Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation - January 12 - January 16, 2018

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.

Scott resides on 12 acres of restored prairie in Oregon, Wisconsin. A native of New Hampshire, he earned an undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire and graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. He began hunting by following his father and grandfather around the mountains of northern New England in pursuit of deer and grouse. He has been hunting for more than 40 years for deer, wild turkeys, upland birds and waterfowl. Scott served as state leader of the Wisconsin 4-H Shooting Sports program for 13 years and is a certified instructor for rifle and shotgun. With the help of several colleagues and friends, he launched the Wisconsin Student Hunting Project in 1995, which received national recognition several years later; it is the model on which CLfT was based. Scott has taught many wild game cooking classes and enjoys promoting game utilization. He is very active in The Wildlife Society and belongs to numerous other conservation organizations.

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

Hunting is one of the things that defines me. I hunt for food, family, friends, dogs, challenge, exercise, education, memories, treasures, and fun! Most often, I hunt grouse, woodcock, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese, deer, and elk, but I have had the opportunity to hunt a wider range of species from Alaska to Namibia and several places in between. My mother taught me how to hunt and I have been hunting with my father on the opening weekend of the Wisconsin deer hunting season for 51 years. I am trained and certified in a dozen ways regarding firearms and hunting and CLfT is one way that I enjoy sharing the world of hunting with students and beginning hunters.

Randy is a Wetland Habitat Biologist within the Wildlife Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Randy works with partners to deliver waterbird and wetland conservation in Michigan by securing funding, assisting with research, and co-administering a voluntary wetland restoration program with Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. He is an Indiana native, but considers himself to be a Michigander by default since he spent the majority of his life on the water at his family’s lake cottage in Van Buren County. He was introduced to wildlife conservation by chasing cottontails and whitetails in the fields of the Midwest with his father and uncle. He continues to explore public lands across the United States each year in search of adventure, challenge, and food. Randy received his Bachelor’s degree at Purdue University, completed his Master’s degree at Ohio State University researching northern bobwhite, and obtained his Ph.D. at Michigan State University studying movements and demographics of mute swans. Randy began as an Intern with CLfT in 2009 and has been instructing at workshops since 2010.

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.