Wyoming Outdoor Council Staff
Laurie Milford, Executive Director
e-mail: laurie@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 721-7610
As executive director, Laurie performs the
duties of the chief executive, including overseeing the Outdoor Council’s
finances, program, membership, and public affairs in conjunction with the board
of directors. She joined the Wyoming Outdoor Council staff as development
director in October 2005 after working at LightHawk, an environmental aviation
group. Prior to joining the Council staff, Laurie served on our board of
directors. Based in Laramie, she has 16 years of experience working in the
nonprofit and education sectors, including a stint at the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching, where she was an advocate for enhanced,
adaptive teaching and learning in higher education. At the University of
Wyoming, she directed a faculty development project funded by the Hewlett
Foundation. Laurie received her formal training as a production editor for
Westview Press, then a scholarly subsidiary of HarperCollins. She holds a
bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English from the University of Iowa and
the University of Wyoming respectively. She graduated from the Institute for
Conservation Leadership in 2008; in 2010 the institute recognized her as an
exemplary leader in the conservation movement.
Richard Garrett, Legislative & Outreach Advocate
e-mail: richard@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 332-7031
After being a member (and admirer) of the
Wyoming Outdoor Council for many years, Richard became its contract lobbyist
for the 59th session of the Wyoming State Legislature in 2008. After the
session he joined the staff as the legislative and outreach advocate. Born in
Casper, he has lived in Wyoming, Colorado, New Jersey and Kentucky. Richard has
extensive experience in local, regional, state, and national political
campaigns and was a staff member for U.S. Senator Gary Hart of Colorado. He
also worked as a sales engineer for Enron Broadband Services and as a full-time
volunteer for Habitat for Humanity in Lexington, Kentucky. Richard lives in
Lander where he invests in and manages a small residential real estate
portfolio.
Bonnie Hofbauer, Office Manager
e-mail: bonnie@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 332-7031 ext. 17
Bonnie and her husband moved to Wyoming in
1978. Bonnie’s involvement with the Wyoming Outdoor Council began as a
volunteer for the organization’s local recycling program, and she started
working full time for the Council in 1991. She brought a “can do” attitude
to the office and has become the go-to person for technical support for
computers, telecommunications systems, and office machinery. Bonnie manages the
membership database and tends to the many needs of the organization. Her love
of the outdoors takes her on regular horse packing and hunting adventures.
Steve Jones, Watershed Protection Program Attorney
e-mail: steve@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 332-7031 ext. 12
Steve joined the Wyoming Outdoor Council in
the summer of 2001 bringing extensive litigation experience, primarily in civil
and environmental matters. A 1977 University of Oregon School of Law graduate,
Steve started his career in 1978 as a staff attorney for Wind River Legal
Services in Fort Washakie, Wyoming. In 1980, he became assistant attorney
general for the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office, working as staff attorney
in the Natural Resources Division, where he served as the primary attorney for
the Water Quality Division for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.
Steve later served as a senior assistant attorney general for the Wyoming
Attorney General’s Office, where he was the supervisor of the Environmental
Section of the Natural Resources Division. In 1992, Steve opened a private law
practice specializing in environmental law. He represented the Wyoming Outdoor
Council in an issue related to underground coal gasification. In 1994, ‘98
and ‘99 Steve was a lobbyist for the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club. He
also worked as the Adopt-a-Roadless-Area coordinator for the Sierra Club in
1998, directing volunteers in northwest Wyoming who cataloged and assessed
roadless areas in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Nathan Maxon, Land Conservation Coordinator
e-mail: nathan@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 332-7031 ext. 11
Nate joined the Wyoming Outdoor Council in
October 2009 as the energy and public lands fellow. He accepted the position of land conservation coordinator in 2011. He holds a bachelor's degree in wildlife and fisheries biology and a law degree, both from the University of Wyoming. Nate worked as a legal intern for the Wyoming Outdoor Council during the summer of 2008. Prior to his legal studies, he served primarily as a field biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, working with rare amphibians, a variety of birds, and several mammal species in Wyoming, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska.
Lisa Dardy McGee, National Forests and Parks Program Director
e-mail: lisa@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 734-8008
After completing a legal internship with the
Wyoming Outdoor Council in the summer of 2003, Lisa returned in June 2005 to
become the director of the national parks and forests program. She grew up in
Cincinnati and moved to Wyoming in 1996 after graduating from Miami University
in Oxford, Ohio, with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and art history. In
May 2004, Lisa graduated with honors from the University of Wyoming College of
Law, where she focused on public lands and natural resource law. She then
clerked for a year for a judge in Anchorage, Alaska. Prior to law school, Lisa
worked as a ranger naturalist in both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National
Parks, managed an organic farm in Alpine, Wyoming, and spent several seasons
working as a field botanist.
Chris Merrill, Communications Director
e-mail: chris@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 721-7610
Chris joined the staff as communications
director in March 2009. An award-winning journalist, he came to the Wyoming
Outdoor Council after holding the post of environment reporter for the Casper
Star-Tribune. He also covered politics, health care, and the environment for
the Idaho State Journal. Before becoming a journalist he lived and worked in
Ecuador, Bolivia, and South Korea, where he taught English. Chris has a
master’s degree in English from Colorado State University and an
undergraduate degree in political science. He lives in Laramie with his wife,
Rebecca, and his dog, Gus.
Sophie Osborn, Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Program Director
e-mail: sophie@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 742-6138
Sophie joined the Wyoming Outdoor Council as
Wildlife Program Manager in 2007. She has a passion for wildlife and the
outdoors, and 18 years of experience in wildlife biology. She received a
bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree
in organismal biology and ecology from the University of Montana, where her
thesis focused on American dippers. Sophie’s wildlife work has included the
study and conservation of more than a dozen bird species in the United States,
Central and South America, as well as small mammal research in the backcountry
of Grand Canyon National Park. She has contributed to reintroduction efforts
for several endangered birds, and served as the field manager for the
California Condor Reintroduction Program in Arizona for nearly four years. Her
chronicle of that experience, Condors in Canyon Country: The Return of the
California Condor to the Grand Canyon Region, won the 2007 National
Outdoor Book Award. Sophie has published numerous peer-reviewed scientific
articles and her popular writings appear in Grand Canyon’s Nature
Notes and Sojourn magazine. She lives in Laramie with her husband
and two border collies, and serves on the board of the Laramie Audubon
Society.
Bruce Pendery, Staff Attorney and Program Director
e-mail: bruce@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (435) 752-2111
In November 2003, Bruce joined the Wyoming
Outdoor Council staff as director of public lands and became program director
in November 2005. He holds a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from
Colorado State University, a master’s degree in range science from Utah State
University, and a law degree from the University of Utah College of Law. Prior
to law school, Bruce worked for 11 years as a range scientist for Utah State
University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As a range scientist he
designed, conducted, analyzed, and published scientific studies regarding
arid-land plant breeding, ecology, and rangeland management. More recently he
worked for Defenders of Wildlife as a government relations associate. In that
role, Bruce evaluated the impacts of the Bush-Cheney National Energy Policy on
wildlife and public lands in the western U.S., and worked on advocacy efforts
related to those issues.
Linda Sisco, Administrative Assistant
e-mail: linda@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 332-7031 ext. 10
Linda joined staff at the Wyoming Outdoor
Council in April 2008. She grew up on an 80-acre farm in southwest Iowa and she
came to Wyoming for the first time in 1978, after earning her bachelor’s
degree in recreation and art from the College of St. Mary’s in Omaha,
Nebraska. She moved to Lander in 1993 after owning and operating a successful
commercial greenhouse and landscaping company in Marlboro, Vermont. Although
she had never previously worked in conservation, she supported wilderness-based
education programs through work with the National Outdoor Leadership School,
and she has been active in promoting environmental practices in the
workplace.
Gary Wilmot, Associate Director
e-mail: gary@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 332-7031 ext. 21
Based in Lander, Wyoming since the late
1980’s, Gary was hired as the development director of the Wyoming Outdoor
Council in January of 2008. Lured to Wyoming by the mountains, he went on to
spend 15 years as a climbing and mountaineering instructor for the National
Outdoor Leadership School. He was a major gifts officer at NOLS for five years
prior to stepping into his fundraising role with the Council. Gary is a former
police officer from Flagstaff, Arizona, and holds a bachelor’s degree in
geology as well as a teaching certification from James Madison University. Gary
was part of the first single season ascent of the three highest peaks in
Alaska. He summited Denali, Mount Foraker and Mount Hunter. Gary is also an
avid marathoner. He serves on the board of the Lander Community Foundation.
Jamie Wolf, Outreach Coordinator
e-mail: jamie@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org
phone: (307) 721-7610
Jamie joined the staff in November 2009 as
outreach coordinator. After graduating in May 2009 from the University of
Wyoming with a dual bachelor’s degree in international studies and
environment and natural resources, she aspired to use her education and
experiences to give back to the state that has given so much to her. Jamie is
from Worland, and grew up hiking, camping, fishing, and exploring the great
outdoors. As a UW student, she dedicated much of her time to leadership and
civic engagement, and she worked hard to improve the sustainability and
environmental stewardship of the campus. She is fascinated by the relationships
that individuals and communities have with their natural environments, and is
excited to connect people to the outdoors and remind them of why Wyoming is so
special.