JV Staff

The UMGL JV includes eight staff members who help generate and coordinate the partnership’s goals and efforts through grants and projects, conservation planning, and technical evaluation.

Doug Gorby
Coordinator
East Lansing, MI
Phone: 517-351-8286 / 517-388-5258 (cell)
E-mail: douglas_gorby@fws.gov

Anna Sidie-Slettedahl
Assistant Coordinator
Bloomington, MN
Phone: 612-713-5129
E-mail: anna_sidie-slettedahl@fws.gov

Melissa Gabrielson
Science Implementation Coordinator
East Lansing, MI
Phone: 517-246-8130
E-mail: mgabrielson@ducks.org

Alex Wright
Conservation Coordinator
East Lansing, MI
Phone: 612-456-9576
E-mail: alexander_wright@fws.gov

Mohammed Al-Saffar
Bird Conservation Modeler
East Lansing, MI
Phone: 517-351-8334
Email: mohammed_al-saffar@fws.gov

Jayme Strange
Northern Forests Conservation Delivery Network Coordinator
La crosse, WI
Phone: 763-486-9090
E-mail: JStrange@abcbirds.org

Nate Michael
Marsh Bird Conservation Manager
Chicago, IL
Phone: 330-348-6095
E-mail: nathan.michael@audubon.org

Joshua Dickinson
Grasslands Conservation Delivery Network Coordinator
Des Moines, IA
Phone: 515-250-3744
E-mail: joshua.dickinson@dnr.iowa.gov

Beth Rigby
Eagle Biologist
Bloomington, MN
Phone: 612-930-6726
E-mail: elizabeth_rigby@fws.gov

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”

– Helen Keller

Management Board

Overall direction of the UMGL JV is determined by the Management Board, which is made up of representatives from state, federal, and non-government organizations with a common interest in achieving objectives of continental bird plans such as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The Board functions as an oversight, advisory, and information-sharing body, and provides guidance to ensure the JV is reaching its bird conservation habitat goals.

Shawn Graff, Chair
Vice President, Great Lake Region
American Bird Conservancy

Nathaniel Miller
Director of Conservation, Upper Mississippi Flyway,
National Audubon Society
Audubon Great Lakes

Jason Hill
Director of Conservation Programs
Ducks Unlimited

Mitch Oswald
Field Operations Section Head
Wildlife Division
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Trevor Laureys
Assistant Director, Division of Fish and Wildlife
Office of Private Lands
Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Todd Bishop
Chief, Wildlife Bureau
Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Brad Rueschhoff
Region 2 Wildlife Supervisor
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks

Steve Chadwick
Senior Great Lakes Wetland Advisor
Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Ricky Lien
Wetland Habitat Team Supervisor
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Vacant
Missouri Department of Conservation

Patrick Lydon
Landscape Architect
National Park Service

Sam Adams
Assistant State (IA) Conservationist for Programs
Natural Resources Conservation Service

Ted LaGrange
Wetland Program Manager
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

Dave Sherman
Wetland Habitat Coordinator
Ohio Division of Wildlife

Vacant
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

Jon Steigerwaldt
Forest Conservation Director:
Great Lakes/Upper Midwest
Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society

Michele Kille, Vice Chair
Strategic Partnerships Manager
The Nature Conservancy

Brian W. Smith
Assistant Regional Director, Migratory Birds
Midwest Region
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Tracy Grazia
Eastern Region Wildlife Program Manager
U.S. Forest Service

Christopher Churchill
Chief – Ecological Sciences Branch
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
U.S. Geological Survey

Tim Lizotte
Land & Habitat Conservation Supervisor
Bureau of Wildlife Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Science Team

The JV Science Team is comprised of a Technical Committee and Science Team. The Technical Committee is composed of members from the Science Team with balanced expertise across multiple disciplines, universities, and agencies. This committee serves as a central body for scientific guidance and decision-making. The Science Team includes a larger, more cohesive team that aims to inform the science-based delivery of bird conservation in collaboration with the JV Management Board and Conservation Delivery Networks. Areas of expertise include: shorebirds, secretive marshbirds, waterfowl, landbirds, waterbirds, social science, ecosystem services, GIS, and conservation implementation.

Melissa Gabrielson: UMGLJV Science Implementation Coordinator
Auriel Fournier: Co-Chair, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign/Illinois Natural History Survey
Andy Forbes: Co-Chair, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds

Robert Gates: Technical Committee, Ohio State University/ School of Environment and Natural Resources/Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Laboratory
Kelly Vanbeek: Technical Committee, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds
Kiandra Rajala: Technical Committee, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Human Dimensions Branch/Natural Resource Program Center
John Simpson: Technical Committee, Winous Point Marsh Conservancy
Sara Burns: Technical Committee, Ducks Unlimited/Great Lakes Atlantic Region
Tyler Harms: Technical Committee, Department of Natural Resources – Iowa
Nathan Michael: Technical Committee, UMGLJV, Audubon
Rachael Pierce: Technical Committee, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds
Michael Monfils: Technical Committee, Michigan State University Extension/Michigan Natural Features Inventory Office
Chris Tonra: Technical Committee, Ohio State University/School of Environment & Natural Resources

Mohammed Al-Saffar: Science Team, UMGLJV, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds
Jayme Strange: Science Team, UMGLJV, American Bird Conservancy
Joshua Dickinson: Science Team, UMGLJV, Wildlife Management Institute, Department of Natural Resources -Iowa
Anna Sidie-Slettedahl: Science Team, UMGLJV, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds
Sarah Saunders: Science Team, Audubon
Shawn Graff: Science Team, American Bird Conservancy
Amy Shipley: Science Team, Department of Natural Resources – Wisconsin
Randall Knapik: Science Team, Department of Natural Resources – Michigan
Brian Loges: Science Team, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Refuges
Michael Wells: Science Team, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Bird
Adam Janke: Science Team, Iowa State University/Natural Resources
Brendan Shirkey: Science Team, Winous Point Marsh Conservancy
Deahn DonnerWright: Science Team, USDA Forest Service
Michael Ward: Science Team, University of Illinois/Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences
Randolph Smith: Science Team, The Nature Conservancy
Sumner Matteson: Science Team, Department of Natural Resources – Wisconsin
Abigail Grace Blake-Bradshaw: Science Team, University of Illinois/Prairie Research Institute
Ben Luukkenon: Science Team, Department of Natural Resources – Michigan
Medhavi Ambardar: Science Team, Lake Michigan Bird Observatory