Board of Directors

Elizabeth is the Region 13 Director supporting the National Wildlife Federation’s Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming affiliate organizations. She loves igniting a passion and appreciation for our wildlife and wild landscapes in others, and is committed to helping hunters, anglers, and all outdoor enthusiasts present a united voice and advocate for conservation of our ecological resources. She appreciates wildness and understands the important roles that sound research, community education, and responsible management play in long term sustainability.

Elizabeth moved to Boise, Idaho, in 2008 after completing both a master’s degree in environmental law and a law degree at Vermont Law School, and has been an active Board Member of the Idaho Wildlife Federation for the last 5 years. Elizabeth is excited to help instill a passion for wildlife and habitat in others so we can amplify our collective efforts to give wildlife a voice, and to help unite all Americans to ensure wildlife thrives in our rapidly changing world.

Elizabeth regularly spends her free time hiking, hunting, camping, fishing, rafting, skiing, and exploring as many wild places as she can. Growing up in northwest Pennsylvania, her love and respect for the outdoors was instilled at a young age through many days of hunting, fishing, and playing in the forests, rivers, and mountains. She and her husband are laying that same foundation for their two sons, who started enjoying nights under the stars at just a few months old.

Terri Roehrig grew up fishing for salmon and lake trout on Lake Michigan and Walleyes on Lake Winnebago and blue gills and crappies at the local ponds in her small hometown. She enjoys spending time in the outdoors working on habitat management, fishing, and hunting. She especially loves working her German Shorthaired Pointers on a good upland game hunt.

Terri has twenty-five years of professional focus leading consulting service organizations by initiating and delivering sustained results across a wide range of industries and clients. Major experience lies in strategizing and leading cross-functional teams to bring about fundamental change and improvement in strategy, performance, process, and profitability.

Terri is a member of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation Executive Committee and serves as Secretary. She also serves on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress Executive Committee as Vice Chair and has chaired various WCC committees including the WCC Strategic Implementation Committee and Outreach and Public Relations Committee.

Among her other numerous volunteer activities, Terri has served on the Board of Directors for the Oxbow Sportsman’s Club, the Wisconsin German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue, the Mondovi Conservation Club and the Buffalo County Conservation Alliance.

Terri has been a hunter safety instructor for over 17 years and is a life member of the Alma Rod and Gun Club and the Mondovi Conservation Club.

Bill’s lifelong passion for environmental advocacy led him to join the National Wildlife Federation's affiliate, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, to protect the West Branch of the Penobscot River from the Big A dam, in the early 1980s. For several years Bill worked with NRCM to organize a Guide's Rendezvous—a conference designed to empower guides to take actions to protect Maine’s environment. He served on the Board of Directors for NRCM for seven years, with two years as Board President. In 2002, NRCM recognized Bill’s efforts to protect Maine's wild and scenic places by honoring him with an Environmental Achievement Award.

A Master Maine Guide with thousands of river miles guiding raft, canoe, and kayak trips throughout North American and Europe, Bill has taught outdoor leadership and skills at Somerset Career and Technical Center for the past 25 years. He developed the pioneering two-year course to prepare high-school-age students to work in the natural resources and outdoor recreation industries while instilling in them an appreciation of nature and a conservation ethic.

Bill served as chair of the State of Maine's Whitewater Guides Advisory Board for many years and is a life member of the Maine Wilderness Guides Organization.

Kathy served more than 10 years as the Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF) representative to the National Wildlife Federation. She served two terms as president of MWF, where she was an active board member for almost 20 years. She was appointed by Montana’s governor to the first Private Lands/Public Wildlife Committee, which resulted in legislation that opened up more than seven million acres of private land to public hunting. Kathy was first elected to the National Wildlife Federation Board of Directors in 2002. Kathy was elected in 2016 to serve as Chair-Elect.

She is a founding board member of the Clark Fork Coalition, a vibrant river advocacy organization, and has served as a conservation representative on the Clark Fork River Basin Restoration Council.

Now retired, Kathy is the former executive director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology, a nonprofit organization that helps people by championing small-scale, local, and sustainable solutions to reduce poverty, promote healthy communities, and protect natural resources.

John loves wildlife and the outdoors. Seeing wildlife of all types thriving in their natural surroundings brings him joy. He is a passionate conservationist and outdoorsperson. His outdoors interests include fishing, paddling of all types, hiking, birds, scuba diving, maintaining his pollinator garden and more.

John has served on the NWF Board since 2017, and was elected Vice-Chair in 2019. He participated actively in the development of the current NWF Strategic Plan in 2016-17, and played a lead role with Mamie Parker, other board members and the great NWF Environmental Justice team in developing the Creating Safe Spaces series of webinars in 2020-2021. His deep prior board and business experience have enabled him to contribute across a number of the NWF Board Committees and initiatives.

John serves on a number of nonprofit conservation-oriented boards including the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, where he was Chair from 2014-2016. He has served as chair of several. His previous board experience includes the Worldwatch Institute, NC Sound Economy, and Population Connection among others. He is proud of his previous role on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters for the Greater Charlotte area, where he founded the BBBS organization in his then-home of Cabarrus County outside Charlotte.

John retired in 2002 from Accenture, the global strategy, technology and outsourcing firm, after a 28-year career. He was promoted to Partner in 1985 and a Managing Partner in 1991. His role at retirement was Chief Operating Officer for Resources Global Market Unit, one of Accenture’s five global market units.

Randy Jones is the co-founder and Managing Director of Vignetic, an information technology consulting and executive search firm based in Princeton, NJ. He is an avid fly-fisherman and triathlete.

Randy serves as a Trustee of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters and the Eastern Environmental Law Center. He formally served as Board Chair of New Jersey Audubon. Randy along with his wife and daughter is a resident of Franklin Park, New Jersey.

Mary Van Kerrebrook is a Houston native, and long-time Texas conservationist. Just out of law school, she volunteered to assist the Texas Conservation Alliance (formerly Texas Committee on Natural Resources) in its work to protect the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker in Texas National Forests. This long effort ultimately saved the woodpecker from extirpation in Texas, and resulted in what remains a landmark Endangered Species Act holding. Mary continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the Texas Conservation Alliance, and was instrumental in the Alliance’s successful reconfiguration after the death of its iconic founder, Ned Fritz.

Mary helped organize the Katy Prairie Conservancy, a land trust working to protect a sustainable part of the Katy Prairie west of Houston. She obtained the Conservancy’s seminal funding and served for many years as its Board Chair. In that role she oversaw the organization’s growth from an unlikely vision through the point at which 20,000 acres of vital wildlife habitat had been protected on the Katy Prairie.

Mary has also served on the Board of Directors of the Galveston Bay Foundation, and helped found the Galveston Houston Association for Smog Prevention (currently Houston Air Alliance).

Carol Buie-Jackson's passions run deep as she blazes new trails using her spirit of fun and gaiety to help change the world in innovative, new ways. As a creative social entrepreneur who strives to connect people with nature, Carol co-founded HAWK (Habitat and Wildlife Keepers), the first chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) which certified the Town of Matthews (NC) as a "Community Wildlife Habitat" with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Carol is a Master Composter and Master Naturalist with Mecklenburg County (NC) and a Habitat Steward with the NWF.

With an eye toward making even a bigger impact, Carol forged new paths as a Board Member and the first-ever female chairperson in the 75-year history of the NCWF (the largest and oldest conservation organization in the state). Carol's infectious love for birds, butterflies and other creatures led to her being elected to the NWF Board of Directors in 2016 where she currently represents a 4-state region. Seeking additional ways to connect people with nature, Carol has created two innovative, retail boutique store concepts in Charlotte, NC, with the opening of her Bird House on the Greenway store (which was honored as Sustainable Small Business of the Year in 2015) and her latest venture, Wildology at Waverly. As a foodie aficionado, Carol is an advocate for sustainable, fair and clean food. Carol and her husband, Jay, have never met a stranger and are known for opening their dining room to friends old and new to host fun-filled feasts featuring food from local farmers.

Allyn Dukes and husband Cliff operate a group of small businesses in Houston, Texas, with primary focus on commercial real estate. Allyn manages human resources and benefits. Allyn’s business experience has led her to multiple community service roles and philanthropic opportunities. She received recognition in the public school system for her volunteer efforts as coordinator of a business partner mentor program. In association with various community organizations, she currently mentors adults in various stages of recovery from family crises.

Allyn has a life-long passion for wildlife and protection of our natural ecosystems. She has been a member of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) for over 30 years, engaged in recent years with the education programs in the South Central Region. Allyn is the NWF Board Member for Region 8 serving Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. She also serves on the board of Texas Conservation Alliance (TCA). Allyn has created certified habitats at their home and ranch and a habitat prayer garden at her church. She is active in the Native Plant Society of Texas and finds digging in the garden to be a spiritual experience.

Allyn holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Iowa. She has lived in six states, including Louisiana, before moving to Texas in 1981. She and Cliff have raised two sons and rescued multiple dogs.

In his early twenties, Scott discovered he had a passion for exploring nature, but he only became focused on his life goal after speaking with a recruiter for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about the lack of people of color pursuing careers in the field of natural resource management.

Upon graduation, Scott was recruited by the Colorado Division of Wildlife to help create a small urban fishing program that would introduce inner-city youth to the joys of fishing and conservation. Over the following 18-year span, Scott grew the small Denver urban fishing program into an award winning one (the program successfully taught 100,000’s of youth and their families throughout Colorado how to fish.) In 2004, the Colorado Division of Wildlife Angler Education program was recognized by the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as having one of the most innovative and successful urban fishing programs in the nation.

In 1996, Scott and his wife, Stacie Gilmore, co-founded the nonprofit organization, Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK). ELK introduces, engages, and immerses youth ages 8 - 18 in learning about science, wildlife, nature, and local environmental issues that affect their neighborhoods in Denver, Colorado. In 2016, ELK celebrated its twentieth anniversary by working on creating the City of Denver’s newest urban park. This park will be a natural open space park that will also be home to ELK with a 6,000 sq. ft. education center that will be the first introduction to nature for 1,000’s of youth in the City of Denver.

In 2011, Scott became part of Denver Mayor, Michael B. Hancock’s administration, serving in the position of Deputy Executive Director of Denver Parks and Planning.

Policy Chair, IWF Board, Indiana Wildlife Federation.

Indiana DNR Director 2000-2005.

Indiana Wildlife Federation Executive Director 2007-2010.

Asian Carp Control Project Coordinator for White House Council on Environmental Quality 2010-2017.

Retired and volunteering on Boards of Indiana Wildlife Federation, Indiana Parks Alliance, Little River Wetlands and Indiana Conservation Alliance.

Kayaking, fishing, hiking and gardening keep me active. Proud recipient of the 2009 Charlie Shaw Conservation Partnership Award.

Bri Jones Rich grew up in Wyoming's wide open spaces and currently calls the New York Catskills home. She previously served on the boards of the Florida and Wyoming Wildlife Federations, both NWF affiliates. Bri received a BA in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Wyoming and a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. She works as an attorney in New York City. In her spare time, you'll find Bri hiking, skiing, kayaking, fishing, and dabbling in photography. She takes every opportunity to travel the world.

In 1987, Jerry founded Landfill Energy Systems to capture methane gas and turn it into energy. This company’s work earned an EPA certificate declaring the reduction of methane in the air was the equivalent of removing 800,000 cars from the road. From 1988 to 2011, Jerry served as CEO for Michigan Machinery (Michigan Cat). In 2016, he founded RethinkEthanol.com, an organization devoted to reforming the practice of subsidizing and mandating corn ethanol.

Jerry presently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Michigan Colleges Alliance, and is a board member for the Public School Academies of Detroit, Director of Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and Director for Oak Adaptive, Inc. Jerry is the founder of Oak Adaptive, which provides software tailored to Caterpillar dealers as well as an innovative sentencing app that provides information for use within the criminal justice system. Jerry is also a member of the National Wildlife Federation President’s Leadership Council and is active in the National Wildlife Federation Michigan Wolfpack’s regional work. Currently semi-retired, Jerry manages Rule of Ones, LLC, an investment vehicle.

Jerry’s deep commitment to conservation and the environment also originated his work with Detroit Public Television. His help securing financial support provided the groundwork for the development of Great Lakes Week, a groundbreaking initiative by DPTV providing education about and discussing the future of the Great Lakes, as well as a new documentary division at the station. In 2012, the station honored him with an award for community leadership.

Koalani Kaulukukui-Barbee (Koa) has dedicated her career and personal life to protecting the environment and using the law to effectuate positive change. As Counsel for Environmental Law and Native Rights at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Koa assisted with cases at the intersection of Native Hawaiian rights and natural resource law, such as helping to restore freshwater to streams for kalo (a staple Hawaiian food) and native species habitat. Koa also helped tackle many of Hawaii’s environmental issues as Vice-President of Conservation Council for Hawaii, former President of KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, and former member of the state Environmental Council.

As an associate attorney with Earthjustice’s Mid-Pacific office, she helped secure an injunction requiring the U.S. Navy to use protections to reduce harm to marine mammals from high intensity sonar around the Hawaiian Islands. In another case, she files a motion that resulted in the State beginning to install a fence that scientists say was necessary to stop the steep decline in the critically endangered Palila bird population on Mauna Kea.

Koa currently works for the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, Division of Ecology, dealing with hazardous and nuclear waste cleanup issues.

After completing his Bachelor of Arts at Western New England University and Master’s in Economics at American University, Fred moved to Montana and worked on the Flathead Indian Reservation. During his time there, Fred was first exposed to tribal fights to maintain sovereignty, preservation of wilderness areas in the Mission Mountains, and cultural traditions. Crucial in his experiences was what became a very close working and personal relationship with the Tribal Chairman at the time, Ronald Therriault.

In 1986, he returned to the East and began his teaching career at SUNY Cobleskill. In 1995, working with colleagues from the Salish Kootenai Tribal College, Fred developed a sequence of courses in Native American Studies that eventually became a Minor for Bachelors students at the College.

Also while at Cobleskill, Fred became a local leader for more than 20 years in United University Professions (UUP), the largest higher education union in the United States, first as Chapter President at Cobleskill from 1993 to 2003 and again from 2011 until 2013. Then, in May 2013 he was elected statewide president of UUP.

In October 2013, Fred was appointed as a vice president of the American Federation of Teachers. He also serves as chair of AFT’s Higher Education Program and Policy Council. Fred was elected to the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) Board of Directors and Executive Committee in 2014.

In April 2016, Fred was appointed to the National Wildlife Federation's board of directors. In November, he was honored by the Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State for his work as a union leader in the cause of social justice. Fred received the American Labor Studies Center's 2017 Kate Mullany Medal in December 2017 and was appointed to the Board of Directors of ALSC in 2018. In August 2018, he was chosen for City & State’s inaugural Labor Power 50 List: Recognizing and profiling New York’s most influential labor leaders.

Fred resides in Warnerville, New York, with his wife Cheryl Hamilton.

Jay works as an account executive with Interface, the world's largest modular flooring manufacturer and a globally-recognized pioneer in the field of industrial sustainability. He also serves on the boards of the Green Built Alliance, EcoForesters, and the Next30 committee for the Southern Environmental Law Center. Most of his philanthropic efforts are dedicated to thoughtfully considered and impactful grant-making with the NextGen committee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. This committee, comprised of Ray's grandchildren, has typically focused on engaging young adults and adolescents on the various facets of sustainability and conservation. Jay is passionate about continuing the legacy of his grandfather, who championed the business logic of sustainability and finding creative solutions to address climate change. Originally from Atlanta, Jay now lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife Whitney and son August. He has travelled near and far in pursuit of game fish on the fly, from Slovenia to New Zealand, but still is partial to Southern Appalachian brook trout. In the colder months, he enjoys upland bird hunting with his German Wirehaired Pointer, Sidney. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University.

Catherine A. Novelli is the President of Listening for America, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to forging a new vision of U.S. international trade engagement. She is also a Centennial Fellow at Georgetown University. She served as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment (2014-2017), where she championed economic reform; internet inclusion; conservation of natural resources and increased international collaboration on science and technology.

Novelli spent seven years as Vice President, Worldwide Government Affairs at Apple Inc. Prior to her position at Apple, she was a partner in the law firm of Mayer Brown International. She had a long career at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, rising to Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe & the Mediterranean, where she coordinated U.S. trade and investment policy for Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Novelli currently serves on the Board of the National Wildlife Federation and the Advisory Board of the Pristine Seas Initiative of the National Geographic Society as well as the Wildlife Conservation Society. She also serves on the Policy and Global Affairs Oversight Committee of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. She was named an Ocean Elder.

Novelli has received numerous honors and awards. She is a graduate of Tufts University, holds a law degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of Laws from University of London.

Rebecca Pritchett is an attorney with over 29 years' experience in environmental and natural resources law. She is special counsel at Adams and Reese LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm with offices from Houston to Washington, DC, where she leads the firm’s Environmental Team. Her practice includes full-service environmental and natural resources law. She assists clients across the country with regulatory compliance, enforcement actions, and civil litigation in all aspects of environmental and natural resources law, as well as brownfield redevelopment and formation of habitat mitigation banks.

Rebecca has extensive experience in water quality, water rights, municipal water supply, wetland and coastal zone issues, hazardous waste and solid waste issues, mineral rights, brownfield redevelopment, brownfield economic incentives, financing purchases of contaminated property, and due diligence investigations. She also has experience in the areas of air quality, insecticides, fungicides, mitigation banks, endangered species, wildlife law, and environmental law on tribal lands.

Rebecca earned a B.S. in Journalism, cum laude, from the University of Southern Mississippi, Honors College, Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1990 and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law, Eugene, Oregon in 1993 with a Certificate of Completion in Environmental & Natural Resources Law. She is currently admitted to practice in Alabama and California.

Rebecca grew up hunting and fishing in the woods and on the lakes and rivers of rural south Alabama with her father, a forester and avid sportsman. She continues that tradition today, hunting and fishing with her husband, Matt, and her 20-year-old son, William, who is the youngest ever holder of an Alabama lifetime hunting and fishing license, having received it on the day he was born. The license was a gift from his “uncles” at the Alabama Wildlife Federation.

Rebecca is a Past President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation and came to her first NWF Annual Meeting as an AWF Delegate in 1998. She chaired multiple resolution committees, participated on several bylaws committees, and – though very pregnant at the time – traveled to the Dakotas with NWF to help resolve affiliate conflict over the Garrison Diversion Project in 2001. She served on the Board as Region 4 Director from 2017 to 2022.

Dr. Mark S. Berry, P.E., is currently senior vice president of research and development (R&D) for Southern Company Services. In this role, he leads all activities of Southern Company’s industry-leading R&D organization and guides the company’s strategic advancement of technologies that provide clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy for customers in a net-zero future. This includes developing low- and no-carbon technologies, including advanced nuclear and the hydrogen economy; advancing energy storage, renewable, distributed generation and transportation solutions; modernizing the grid; and promoting negative-emission and sustainability innovations.

Named to the position in June 2022, Berry previously served as vice president of Southern Company Services R&D, as well as vice president of environmental and natural resources for Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, where he oversaw Georgia Power-owned natural resources and managed environmental compliance and stewardship programs to meet or surpass all environmental laws and regulations.

Over his career, Berry has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, including director of Southern Company research and technology management, managing a portfolio of research related to emission controls, energy efficiency, renewables, power delivery, central station generation and carbon capture, utilization and storage. He served as director in the generation sector at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), where he managed research and development efforts in renewables, water management, carbon capture and storage, and advanced fossil generation; and director of energy and environment at Southern Research. He was also manager of environmental assessment for Southern Company’s research and environmental affairs organization, where he managed the company’s regulatory response to federal rule-making activity and the environmental science research program.

Prior to joining Southern Company, Berry attained the commissioned rank of lieutenant commander in the United States Navy as a surface warfare officer. While on active duty, he served upon the USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44) in the capacities of deck officer and combat information center officer. After joining the reserves, he served as an engineering officer supporting the USS Sentry (MCM-3) and as an intelligence officer supporting the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA HQ).

Berry holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Alabama A&M University, and a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering and Ph.D. in interdisciplinary engineering from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also earned a master’s degree in public and private management from Birmingham-Southern College and is a registered professional engineer. He is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta. Berry is currently pursuing a chief technology officer certificate from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

Berry is vice chair of the Research Advisory Council at EPRI. He is an advisory board member of the Strategic Energy Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the School of Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Berry is a board member of Wellstar Health System and serves on the boards of the Georgia Conservancy and the National Wildlife Federation. Berry is a member of 100 Black Men of Atlanta, where he leads the mentoring efforts for the organization. Berry also teaches thermodynamics as an adjunct professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and is a program evaluator for the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Berry is an active, lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. He has established two scholarships for minority students pursuing a degree in engineering in the name of his grandfathers – an endowed scholarship in the name of Marion Luscious Nell at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Simpson Berry Sr. Endowed Scholarship at Alabama A&M University.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Berry and his wife, Crystal, have four children.

Brad and his wife Ana live in Scottsdale, Arizona and spend time with their commercial property business in Hermosillo, Mexico. Brad began his career in conservation over 50 years ago with the US Forest Service. He completed a career of over 35 years with the US Forest Service (District Ranger, National Monument Manager, Forest Supervisor and Regional Forester) and then over a decade with Trout Unlimited in conservation advocacy focused on public lands.

For the last 15 years with the Arizona Wildlife Federation (AWF), Brad has been a strong advocate for the NWF-affiliate partnership. While helping grow AWF into a strong regional conservation voice in the Southwest, Brad also has been a national leader of NWF’s One Federation. Brad served on NWF’s Strategic Planning Committee, along with five other affiliate leaders, and played a major role in designing the Plan with the One Federation concept incorporated. Brad and his colleagues went on to write the “We Commit” statement, affirming NWF and its affiliates’ pledge to implement the Plan. The statement was unanimously adopted by all affiliates. As a member of the One Federation Advisory Board, Brad helped guide the implementation of One Federation, incorporating strategies such as a redesign of the affiliate caucus/workgroup structure that enables affiliates and staff to work together effectively around conservation priorities such as Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, the Great American Outdoors Act, and climate change. Brad also served as Co-chair of the Public lands and Hunting and Angling affiliate work groups.

Sally A. Ranney has forty years’ experience in the environmental, energy and climate fields. Currently, she is the President/Co-Founder of the American Renewable Energy Institute and AREDAY Summit, President/Co-Founder of the Earth Restoration Alliance and Senior Advisor/IWECI Co-founder for the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network and CEO of Stillwater Preservation, LLC. Previously she served as the President of American Wildlands and as a Resource Policy Analyst at The Wilderness Society.

She has earned multiple awards and recognitions that reflect her passion for wildlife and conservation including nominated as one of 35 women around the world saving wildlife by WomenforWildlife.com; Horace Albright Award recognizing outstanding conservation achievement, U.S. National Park Service; Meritorious Conservation Award by Wildlife International; R.K. Mellon Fellowship, Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies; International Conservation Award, Earth Guardians’ Earth Stewardship Award; and the Lifetime Achievement Award, Children’s Environmental Literacy Foundation. Political appointments include Presidential Commission on American Outdoors (Reagan), New Mexico Rio Grande Committee, Harvard School of Government: The New Environmental Agenda, and Colorado Tourism Board.

Ms. Ranney is an avid outdoorswoman, enjoying hunting quail and pheasant, fly fishing, rafting, horseback riding, and spending time at her very remote, modest family compound off the grid in Argentina. Additionally, she is a professional artist, enjoys writing and composing music, playing the piano and guitar.

I have been working in the field of conservation and environmental sciences, including communication, for almost a decade. I began to formally work and volunteer while getting my bachelor’s degree in biology from Kansas State University. After finishing my master’s in science education, I started volunteering with my state’s NWF affiliate, Kansas Wildlife Federation (KWF). During my years in college, I helped organize the Kansas Science Communication Initiative and began the Kansas Fungi Project - a community science project aimed at understanding fungal species distribution across the state.  

In my role as Southcentral Director for KWF, I served on the team who brought forth the Spanish translation of the hunting and furharvesting regulations in the state of Kansas. Our efforts have set a standard for other affiliates to embrace and is the first step toward making outdoor recreation accessible for everyone. In addition, I have also served on the KWF communications committee where we have developed a monthly, educational webinar series and Certified Wildlife Habitat symposium. I currently chair the newly formed membership committee.  

I strongly believe the conservation work NWF is doing is rooted in connecting people with nature. This begins with making outdoor spaces safe and welcoming for everyone, educating the public and creating climate change advocates, and protecting wild habitats.  

My career offers me ample opportunities to be outdoors. Serving the residents of Kansas in my role as the Outdoor Skills & Recruitment Coordinator for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism, I introduce people to new skills such as hunting, fishing, bird watching, and mushroom foraging, to name a few. My free time is spent amongst the trees and prairie grasses. Whether I am hunting white-tailed deer, fly-fishing, or hiking and foraging, you can find me outside, enjoying nature.

An avid sportsman, Norm Ritchie is a dedicated advocate for recovering wild salmon and steelhead populations and for restoring their habitats.

In 1988, Norm joined the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, National Wildlife Federation’s Oregon affiliate, and ever since he has been a committed volunteer, giving his time and effort to both his local chapter, the state Association and National Wildlife Federation nationally. Norm was instrumental in the Steelheaders becoming an affiliate of NWF in 2007. He has served as the Steelheaders President, Vice President, Government Affairs Director, and Development Director. Through his local chapter, he is very involved in connecting kids with wildlife through kids’ fishing events. In 2014, he was named NWF’s Affiliate Volunteer of Year.

Over the years Norm has volunteered on several state and regional advisory boards. He serves as board vice president for the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition and chaired the international Salmon Trout Enhancement Program Conference. He was appointed by two Oregon governors to the Salmon Trout Advisory Committee, and also served on the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Hatchery Research Advisory Committee, External Budget Advisory Committee, and Fishing Regulation Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Oregon Bass and Panfish Club.

Phil is an expert on innovation and branding, a successful entrepreneur, and a consultant to a wide range of organizations. Currently, he is CEO of Great Lakes GrowthWorks, a strategy consulting firm dedicated to helping companies and organizations innovate, grow, and realize their potential. Particular emphasis is given to helping firms that are playing a role in creating the industries of tomorrow, fueling economic growth in a way that promotes wellness, sustainability, and quality of life. Formerly, he was the Managing Director of GfK Strategic Innovation, the practice area formed by the acquisition of Arbor Strategy Group (ASG) by GfK Group, a leading global marketing research and consulting firm. Phil founded ASG in 1998, creating a consultancy with recognized expertise in strategic brand innovation and a model for predicting and developing tomorrow’s successful innovation. Phil’s previous experience includes senior marketing and general management positions at Quaker Oats, Little Caesars Pizza, and early-stage companies.

Phil currently serves on a variety of boards, including the Michigan League of Conservation Voters (Board President), the National Wildlife Federation’s Michigan-based Wolfpack, and the Leadership Council of the Michigan Economic Center.

Rob has been Director of Research for the last 15 years for Everett Harris & Company, an investment firm founded in Los Angeles in 1935 which now oversees $8 billion in assets. Clients are typically high net worth families and individuals, as well as educational and charitable organizations who share our philosophy of focusing on long-term investing that spans generations.

Earlier in his career, he was Director of Public Equities for the Global Environment Fund of Washington, DC. He was the portfolio manager for GEF’s investments in publicly traded companies around the world that helped improve the environment by following three key strategies: energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean water.

Rob started his career at IBM and served in a variety of product development and financial roles before joining the IBM Retirement Fund as a research analyst.

He received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College.

Rob lives in McLean, VA with his wife Leslie and two daughters. He and Leslie share a passion for public policy in the areas of the environment and public education, and enjoy biking, skiing and sailing.

Siva is a wildlife biologist and an expert on wildlife policy. He is currently serving his 2nd term on the BOD of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. Since July 2017, Siva has worked as Wyoming Conservation Coordinator, at the Greater Yellowstone Coalition – Lander field office. As Conservation Coordinator, he oversees and leads the organization’s policy advocacy and conservation projects on wildlife and public lands issues to protect lands, waters and wildlife of the Wyoming part of Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. He acts also as a liaison with federal and state agencies and helps form strategic coalitions with partner organizations.

Siva served as Conservation Director at the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance in Jackson from January 2014 to July 2017, and before that he worked as the Kenya Program Director at the Department of Conservation Biology for the Denver Zoological Foundation (March 2010 – December 2013.)

He has written over 20 publications in top-tier ecological and conservation journals, and there are over 350 citations of these publications.

Greer Tidwell is retired from Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone). He served as Director of Environmental Management, where he lead environmental performance, compliance, and reputation progress for the company’s North and South American tire manufacturing, testing and distribution facilities.

During his tenure with Bridgestone Americas, Greer has overseen the implementation of a number of programs and initiatives that contribute to the company’s leadership position in environmental sustainability, including the ISO14001 certification of all of the company’s tire manufacturing facilities. Recently, he provided direction to the Bridgestone Americas tire manufacturing plants to achieve a cost balanced recycling rate above 90% with several plants achieving Zero Waste to Landfill. Greer also has overseen the company’s achievement of the world’s first LEED-certified tire plants and the world’s first Superior Energy Performance (SEP) Mature Pathway ISO 50001 certification (all industries). With his guidance and conservationist approach, Bridgestone tire plants have developed and implemented on-site Certified Wildlife Habitats to highlight the importance of caring for our communities and natural resources.

Greer actively serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the National River Network and on the Board as past Chairman of Friends of Radnor Lake State Park. His other community service includes past chair of the Tennessee Air Pollution Board, president of the Tennessee Conservation League, and co-chair of the Nashville Green Ribbon Council Education Committee.

Greer has engineering degrees from Baylor University and Tennessee Tech University and earned his Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt University.  He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.  

Gloria Tom is the Director of the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife (NNDFW) in Window Rock, Arizona. Gloria has worked with NNDFW for over 20 years and has also previously worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and the San Carlos Apache Tribe. Gloria has brought to the Department a deep emphasis on both outreach and education. Under Gloria’s leadership NNDFW organized a summit in 2014 to educate and inform local chapter leadership about wildlife management. NNDFW has also established for the Navajo Nation the only tribal zoo in the United States. It provides environmental and ecological education, and its animals are all rescue animals of species important to the Navajo people (www.navajozoo.org).

National Wildlife Federation staff has worked with Gloria on endangered species issues and climate adaptation. She is well respected throughout the conservation community and is very active in both tribal and non-tribal coalitions and forums.

Gloria has a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Arizona. She is originally from Fort Defiance and makes her home in St. Michaels, Arizona, while working at the Navajo Nation’s capital in Window Rock.

Beth A. Viola is a senior policy advisor in Holland & Knight's Washington, D.C. office and co-chairs the firm's Energy Team. The primary focus of her practice is working with clean energy technology companies to create sound public policy drivers for their businesses. She works with business leaders and nonprofits to advance effective climate change strategies that result in economic and environmental benefits.

Formerly, Ms. Viola served as a senior advisor to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. In this capacity, she served as a senior member of a team responsible for advising the president and the vice president on environmental and energy issues and was one of Vice President Gore's chief environmental advisors. She also served as a senior advisor for energy and environmental policy with the John Kerry for President and the Kerry-Edwards campaigns. Ms. Viola served as a facilitator for climate change discussions at the Clinton Global Initiative from 2006-2008.

In 2016, Ms. Viola was named an Energy & Environmental Trailblazer by the National Law Journal. She was among a select group of attorneys and professionals recognized by the publication as outstanding practitioners who have made their mark in energy and environmental law and policy. Beth also serves on the advisory boards of Planet Forward and Sundrop Fuels, Inc.

An experienced advisory consultant with a demonstrated history of working in government and higher education, Jomar Floyd is currently an Associate with S&P Global Ratings Public Sector. His role also entails reviewing financial and operating statements, economic data, and strategic plans for school districts, cities, counties, tax assessment and other local government credits. He’s also tasked with determining the security of the transactions being rated in accordance with the Standard & Poor's ratings criteria.

Previously Jomar worked for Grant Thornton LLP as an advisory consultant. Prior positions include Indiana University Bloomington graduate teaching assistant, DIW Berlin - German Institute for Economic Research green bond market research analyst, and Manatee County (FL) Government program/financial specialist.

Jomar began developing his leadership skills during his college years in Florida. From organizing sustainability projects on campus to lobbying state officials and congressional members, Jomar emerged as a leader both at Florida A&M University and within his community. Jomar was one of the founding members of the Florida YES (Youth Environmental Sustainability) Coalition. Jomar lobbied with student leaders across Florida for the promotion of renewable energy investments and the Student Green Energy Fund for state colleges and public universities in Florida.

Arthur “Butch” Blazer was born and raised on his beautiful and expansive Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in south-central New Mexico. Growing up under the mentorship of his father and several influential tribal elders, Butch made the decision early on to pursue a career in natural resources that would be of benefit to Indian Country.

He shares with people that he has had a very blessed career, having had the opportunity to not only serve his own Mescalero constituents, but folks all across this Country, serving in positions such as the NM State Forester and USDA Deputy Undersecretary of Natural Resources & Environment. In the early 1980s, Butch helped to establish the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society (NAFWS), an effort to help address capacity issues within Tribal Fish & Wildlife programs. He served twice as the Organizations national Board President.

Upon retiring from 32 years of federal service in May 2016, Butch returned home where he was elected to serve as President of the Mescalero Apache Tribe. Upon completion of his time in office, he now serves on several important Boards and Councils, including the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

Dianne Dillon-Ridgley has been a director at Interface, Inc since 1997. She was a director at Green Mountain Energy for the first six years and still chairs the Environmental Integrity Committee for the company.

She was appointed by the White House to the US delegation for the Earth Summit in Rio, UNGASS-'97 & WSSD in South Africa, making her the only person to serve on all three US delegations. She is founding chair-- emeritus of Plains Justice, and is a trustee for CIEL, the Center for International Environmental Law) Population Connection (National Chair), Acting Executive Director of WNSF (the Women's Network for a Sustainable Future), USPESD-National chair, the former national chair of River Network and president of ZPG. She was also CEO of WEDO and head of the Iowa Association of Human Rights Agencies, among others.

From 1999 through its tenure she was a member of the Oxford U. Commission on Sustainable Consumption and the first US member appointed to the Global Water Partnership in Stockholm. Former President Clinton appointed her to the PCSD, his council on Sustainable Development. In the recent US election she worked for 18 months on the Obama campaign from its earliest days in Iowa and was part of the P-CAP: Presidential Climate Action Project). In 2000, she chaired the Millennium DPI conference at the UN, which first introduced the idea for the Millennium Development Goals.

Veronica was appointed in January 2017 to serve as the first environmental justice liaison for the California Air Resources Board (CARB). She serves as the primary internal and external contact for CARB on environmental justice issues, and is responsible for providing policy consultation and recommendations to CARB staff. She also participates in decision-making during development and implementation of all major CARB programs to ensure that environmental justice and tribal concerns are considered.

Before joining CARB, Veronica served as vice president and director of the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts. Previous positions include the associate general counsel and director of environmental justice at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, a non-profit civil rights firm in New York; director of the Environmental Justice and Brownfields programs for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, where she was the principal author of Massachusetts Environmental Justice Policy; and executive director for Alternatives for Community and Environment, an environmental justice advocacy organization based in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Veronica is the former chair of the Environmental Protection Agency’s federal advisory committee for environmental justice, the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Nick is a partner and vice president with Hall Capital Partners, an outsourced chief investment office for endowments and high-net-worth families. As one of 10 senior investment professionals, Nick is charged with identifying strong investment opportunities globally for the firm’s $33 billion of capital under management.

Previously Nick was a senior investment analyst with Passport Capital, a global macro hedge fund. At Passport Capital, Nick led the firm’s global equity investments in the financial services sector and served on the firm’s macro investment committee that set the fund’s global outlook. Nick formerly served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Treasury during the Obama Administration and was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient for his policy contributions.

Wayne is an investor and chairman and CIO of Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor that manages or advises $1 billion of investment assets, including his alma mater’s Lafayette College Endowment Fund. He has worked in senior-level positions at numerous investment houses and banks over the years. Wayne has served as a senior director of Ingalls & Snyder, a NYSE member and registered investment advisor. He has also served as vice-chairman of the board of KBW Asset Management, Inc., a registered investment advisor offering investment management services to institutions and high-net-worth individuals. KBW is an affiliate of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. He served in various capacities for Lord, Abbett & Co., a mutual fund company, including partner and director of their family of funds. Wayne is an avid hunter and fly fisherman and serves on several boards of environmental organizations.

Truman has 20 years of experience at the intersection of business, environment, and policy. He has worked with companies in industries including oil and gas, power, transportation, chemicals, manufacturing, IT, and financial services on corporate strategy for low carbon market opportunities, technology innovation, new business partnerships, and strategic policy engagement. Prior to joining GreenOrder, Truman directed the Business Environmental Leadership Council at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, growing it into the largest U.S.-based business association focused on climate change solutions -- 45 companies with combined revenue of $2.8 trillion and 4 million employees worldwide.

Before Pew, Truman served as Vice President of Ecos Technologies, the U.S. Treasury’s International Economist on energy and environment, and Program Manager at the International Institute for Energy Conservation. From 1995-1999, he was a member of the U.S. climate change negotiating team. He has published widely and been covered in the Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, and Petroleum Economist.

Truman has a Masters in Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS and an MBA from Duke University. He sits on boards including of the National Wildlife Federation, Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, the American Farmland Trust, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Deborah is the deputy chief investment officer and a managing director at Commonfund, an investment manager for endowments, foundations, and other nonprofit investors. Previously, Deborah was the chief investment officer for the State of Connecticut’s $30 billion Retirement Plans and Trust Funds. Prior to that, Deborah was managing partner at Working Lands Investment Partners, LLC, which specializes in the investment and long-term stewardship of sustainably managed working lands. Deborah has worked in the financial industry for more than 20 years, serving in senior executive positions in the U.S. and overseas. She was an executive director and head of international investments for Schroder Investment Management and managing director and head of non-U.S. institutional investments at Scudder Kemper Investments. She is a lecturer in Forest & Ecosystem Finance at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Eric is a principal in the Washington, D.C. office of Bernstein Private Wealth Management. In that capacity, he works with clients and other professional advisors developing, implementing, and monitoring wealth management plans for families, private foundations, not-for-profit organizations, and companies. Prior to joining Bernstein in 2005, Eric was an analyst, engineer, and entrepreneur. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the Wharton School.