I am honored to be nominated for Secretary-Treasurer of the Fisheries Management Section. My interest in fish and fishing started at an early age fishing Iowa farm ponds for giant bluegills and living next to the Mississippi River in Dubuque. I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Ecology with emphasis in fisheries and aquatic sciences from Iowa State University (ISU) in 2006. I worked on a larval yellow perch project under Dr. Dave Willis to earn my Master of Science degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University (SDSU) in 2008. I was hired by Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks in 2008 and worked as urban fisheries management biologist serving the Kansas City metropolitan area for five years. I’m now in my second year as a fisheries management biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources serving an eight-county area in southwest Iowa.
I have been a member of AFS since I was student at ISU. I’ve been fortunate to serve several officer roles since becoming involved in AFS including President of the ISU AFS Student Subunit, President of the SDSU AFS Student Subunit, Chair of the Walleye Technical Committee, and I’m currently Secretary/treasurer of the North Central Division. I would be very excited to serve the Fisheries Management Section in any way that I can!