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
Upper Mississippi Great Lakes Joint Venture
Auriel Fournier
Associate Research Scientist & Field Station Director
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign/Illinois Natural History Survey
Andy Forbes
Supervisory Wildlife Biologist
US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds
Robert Gates
Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology & Management
Ohio State University/ School of Environment and Natural Resources/Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Laboratory
Kelly Vanbeek
Wildlife Biologist
US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds
Kiandra Rajala
Midwest Regional Social Scientist
US Fish & Wildlife Service/Human Dimensions Branch/Natural Resource Program Center
John Simpson
Director
Winous Point Marsh Conservancy
Sara Burns
Manger of Conservation Science & Planning
Ducks Unlimited/Great Lakes Atlantic Region
Tyler Harms
Natural Resources Biometrican
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Nathan Michael
Manager, Marsh Bird Conservation
Audubon Great Lakes/Upper Mississippi Great Lakes Joint Venture
Rachael Pierce
Migratory Bird Biologist
US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds
Michael Monfils
Director
Michigan State University Extension/Michigan Natural Features Inventory Office
Chris Tonra
Associate Professor
Ohio State University/School of Environment & Natural Resources
Mohammed Al-Saffar
Wildlife Biologist, US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds, Upper Mississippi Great Lakes Joint Venture
Jayme Strange
Northern Forests Conservation Delivery Network Coordinator
American Bird Conservancy/Upper Mississippi Great Lakes Joint Venture
Joshua Dickinson
Grasslands Conservation Delivery Network Coordinator
Wildlife Management Institute/Iowa Department of Natural Resources/ Upper Mississippi Great Lakes Joint Venture
Anna Sidie-Slettedahl
Assistant Coordinator, Upper Mississippi Great Lakes Joint Venture
US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Birds
Ben Luukkonen
Avian and Wetland Ecology Research Specialist
Michigan Department of Natural Resources/Wildlife Division
Medhavi Ambardar
Chief Scientist
Lake Michigan Bird Observatory
Randolph Smith
Illinois River Project Director
The Nature Conservancy
Sumner Matteson
Avian Ecologist
Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation/Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Shawn Graff
Vice President, U.S. & Canada
American Bird Conservancy
Sarah Saunders
Quantitative Ecologist, National Science
Audubon Great Lakes
Amy Shipley
Natural Resource Research Scientist
Office of Applied Science/Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Randall Knapik
Wetland Habitat Specialist
Michigan Department of Natural Resources/Wildlife Division
Brian Loges
Zone Biologist, Refuges
US Fish & Wildlife Service/Refuges
Michael Wells
Migratory Bird Biologist
US Fish & Wildlife Service/Migratory Bird
Adam Janke
Associate Professor, Extension Wildlife Specialist, and Associate Director of Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Iowa State University/Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Brendan Shirkey
Research Coordinator
Winous Point Marsh Conservancy
Deahn DonnerWright
Assistant Director of Research
USDA Forest Service/Northern Research Station
Michael Ward
Professor and Levenick Chair in Sustainability
University of Illinois/Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences
Abigail Grace Blake-Bradshaw
Postdoctoral Researcher
Forbes Biological Station/Illinois Natural History Survey