Dr. Erim Gómez is an assistant professor of wildlife biology at the University of Montana, where he leads the Charismatic Minifauna Lab. He has 22 years of conservation, environmental, and wildlife biology experience. He is a past award winner of the Bullitt Environmental Leadership Fellowship and now serves on the Board of the Bullitt Foundation. He has formerly served as Co-Director of Southern Oregon University’s Ecology Center of the Siskiyous. As director he co-led an effort to pass a green-tags initiative to offset the university’s carbon footprint. He has served on the board of Montana Natural History Center, Oregon Stewardship, and the board of the Society of Northwestern Vertebrate Biology. Gómez holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from Southern Oregon University and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Natural Resource Sciences from Washington State University. Gómez is a naturalist at heart and thus has eclectic research interests, including the conservation of endangered species, the ecology and sustainability of freshwater ecosystems, and amphibians, freshwater fish, and of course, charismatic minifauna.

Erim was interviewed on our podcast, Can I Get a Retake? - listen below!
 

Dr. Chad J. Bishop is Director of the Wildlife Biology Program and Professor in the Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at University of Montana (2015 – present). As Director, Chad is responsible for a wide array of functions tied to running the wildlife biology program, with an emphasis on faculty and student support and program outreach and development. He also teaches courses in the wildlife curricula and leads multiple research projects focused primarily on ungulate ecology. Prior to University of Montana, Chad spent nearly 16 years working for Colorado Parks and Wildlife as assistant director, research leader, and wildlife researcher. He received a B.S. degree from Montana State University in Biology with a Fish and Wildlife emphasis (1995), M.S. from University of Idaho in Wildlife Resources (1998), and Ph.D. from Colorado State University in Wildlife Biology (2007). 

Dr. John F. Organ is the professional wildlife biologist on the 7-person Fisheries and Wildlife Board for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is the former chief of the U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units, and former chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. He is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Michigan State University, and Universidad Andres Bello in Santiago Chile. He is a past president, honorary member, and fellow of The Wildlife Society. He is a recipient of the Aldo Leopold Memorial Award and Medal from The Wildlife Society, the George Bird Grinnell Memorial Award from the Wildlife Management Institute, and the Meritorious Service Award from the Department of the Interior. He is an Emeritus Member of the Boone and Crockett Club. A Certified Wildlife Biologist, he received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Thomas J. Ryder is retired Deputy Chief of Wildlife for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. During his 35 year career with the Department, he also served as Habitat Biologist, Large Carnivore Biologist, Senior Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Management Coordinator and Wyoming Governor Matt Mead’s Wildlife Policy Advisor. Following his retirement from state service, Ryder worked as Habitat Manager for the Sweetwater Conservancy’s 1.2 million acre ranch properties in central Wyoming helping develop their sage-grouse mitigation banking program. He received the Wyoming Game and Fish Director’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013 and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Professional of the Year Award in 2014. Ryder is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, Past President, Fellow, and Honorary Member of The Wildlife Society and received The Society’s Jim McDonough Award in 2000. He is a Professional Member of the Boone and Crockett Club and was elected into the Wyoming Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2023. Ryder holds a B.S.in Wildlife Conservation and Management from the University of Wyoming and a M.S. from the University of Wyoming in Zoology and Physiology. His areas of expertise include big game and large carnivore ecology and management and historical aspects of wildlife conservation.