska

Class of 2017

  • Kyle Daly, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota
  • Paul Di Salvo, APHIS-Wildlife Services, Oregon
  • Stacey Elmore, Colorado State University
  • Marcella Fremgen, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Colorado
  • Bryan Kluever, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Massachusetts
  • Christopher Lituma, West Virginia University
  • Melissa Merrick, University of Arizona
  • Sarah Milligan, fRI Research, Alberta
  • Pamela Moore, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Kansas
  • Beth Ross, U.S. Geological Survey, South Carolina

Class of 2016

  • Adam Ahlers, Kansas State University
  • Krisha Faw, F&W Forestry, Georgia
  • Shelby Hiestand, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
  • Jennifer Kanine, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, Michigan
  • Brian Kiss, Wildlife and Fisheries Branch, Manitoba Sustainable Development
  • Andrew Little, University of Georgia
  • Rebecca Mowry, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks
  • Anthony Roberts, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maryland
  • Anthony Sipes, Indiana Department of Natural Resources
  • Julia Smith, Arizona Game and Fish Department

Class of 2015

  • Shawn Crimmins, University of Wisconsin
  • Sarah Fritts, Texas Tech University
  • Ashley Gramza, Colorado State University
  • Tyler M. Harms, Iowa State University
  • Jerod Merkle, University of Wyoming
  • Lindsey Messinger, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
  • Bridget Sousa, H. T. Harvey and Associates, California
  • Emily Thomas, The Pennsylvania State University – DuBois
  • Andrew Tri, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
  • Kelly VanBeek, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Class of 2014

  • Charles Anderson, Missouri Department of Conservation
  • David Dahlgren, Utah State University
  • Dawn Davis, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon
  • Alexander Galt, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota
  • Sara Hansen, Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
  • Michel Kohl, Utah State University
  • Sonja Leverkus, Oklahoma State University and Shifting Mosaics Consulting, British Columbia, Canada
  • Erin McCance, Joro Consultants, Manitoba, Canada
  • Sonja Smith, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
  • Heather Stricker, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Wisconsin

Class of 2013

  • Matt Bahm, Gonzaga University, Washington
  • Sarah Bullock, BLM, Alaska
  • Amy Carrozzino-Lyon, Virginia Tech
  • Sarah Hamer, Texas A&M University
  • Agnes Pelletier, Trent University, Ontario
  • Stephanie Steinhoff, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
  • Rachel Urbanek, Arkansas Tech University
  • Jonathan Wiens, Government of Manitoba
  • Rachel Williams, Arizona Game and Fish Department
  • Krysten Zummo, SUNY Cobleskill, New York

Class of 2012

  • Christopher Ayers, Mississippi State University
  • Dominic Bachman, Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, California
  • Megan Clayton, Texas AgriLife Extension Service
  • Megan Cook, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia
  • Richard Gerhold, University of Tennessee
  • Serra Hoagland, t, Northern Arizona University and U.S. Forest Service, North Carolina
  • Aletris Neils, University of Arizona and Conservation CATalyst
  • Liisa Schmoele, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Missouri
  • Virginia Tilden, Penn State University at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania
  • Valorie Titus, Binghamton University and Wildlife Conservation Society, New York

Class of 2011

  • Robert Byrd, USDA APHIS – Wildlife Services, South Carolina
  • Shawn Cleveland, The Nature Conservancy, Montana
  • Nichole Cudworth, Wyoming Game and Fish Department
  • Jonathan Derbridge, University of Arizona (Ph.D. Student)
  • Jessica Dowler, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota
  • Raymond Iglay, Mississippi State University
  • Cheryl Lohr, University of Hawaii at Manoa (Ph.D. Candidate)
  • Tony W. Mong, Wyoming Game and Fish Department
  • Johnathan O’Dell, Arizona Game and Fish Department
  • Chadwick Rittenhouse, University of Connecticut

Class of 2010

  • Elizabeth Ball, Missouri Department of Conservation
  • Jami Belt, National Park Service, Montana
  • Kristina Boyd, U.S. Forest Service/Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
  • Bridget Collins, National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative liaison to the USDA Farm Service Agency, Washington, D.C.
  • Kent Fricke, Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas
  • Martin Grenier, Wyoming Game and Fish Department
  • Elizabeth Johnson, Alabama Wildlife Federation
  • Rickey Jones, Kleinfelder West, Inc., Colorado
  • Emily Just, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
  • Shauna Marquardt, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Missouri
  • Margaret Pepper, USDA APHIS – Wildlife Services, Maryland
  • Annaliese Scoggin, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
  • Mackenzie Shardlow-Jeffress, University of Idaho/National Park Service, Idaho
  • Lindsay Smythe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona
  • Walter Veselka, West Virginia University

Class of 2009

  • Sarah Bucklin, Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming
  • Whisper Camel, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Montana
  • Nick Kaczor, Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming
  • Lesa Kardash, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
  • Daniel McDonald, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
  • Katlin Miller, Colorado State University Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology (2008 graduate)
  • Jena Moon, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas
  • Kerry Nicholson, University of Arizona School of Natural Resources (PhD Candidate)
  • Audrey Owens, Arizona Game and Fish Department
  • Mindy Rice, Colorado Division of Wildlife
  • Dana Sanchez, Oregon State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
  • Daniel Walsh, Colorado Division of Wildlife
  • Tiffany Whitsitt, Oklahoma Biological Survey
  • Amy Zavala, Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks
  • Teresa Zimmerman, Chadron State College Department of Applied Sciences, Nebraska

Class of 2008

  • LeAnne Bonner, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
  • Julie Cunningham, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
  • Kelly Douglass, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
  • Allison Fowler, The Nature Conservancy, Arkansas
  • Angela Fuller, University of Maine
  • Emily Hamblen, University of Alberta
  • Jon Klimstra, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent Research Refuge, Maryland
  • Mayra Moreno, Arizona Department of Transportation
  • Rachael Ranft, The Nature Conservancy, Texas
  • Krysten Schuler, USGS National Wildlife Health Center, Wisconsin

Class of 2007

  • Jordan Bailey, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
  • Jenny Garrett, Houston Arboretum & Nature Center, Texas
  • Lori Lauer, Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey
  • Lucas Negus, Grove Lake Wildlife Management Area, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
  • Noe Marymor, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado
  • Julie Remp, Environmental Science Associates, California
  • Susan Rupp, South Dakota State University Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences
  • Nicholas Sharp, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Lands Division
  • Dan Thompson, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Colorado
  • Marsha Ward, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Class of 2006

  • Bridgette Flanders-Wanner, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Dakota
  • Silka Kempema, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Dakota
  • Jordona Kirby, USDA APHIS – Wildlife Services, Kentucky
  • Michael Larson, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
  • Katie Moriarty, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California
  • Emily Munter, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
  • Sheldon Owen, USDA APHIS – Wildlife Services, South Carolina
  • Erin Patrick, Wildlife Biologist/GIS Specialist, Oklahoma National Guard
  • Raquel Wertsbaugh, Colorado Watershed Network
  • Lori Williams, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

Note: Affiliations given for participants were correct at the time of their
participation in TWS’ Leadership Institute.