Guidance Committee

Currently, Bob is owner of Bob Byrne Consulting, a conservation consulting firm specializing in finding innovative solutions to conservation issues through strategic planning, programmatic reviews, evaluations, group facilitation and literature reviews.

Prior to forming his own company, Bob spent 30+ years in conservation where he worked for three state wildlife agencies, two conservation NGOs and a conservation-communications consulting firm.

Being an avid hunter and angler, Bob has a deep concern about passing on our hunting and fishing heritage on to future generations, and has focused much of his recent efforts on this task.

Some of his most recent projects include:

➢ Assisted The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CHASS) and the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI) develop the National Hunting and Shooting Sports Action Plan that is being used as the framework to improve recruitment, retention and re-activation (R3) programs for hunting and the shooting sports.

➢ Assisted the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) and the Aquatic resources Education Association (AREA) develop a strategic plan for angler recruitment, retention and re-activation programs.

➢ Developed Environmental Stewardship Plans for 17 outdoor shooting ranges operated by the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Bob can be reached at bobbyrne2018@gmail.com or 540-937-2139.

Jamie Nack has been a CLfT instructor since 2007. She received a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point in Wildlife and Biology and a M.S. degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Jamie considers herself very fortunate to have a father who was always willing to take his daughter hunting. The time spent and lessons learned helped instill a love for the outdoors at an early age, developed a passion for hunting, led to a career in wildlife management and nurtured a conservation mindset. Over the past 25+ years, Jamie has hunted deer, bear, bobcat, turkeys, rabbits, waterfowl, upland birds, fox and coyote. She is a member of numerous conservation organizations, including The Wildlife Society (state, section and national). Jamie resides in Columbus, Wisconsin with her husband, two daughters and three hunting dogs. Family time is often spent outdoors hunting, fishing, training dogs, gardening and exploring.

Leopoldo “Leo” Miranda-Castro is the President, CEO and founder of Leo Miranda LLC (Est. 2023). Before that, he was the Southeast Regional Director of the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2018-2022). He oversaw the work of approximately 1,300 federal employees in carrying out the Federal Government’s partnership role in conserving fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within 10 southeastern states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Leo began his work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a Private Lands biologist in his native Puerto Rico, later becoming the national coordinator for the private lands program and then supervisor of the Chesapeake Bay Field Office in Annapolis, MD. He then was selected as the Assistant Regional Director of the Southeast Region’s Ecological Services Program. An advocate of public-private conservation partnerships, he points to the success of the shade-grown coffee industry, sustainable timber production and protecting military bases buffer zones in conservation as examples of how government organizations and private landowners can work together to achieve real "win/win" outcomes for people and for wildlife.

On any given weekend, you are likely to find Leo in a tree stand or by a river, hunting or fishing with his son, Pablo. Leo attributes much of their shared love of nature and commitment to conservation to the pursuit of these outdoor recreational pastimes, and hunting in particular.

I grew up in Northern Ontario, and spent most of my time outdoors. I complete my Masters in Wildlife Science at Mississippi State. I am currently the Director of Conservation Programs, in the northeast, with Ducks Unlimited, Inc, a 501-C-3 not for profit. I have extensive professional experience in wetland and waterfowl ecology have have worked for DU since 2010 successfully writing and delivering of on-the-ground conservation projects that restored and protected >20,000 acres of critical wetland habitat in the Northeast Atlantic Flyway. I help deliver our conservation programs in 12-states in the northeast where I am part of a conservation delivery team of biologists, engineers, and fund-raising staff that cooperate to meet the goals of conservation partners. In addition to my experiences with DU, my prior work history and partnerships are diverse throughout the Central, Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways and include Bird Studies Canada, Delta Waterfowl, Mississippi State University, USDA- NRCS, Long Point Waterfowl, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. I have worked with a multitude of federal, state, provincial, non-government, and corporate partners in the Atlantic Flyway.

I am an avid waterfowl, upland game, turkey and deer hunter and spend a lot of time in the field with two yellow labs and working on our hobby farm in central NY.

Tim is a 25-year employee of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Law Enforcement Division. Tim’s duties are the coordination of the department’s hunter education program. This program has expanded over the years to include many new and engaging educational programs such as Indiana’s - National Archery in the Schools Program. Tim was appointed the State Coordinator for this program in December of 2005. He is also the National Range Manager for the national archery tournaments hosted the National Archery in the Schools Program across the country. During Tim’s career, his involvement in the shooting sports and hunting has strengthened his abilities to lead the department’s outdoor education programs to a new level. With over 40 years of volunteering and working to promote outdoor activities. In 2018 Tim was inducted into the International Hunter Education Association – USA, Professional Hall of Fame Award while also receiving the Jim and Nancy Mahoney Hunter Education Heritage Award from the Indiana Hunter Education Association. Tim holds numerous training certifications from various organizations that promote and encourage the use of our great natural resources.