Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center - November 5 - November 9, 2018

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.

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.

Molly has been a CLfT instructor for a least a decade. She's also a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Chief Hunter Safety Education Instructor, a Hunter Safety and Bow Hunter Safety Instructor, an NRA Shotgun Certified Instructor, a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Conservation Group board member and active with Back Country Hunters and Anglers. Molly has worn many hats in her work life -- dairy farmer, carpenter, graphic designer and family practice nurse . She currently creates custom western hats and leather goods.

Diane Eggeman was born and raised in Missouri, where she developed a love of the outdoors as a child. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from the University of Missouri and a Master’s degree from the University of Maine in Wildlife Biology. Diane retired in 2018 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where she worked from 1986-2018. She spent more than 20 years managing waterfowl and waterfowl hunting. In 2008, Diane became director of the Division of Hunting and Game Management. In this role, she became passionate about providing the public-trust benefits of wildlife management and conservation, including hunting and other recreation, for Florida’s citizens. Currently, Diane holds a part-time position under contract with Ducks Unlimited, Inc., serving as Integration Coordinator for the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP). Diane is a Fellow of the National Conservation Leadership Institute. Diane and her family are avid hunters and anglers and spend much of their free time outdoors.

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

Michael Kolsun has been a volunteer Hunter Education instructor for the Vermont F&W department for 30 years and serves on the F&W board. He is certified in hunter, bow and trapper education and currently serves as a Chief Instructor. Growing up in a non hunting family, he was mentored into hunting in his early twenties. After all the help he received, the importance of 'paying it forward' lead him to becoming a certified instructor. Through networking in his local community, he now has a team of 12 instructors, teaching a hands on, interactive, experiential based class.
He has attended the Tom Brown Tracker School, learned to make primitive longbows with John McPherson, is an avid hand loader of ammunition and has spent time as a primitive rendezvous/fur trade era, muzzle loader competitor. Taking the hunt to a deeper level of satisfaction, which includes butchering and caring for ones harvested game, is a year round pursuit.
As an Endowment member of the NRA, he has instructor ratings in pistol and shotgun. After retirement from UPS, he has started Vermont Advanced Shooting Sports (V.A.S.S.), a post hunter education school, to facilitate the new shooter with limited mentoring opportunity.
Michael and his wife, Molly Cook, live on 38 acres in the Northeast Kingdom in Brighton, VT. They spend their time managing their land to sustain wildlife, hunting, fishing, shooting and enjoying the gifts that nature provides. Wild game meat in the freezer is their preferred diet.

Joli began her career in conservation by volunteering and working seasonal positions in Colorado with the Student Conservation Association, the NPS, USFWS, and the Iowa Conservation Commission while attending and after graduation from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. In 1989, Joli left Colorado to return home to the Midwest to start her 3-decade career as an Iowa Conservation Officer. In 1999, she expanded her role as a law enforcement (LE) trainer with the IDNR, accepting the new position of Training Coordinator and eventually becoming Supervisor of Licensing and Training for fifteen years. Coming full circle, Joli worked her final years back in the field.
Joli’s passions have evolved from LE training and “education through enforcement” to introducing new audiences to conservation and natural resources recreation and appreciation through programs including Outdoor Journey for Girls and Becoming an Outdoors Woman. She also enjoys working with Iowa State University (ISU) in outdoor skills programming, Hunter Education, class presentations, and presenting for over two decades with the Program for Women in Science and Engineering.
Joli enjoys trailrunning, bicycling, and paddling with her partner and dogs. She finds great joy and deep value in bird hunting (especially behind her late, beloved springer, Abbey), firearm and bow hunting deer from a treestand, and sitting in the spring woods calling turkeys. She is excited to spend more time doing all of that--and CLfT!

I taught at Purdue University in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources of 35 years, teaching several courses, including Habitat Management and Wildlife Techniques. Research interests were broad, and included white-tailed deer food relationships and avian breeding biology.
I have taught participants at Conservation Leaders for Tomorrow workshops since shortly after its inception, and try to bring my broad background and eclectic interests to the program.

I taught Dendrology, native shrub, and herbaceous I.D. at Purdue University for 30 years in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. My classes were taken by sophomores to Graduate students studying Wildlife and Forestry. My goal was always to impress upon students the value of understanding the importance of plant identification in managing habitat.
My role in Conservation Leaders for Tomorrow is to teach and educate our participants to the best of my ability about wildlife conservation in our country. Every single workshop is a treat and I look forward to next season.

Prior to coming to CLfT, David was a Captain with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division where he served for 27 1/2 years in a variety of positions including Field Officer, Environmental Investigator, Homeland Security Coordinator, Training Administrator and the Education and Training Section Commander. David has held a number of instructor certifications and specialties that included: ILETB Master Instructor, Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor (Handgun, Shotgun and Patrol Rifle), 4H Shooting Sports Shotgun Instructor, Muzzleloading Rifle, Range Safety Officer, Indiana and Illinois Hunter Education Instructor and Indiana Trapper Education Instructor. David is a 1980 graduate of Vincennes University with an Associate of Science degree in Conservation Law Enforcement and a graduate of the 191st Session of the FBI National Academy. He served three terms as president of the Association of Natural Resource Enforcement Trainers (ANRET)(now a subcommittee of NAWEOA). David served as Secretary of the International Hunter Education Association, IHEA from 2009 to 2011. David has remained active in law enforcement by serving with the Mason County Sheriff's Marine Patrol Division and in 2021 he became NASBLA's 1st Certified Recreational Boating Professional (CRBP) in the Nation.