Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation - March 6 - March 10, 2019

Jarred Brooke is an Extension Wildlife Specialist with Purdue University. His hunting and wildlife conservation journey started by chasing northern bobwhite and ring-necked pheasants behind his family's Weimaraners in the farm country of Indiana. His passion for hunting and wildlife conservation led him to Purdue University where he graduated with a BS in Wildlife Science. Building on his love of upland gamebirds, Jarred completed an MS in Wildlife Management at the University of Tennessee where he conducted research on the ecology of northern bobwhite on reclaimed surface coal mines. Jarred completed a brief stint in Kentucky working for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and Natural Resources Conservation Service as a Farm Bill Biologist before returning to his alma mater in 2016. As an Extension Specialist, Jarred works with landowners, land managers, and various state and federal agencies to provide resources related to applied habitat management - with a focus on game species. Jarred also teaches a course at Purdue University on the role of consumptive use in wildlife conservation. Jarred has been an instructor with CLfT since 2018.

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.

Sara Mueller is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University for her B.S. (Schreyer Honors College, 2014), M.S. (2016) and Ph.D. (2023) in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Sara's past research has focused on aquatic ecology ranging from community interactions with invasive species, metabarcoding eDNA samples for aquatic organisms, and Brook Trout morphology. Through her work, Sara advocates for the integration of knowledge between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems; and encourages collaboration and cooperation across respective disciplines. Sara was also adjunct faculty at Penn State Dubois teaching natural resources policy and animal identification. Now, Sara is the Executive Director of the Wildlife Leadership Academy and oversees its mission of engaging and empowering youth in the conservation space (wildlifeleadershipacademy.org).

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.

Gary grew up in West Virginia and received degrees from West Virginia University, Clemson University and Colorado State University. He has lived, hunted and fished in seven states and has hunted in North Carolina with the same group of friends for more than 30 years. Gary cofounded the North Carolina Fur, Fish and Game Rendezvous, a natural resources youth summer camp, and team-taught the shooting sports component of the program for eight years. He is an instructor for wildlife ecology and shooting sports at the American Wilderness Leadership Schools. His current interests include wildlife damage management, shooting sports, natural resources public relations, human dimensions and environmental education. He taught Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and Natural Resources Public Relations at Penn State and North Carolina State University. Gary is now an Emeritus Professor of Wildlife Resources at Penn State University. He was on the original planning for CLfT. jgs9@psu.edu

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.