Staff

Nature has always been a common thread throughout Joe’s life, from discovering the natural lakes and Boone River in Wright Co. as a boy to first date hikes with his wife Molly. Throughout his conservation career, first with Story County Conservation and then with INHF, Joe has admired Iowa’s subtle...

Diane was born in Boonville, Mo., but has been an Iowan since she moved to Des Moines when she was 5 years old. She loves spring in Iowa for the return of the birds and smell of new life in the air, and she loves fall for the changing colors....

A lifelong Iowan, Kari grew up in the booming metropolis of Sully, Iowa, where she spent summer days walking through cornfields and playing in the creek (there was nothing else to do)! Now, when she’s not working behind the scenes at INHF doing Human Resources and Board Administration, you can...

Laura grew up in Burlington, where her love for the outdoors was sparked by frequent visits to Geode State Park and Burlington’s wonderful city parks. After high school, she served in the U.S. Navy, working as an F-14 mechanic in a fighter jet squadron. Laura went on to obtain a...

Sydney has traveled the world visiting rainforests, mountains and oceans but always feels most at home in Iowa’s prairies. She credits her childhood and her internships with INHF and Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge for instilling in her a sense of wonder for the prairie landscape. After working in the...

Joe grew up in Council Bluffs, and some of his earliest memories of the outdoors include watching eagles migrate through Hitchcock Nature Area. With a background in journalism, Joe enjoys combining his love of storytelling and nature to share the great work of INHF and talk about the importance of...

Originally from a suburb of Houston, Texas, Erica has always sought out quiet, natural spaces. An Animal Ecology degree from ISU and many subsequent nature jobs have helped her foster an unwavering passion for protecting and improving the environment and gives a unique lens to her work in communications. Erica...

Andrea believes that the outdoors and greenspaces are a vital element to all vibrant communities- some just don’t realize how much their daily routines include a connection to nature. No two days are ever the same as she spends her time either helping small towns work together to create multiuse...

Lisa was born in California, grew up in Colorado and is frequently asked, “Why are you here?” She moved to Iowa to study Landscape Architecture at Iowa State and through that program learned about the beauty of the Iowa landscape. Since starting at INHF in 1988, she has grown to...

Here’s what you do: Find Cold Water Creek WMA in your sportsman’s atlas. Go to the west parking lot up on the hill, not the one at the bottom by the bridge. Follow the two-track down to the stream at the base of the bluff. Hop the limestone boulders across...

A native Iowan, Jessica has always appreciated the outdoors, but fell in love with Iowa’s bats and prairies through a biology degree at Central College. After finishing a master's program at UNI, Jessica came to INHF as a grant writing intern. Today, she's on our land protection team, working on...

Throughout her life, Heather has found a deep connection with nature, whether at her family's farm, in middle school science classes (taught by the famous Chris Adkins) or searching wooded trails for spring ephemerals. Working in conservation in her home state is meaningful to Heather, because she sees Iowa as...

Tylar was raised in Des Moines and St. Charles, and fondly remembers family picnics at the top of Clark’s Tower and splashing in Clanton Creek in Madison Co. After college, Tylar spent several years witnessing the tremendous natural beauty of California redwoods and Florida’s gulf coast while working in the...

Between walking beans, passing time at her favorite fishing hole and riding horses at Stone State Park, Erin got the full farm kid experience in her hometown of Remsen. Erin’s first introduction to INHF was as a land stewardship intern, where she fell in love with Iowa’s prairies, oak savannas,...

As a southern Iowa farm girl, Anna found her love for nature while picking wildflowers from the cow pastures, tromping through Shoal Creek and spotting wildlife in the timber. Using her education from Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Drake University Law School, she hopes to shape policy that...

Brian grew up in Williams, IA, pursuing catfish and smallmouth bass in the Boone River and wild turkeys and trout near Lansing with his dad. Readied with an Animal Ecology degree from Iowa State, Brian developed a passion for the prairie pothole landscape while with Hamilton County Conservation (along with...

Bill grew up on a working horse farm in rural Spotsylvania County, Virginia, where he developed a deep love of the outdoors and appreciation of Civil War history. Bill holds a degree in Psychology from James Madison University in Virginia. He later went back to school and earned a degree...

Destiny grew up in Waterloo and fell in love with the prairie after taking a course through the Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa. After graduating from UNI with an undergraduate degree in conservation and natural resources and a master’s in biology, she gained experience working around...

Growing up in eastern Iowa, Patrick became interested in wildlife while exploring parks along the Cedar River. This lifelong passion for nature led him to study at Kirkwood Community College and UW- Stevens Point. Being a traveler at heart, he went on to work in some faraway places such as...

Derek found a passion for conservation at a young age after a naturalist told his school group to lay down in a tallgrass prairie and just listen. After establishing that special connection with the prairie landscape, he realized an inherent love for Iowa's native plants and animals. He expanded that...

Ryan grew up in the small southeast Iowa town of Keswick. He spent his early years hunting and fishing with his family on their family farms, all while developing a keen interest in and passion for Iowa’s flora and fauna. This interest led Ryan to pursue a degree in Environmental...

Kody has always enjoyed the outdoors, working with his hands on his family's farm in western Iowa, and putting in a hard day’s work. He grew up hunting, fishing, playing baseball, and caring for livestock. He pursued a degree in Environmental Science from Central College (Pella, IA), and has been...

Jered grew up along the Apple River in northwest Illinois, traversing its canyon and nurturing his complicated relationship with the fish known as trout. After a stint at Luther College in Decorah, Jered worked across the Driftless, from fish hatcheries to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, conducting wolf howling surveys and...

Stacie grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska and spent time exploring the natural world in the state parks of central & eastern Nebraska with her family. In college Stacie pursued her interest in ecology and evolution by majoring in Biology and spending several summers doing botanical field research in southwest Virginia....

Erin enjoys bringing INHF supporters together to celebrate their shared passion for Iowa’s land, water and wildlife. As a life-long Iowan, Erin enjoys time around the water, our trails in Central Iowa and seeing the beauty of nature through her son and daughters' eyes. Contact Erin about: joining the INHF...

Taryn has always had a deep connection to and appreciation for the outdoors. Growing up in Des Moines and St. Charles, she has fond memories of sleeping under the stars, wading in streams searching for cool rocks, driftwood and other treasures. Spending time in nature continues to be a huge...

Abby is a boomerang, returning to her home state of Iowa after journeying first east and then west for 12 years. She grew up in Ames ambling around Munn Woods, amassing elaborate collections of natural objects, and absorbed in field guides for birds, insects and plants. With a degree in...