Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center - February 6 - February 10, 2023

Laura is a Certified NRA Shotgun,Rifle, Pistol, Personal protection in the Home, Personal Protection outside the Home, Conceal Carry instructor, and a Certified Volunteer Hunter Safety/Tree stand Instructor for both Illinois DNR and Texas Parks and Wildlife. A Texas Master Naturalist. Besides the shooting sports she enjoys teaching archery, fly fishing, cooking, beekeeping. She is a big and small game hunter, and has traveled extensively to hunt and fish. She is a Certified Master Gardener in Illinois and Florida, a beekeeper and a Nationally Certified Medical Technologist. Was an elected Trustee for the Village of Campton Hills, IL, former instructor at Country Garden Cuisine cooking school. In 2018 She transitioned to Texas. She is a member of Corpus Christi, Texas Pistol and Rifle club, NRA, Mid-Coast Chapter as a Master Naturalist, South Texas Beekeepers,and Sisters on the Fly.

Amber Barrow has been working for the Department of Natural Resources since 2011 as an environmental educator at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in Mansfield, GA. She also is a hunter education instructor who teaches at day programs and overnight youth hunting events. She has a bachelor's degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Berry College. Amber grew up fishing with her family but started out learning about hunting at the age of 14. Her grandfather taught her about small game hunting for rabbits and squirrels. Later in college, her boyfriend (later to be husband) taught her about falconry and using hawks and other birds of prey to hunt squirrels, rabbits, and other small game. She fell in love with sport and continues to learn more each and every day about the hunting and its history. She loves to cook all kinds of wild game recipes and loves trying new things while outdoors. She currently goes small game and bird hunting with her husband, loves fly fishing and is licensed falconer in Georgia. She currently flies 3 harris hawks.

Rusty Garrison served as the Director of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division from 2016-2020.
Rusty was with DNR for 20 years having served most recently as the manager of the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in Mansfield, Georgia. He served in numerous other capacities, including Assistant Chief of Game Management, State Coordinator of Project WILD, and Chief of the DNR Mountain Search and Rescue Team. Before his career with DNR, Rusty worked for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service for nearly nine years.
Rusty has served as a CLfT instructor since 2012. He has assists with classes mostly at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center in Georgia; but also teaches at Max McGraw in Illinois and at facilities in Colorado and Idaho.
Rusty holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Animal Sciences and a Master of Science in Wildlife Biology, both from the University of Georgia. He is active in his local community, having previously volunteered as a fire fighter and first responder for his county EMS. Rusty has traveled to over 75 countries while on mission trips and remains active in his local church. He is married to his wife Sue, has three daughters, and is a proud grandfather.

Robert J. Gates is Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State University. Bob grew up and began hunting with his father in east central Wisconsin, after which his family moved to the hunting paradise of eastern South Dakota, where he received his B.S. in Wildlife Science from South Dakota State University. Bob’s graduate degrees were from Montana State University (M.S.) and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (Ph.D.). Bob’s travels have provided many memorable hunting, fishing and other outdoors activities that he has shared with family and friends in 19 states/provinces in the U.S. and Canada. He is most proud of passing on the hunting and fishing traditions to his younger brother Dale, and to his sons Eric and Jared. Bob is an avid bird hunter who most enjoys hunting pheasants and prairie grouse over pointing dogs (especially Brittanys) and also hunts doves, waterfowl and big game. Bob has taught classes and conducted research with graduate students for nearly 30 years, first at Southern Illinois University, and currently at Ohio State University. His research interests are primarily focused on ecology and management of upland game birds, waterfowl and other wetlands-dependent wildlife, and conservation of wetlands and early successional habitats. He has been a member of The Wildlife Society (TWS) for more than 30 years, serving as state chapter president in Illinois and Ohio, and President

Thirty year career with Missouri Department of Conservation as researcher, administrator and outreach programs chief.

Outreach Programs Chief, Missouri Department of Conservation, January 2004-December 2009
Wildlife Research Supervisor, Missouri Department of Conservation, January 1999-December 2004
Wildlife Research Biologist (wild turkeys, ruffed grouse, forest ecology, agricultural systems), Missouri Department of Conservation, August 1985-December 1998
Wildlife Biologist, Missouri Department of Conservation, January 1979-July 1985
As a Wildlife Research Biologist Mr. Kurzejeski has significant experience in designing and conducting research, often working closely with collaborators at the University of Missouri. His research included work on population dynamics of galliforms; impacts of Federal Farm programs on plant and animal species; influences of forest management on terrestrial and aquatic systems; and measuring the attitudes and preferences of resource user groups. During his career with the Department of Conservation his work involved both the biological and social sides of natural resource management. He led many agency-wide communication efforts aimed at gleaning public input from Missouri citizens. He supervised staff responsible for the development of hunting regulations and worked closely with all aspects of regulatory process.

Eric is a retired Vermont Game Warden and Hunter Education Coordinator. His is the past executive director of the International Hunter Education Association and Orion-the Hunter's Institute. He currently serves on numerous boards including Orion, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) and Lamoille River Paddlers Trail. An avid hunter and owner of an eager Brittany bird dog, he has a hard time finding time to do all the wilderness canoe trips, fishing trips to Montana and in Vermont, and the hikes in Norway that he would like to do. Eric has introduced hundreds of folks to the joys of the outdoors thru hunting, fishing and tripping, and touched thousands thru teaching, talks and writing. He is currently coordinating an ethics column in the BHA Outdoor Journal.

Mark D. Smith is a W. Kelly Mosley Environmental Professor/Extension Specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Systems in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University. He received his B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife from Michigan State University and a M.S. in Wildlife Sciences and Ph.D. in Forest Resources from Mississippi State University. His extension activities focus on helping landowners and natural resource professionals reduce damage caused by wild pigs. Mark is an active member of The Wildlife Society, serving in various capacities at all levels (student chapter to national) and is also an Alabama Hunter Education instructor and 4-H Shooting Sports coach. Mark’s introduction to the shooting sports, hunting, and fishing began at the age of 6 on a 160-acre woodland in northern Michigan. These early childhood experiences in the woods with family and friends played a key role in developing his insatiable quest for adventure. Over the ensuing years, Mark has hunted and fished through much of the United States, 4 Canadian Provinces, and Africa. Despite these far-flung adventures, his true love is rabbit hunting with a pack of beagle hounds. Labeled a “Damn Yankee” by many (a northerner who visits the South and doesn’t leave), he has since developed an unshakeable addiction to saltwater fishing. Thus despite a having a relatively good paying job, he remains continuously broke.

Misty gained an appreciation for a variety of landscapes and all things outdoors early in life. Her father was a career Air Force man but always found time to take her hunting, fishing, or camping with the family whether they were stateside or overseas. This was time well spent as in doing so she found her passion which led to a career in Natural Resource Management.

She has been a member of The Wildlife Society for over 30 years. Having been taught the value of service/giving back she served as: President of the Southwest Section of The Wildlife Society, Board Member-at-Large and Secretary of the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Chair and member of countless committees and currently serves on TWS’ The Wildlife Professional Editorial Advisory Board. In 2009 Misty was awarded TWS’ Fellows Award and in 2018 she was awarded TCTWS’s Honorary Life Membership for Professional Achievements and Contributions to Wildlife Conservation.

Misty is a certified Huntmaster with the Texas Youth Hunting Program, a Texas Hunter Education Instructor, an official Boone and Crockett Scorer, and an EMT.

Bruce Thomas has been with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA-DNR) since August of 2019. He currently serves as the Hunting and Shooting Education Specialist for the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center (CEWC) in Mansfield, Georgia, the site of several CLfT workshops each year. He works with any and all programs related to hunting and shooting at CEWC, ranging from “Hunt and Learns” for new hunters, to Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) activities to summer shooting sports camps. He became a CLfT instructor shortly after joining GA-DNR. He is a certified NRA Instructor for Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun as well as a certified Hunter Safety Instructor for Georgia.

Prior to joining GA-DNR, Bruce enjoyed a 32-year career in public education, first as a county extension agent with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, followed by a stint as a high school agricultural education teacher and finally as K-8 school library media specialist. He earned his BSA and MS in Animal Science from the University of Georgia as well as an EDS in Agricultural Education.

He grew up on a small, diversified farm in Georgia and began hunting and shooting at a very early age. Some of his best hunting memories are chasing rabbits and squirrels with a single shot .410 shotgun when he was about 11 years old.