Staff
Our staff has a wide range of professional experience, including bird conservation science, spatial ecology, habitat delivery, policy, strategic planning and communications, range management, hydrogeology, and contract management.
The IWJV staff works with a diversity of organizations, which include state and federal wildlife agencies, non-profit organizations, private landowners and corporations, among others. Each of our team members is dedicated to the conservation of priority bird habitats through partnership-driven, science-based projects and programs. We bring people and organizations together to leverage technical and financial resources, building our collective capacity to achieve conservation at meaningful scales.
Learn more about our staff and how we can work with you.
Dave Smith
IWJV Coordinator
Kasey Bader
Operations Specialist
Ed Contreras
SONEC Conservation Delivery Coordinator
Tina Dennison
Initiative Support & Project Coordinator
Patrick Donnelly
Spatial Ecologist
Emily Downing
Water 4 Communications Specialist
Erica Hansen
Water 4 Coordinator
Erica joined the IWJV team in May of 2022. In her role as Water 4 Coordinator, she supports the conservation of wetlands, working wet meadows, and other water resources in ways that benefit both people and wildlife. She is passionate about developing strong partnerships that result in mutually-beneficial conservation outcomes. Her career is rooted in the Intermountain West, where she has developed a deep appreciation for open spaces, clean water, and the communities that steward them. Before joining the IWJV, Erica worked as the Land Protection Specialist and Staff Biologist for the Jackson Hole Land Trust. During that time, she had the privilege of partnering with landowners to protect working lands across northwest Wyoming. She holds a B.S. in Zoology with Honors from Colorado State University, and an M.S. in Wildlife Biology from Utah State University. When she’s not at work, you can find her skiing, birding, trail running, and spending time in the garden or out on the river. Erica currently works from her home office in Victor, Idaho.
Teagan Hayes
Science to Implementation Specialist
Mandi Hirsch
Sagebrush Conservation Coordinator
Charlie Holtz
Sagebrush Field Delivery Capacity Specialist
Charlie started with IWJV in early January 2024. His work with the sagebrush habitat team is focused on partner-supported, conservation-delivery field positions. He has a great amount of experience in that he held similar positions throughout his early career. In this role he is responsible for providing tools and partnership support to the unique biologists and range specialists established through IWJV’s intra-agency agreement with the Bureau of Land Management, Partnering to Conserve Sagebrush Rangelands. Charlie will work with the IWJV’s sagebrush team to continue to support the existing positions while growing new capacity in strategically placed areas across the West.
Based in Vernal, Utah, Charlie enjoys the outdoors through many activities such as hunting, fishing, boating, and camping, as well as music, sports, and art. He is a grateful father of a 12-year-old daughter and two chocolate labs.
Adrian Leighton
Western Forests Conservation Coordinator
Adrian Leighton
Western Forests Conservation Coordinator
adrian.leighton@iwjv.org
Adrian joined IWJV in February of 2025 as the organization’s first Western Forests Conservation Coordinator, where he gets to use his passion for active forest management to help build partnerships, capacity and the application of best available science to improve forest health and forest and community resilience. Before starting this new journey, he spent 21 years at Salish Kootenai College developing forestry curriculum, teaching classes and serving as the Director of the Center for Tribal Research and Education in Ecosystem Sciences (TREES). He was also a member of the 3rd and 4th Indian Forest Management Assessment Teams, a founding member of the Intertribal Timber Council Research Sub-committee and a two-term member of the Forest Research Advisory Council to the Secretary of Agriculture. Outside of work, Adrian enjoys hiking, cutting firewood, baking bread, and trying to get his teenager to laugh at his Dad jokes (it happened once….honest).
Brian McDonald
Agreements & Budget Specialist
Megan McGrath
Sagebrush Communications Specialist
Mariah McIntosh
Science to Implementation Specialist
Joy Morris
Strategic Operations Coordinator
Hannah Nikonow
Communications & Marketing Coordinator
Andrew Olsen
Conservation Coordinator
As the Conservation Coordinator, Andrew provides strategic leadership and support to the habitat conservation and science-to-implementation efforts of the IWJV. Working directly with the Sagebrush Conservation Coordinator, Water 4 Coordinator, and Western Forests Conservation Coordinator, Andrew helps prioritize IWJV investments in conservation and coordinates the efforts of the Science to Implementation Specialists to translate cutting-edge conservation science into on-the-ground conservation outcomes. Before joining the IWJV, Andrew was a Rangeland Scientist with The Nature Conservancy based out of the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Burns, Oregon. In that role, he provided science support to various conservation efforts related to invasive annual grasses, wildfire, native species restoration, public land management, and livestock grazing. He was also active in collaborative conservation efforts at the state and regional scales. Andrew holds an M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management from Texas A&M University – Kingsville and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University. Outside of work, Andrew enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, hunting, and cooking.
Lori Reed
Operations Coordinator
Working together is always better.
Our staff has a wide range of professional experience, including non-profit management, bird conservation science, spatial ecology, habitat delivery, policy, strategic planning and communications, and contract management.
iwjv@iwjv.org
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