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The Management Board

The administration and strategic vision of the Central Hardwoods Joint Venture are overseen by a Management Board currently comprised of representatives from the following agencies and organizations:

American Bird Conservancy
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
Missouri Department of Conservation
National Wild Turkey Federation
Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
The Nature Conservancy
USDA Forest Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Representatives of the Board typically are upper-level administrators in their respective agencies and organizations who have the authority to make commitments to the operations of the Joint Venture on behalf of their respective institutions.

Some members of the CHJV Board and Staff: from left, Greg Wathen (TN), Allan Mueller (TNC), David Pashley (ABC), Bob Ford (FWS), Doyle Shook (AGFC), Don McKenzie (NBCI), Jane Fitzgerald (CHJV Coordinator), Lee O’Brien (CHJV Spatial Analyst), Rodrigo Migoya (Yucatan Alliance for Bird Conservation, Mexico)

The Full-time Staff

Jane Fitzgerald, CHJV Coordinator. Jane oversees the day-to-day operations of the Joint Venture and is responsible for carrying out the vision and direction of the Management Board. Jane holds a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Arkansas, and formerly was the Midwest Regional Coordinator for Partners in Flight.

Todd Jones-Farrand, CHJV Science Coordinator. Todd has developed habitat suitability models for priority birds in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region (CHBCR), and is currently collaborating with other scientists to incorporate those models and other data layers into a landscape simulation tool that will allow us to predict the outcomes of various agents of habitat and population change separately or in combination within and across the CHBCR. Todd holds a Ph. D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Lee O’Brien, CHJV Spatial Analyst. Lee is an expert in the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and provides spatial analyses and other computer-based planning tools associated with conservation design and delivery within the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region. Lee holds an M.S. in Ecology from Colorado State University. He previously worked as the Colorado State Coordinator for the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project, and for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska.

The Technical Committee

The technical committee, comprised of ornithologists, ecologists and other staff from the CHJV partner agencies and organizations, serves the CHJV in an advisory capacity. The committee meets once or more per year, as needed, to help refine the biological and technical foundation for CHJV planning and project delivery.