Joe Albright:
After 30-some years as a foreign news correspondent, Joe Albright swapped the arena of worldwide politics for the dusty corrals of a dude ranch at the base of the Sleeping Indian. From the 1960s through the 1990s, Joe reported from Washington, D.C., and more than 40 countries for Newsday and the Cox newspapers. In that time, he co-authored Bombshell: The Secret Story of America’s Unknown Atomic Spy Conspiracy and Their Promised Land: Arab and Jew in History’s Cauldron with his wife, Marcia Kunstel, and also wrote What Makes Spiro Run. After retiring from journalism in 2000, Joe and Marcia (a former Alliance board co-chair) moved full time to Jackson Hole, where they own and operate Flat Creek Ranch, a wilderness dude ranch. Joining the board in February 2009, Joe calls the Alliance “our bulwark” and says that Jackson Hole’s most pressing challenge is reaching consensus on a growth path that preserves wildlife and community values. A graduate of Williams College, Joe also serves on the boards of the Jackson Hole Historical Society, IC 21, St. John's Medical Center and the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. He is past president of the board of the Rotary Foundation of Jackson Hole and past vice chair of the Wyoming Council for the Humanities and of the Teton County Library board. He’s also a state committeeman for the Teton County Democratic Party. A straight shooter, Joe says that during his term on the Alliance board, he hopes to “help keep bad stuff from happening.”

Joel Berger:
His experiences as a wildlife biologist, including research in the Jackson Hole area for more than a decade, led Alliance board ambassador Joel Berger to believe that more effort needs to go into building public involvement in sustaining wildlife and healthy ecosystems. He strives to put plans into action that will reach those goals. "I am interested in living in environments where the local community has deemed healthy ecosystems, minimizing impacts, and sustaining wildlife as high priorities,” he says.
Joel has a master’s degree in biology from California State University, a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Colorado, and has earned fellowships from the Smithsonian Institution. Now the senior scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society and a professor at the University of Montana, Joel was appointed as one of the Alliance's first two board ambassadors in 2009.

Addie & Ted Donnan, Honorary Board Members:
Together Ted and his wife Addie make for a dynamic duo in the community. They have been supporters of the Alliance since its inception and have taken turns sitting on the Board of Directors. The Donnans' immense generosity with their time, efforts and knowledge has been invaluable in making the Alliance what it is today.
Addie has played a vital role in organizing major fundraisers for the Alliance, including the Silent Art and Antique Auction and the annual "Addie's Trunk Show." She's also the major driving force behind the Alliance's needlepoint rug project, rallying volunteers to create exquisite rugs, which are then sold to support the work of the Alliance. Meanwhile, she is a full-time volunteer for St. John's Hospital, Junior League, Red Cross, YWCA, United Appeal, St. John's Episcopal Church, the League of Woman Voters, and the list goes on. She is currently affiliated with the Teton Science School, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, the R.E. Lee Memorial Association and the National Museum of Wildlife Art.
Ted, a retired executive from the Federal Paper Board Company, has special expertise in finance and investment management. He served for years as treasurer of the Alliance and continues to be a key member of the Finance Committee. Ted has also served on the Board of Directors for the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Teton Science School and the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole. He has been active with several fundraising committees, including St. John's Episcopal Church, St. John's Hospital, and the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance's capital campaign to purchase an office building.
Ted and Addie own the Owl Ranch in Wilson and have been property owners in Jackson Hole since 1967, where they enjoy spending time with their two daughters and granddaughters.

Dr. Bruce Hayse:
A deeply ingrained love for the land and an abiding desire to protect it brought physician Bruce Hayse back to the Alliance board of directors in September 2005. He previously served two three-year terms from 1997-2003, and by rejoining the board, he hopes to augment efforts to stand up for natural landscapes while populations grow and development pressures accelerate.
Jackson Hole has seen dramatic changes since Bruce first moved to the valley in 1983. “There are daily fewer sanctuaries for wildlife to roam and for humans to find a place to touch the natural rhythms of the world.” he said. “Jackson Hole is fortunate in always having had articulate and dedicated defenders, and the Alliance is in the position of carrying on that tradition.”
Bruce is an avid outdoor recreationist and spends a great deal of his free time skiing, kayaking and exploring the Absaroka and Gros Ventre Ranges. He originally hails from the high desert of eastern Oregon. He earned honors degrees from the University of Wisconsin in biochemistry and plant ecology and received a degree in medicine from the University of Oregon.
Today, he operates a family practice clinic in Jackson, serves as the director of Home Health and Hospice services for St. John’s Hospital and is the president of the Wyoming Wilderness Association. His conservation efforts aren't limited to Jackson Hole, as he was one of six co-founders in 1998 to start “Africa Rainforest and River Conservation, Inc.” a non-profit that helps protect African rainforests, river systems and wildlife.
Bruce attributes his love for the land to his grandfather who, at the turn of the century, came from west Texas to Oregon, where he lived with Indians, learned to make his own arrowheads and struggled as a homesteader. “Even in his later years he was always eager to get out into the desert he loved; wearing his long underwear all year long and with his perpetual wad of chewing tobacco,” he notes. Although the medical degree may deter Hayse from the tobacco, he certainly carries on his grandfather’s passion for the natural world.

Kathe Henry, Honorary Board Member:
Kathe describes her first hike up a mountain at age 12 as an epiphany that made her want to live in the mountains. Kathe grew up on Long Island, attended Middlebury College in Vermont and spent 35 years in the Chicago area raising four children and teaching tennis before her westbound journey finally landed her and her husband Ed in Jackson Hole, where they soon became Conservation Alliance members. When Kathe’s son died of AIDS in 1993, she became the president of the Scott Opler Foundation in his memory. The foundation supported the Alliance and other environmental groups. Now that she is no longer running the foundation, she is pleased to join the Alliance board and focus on issues such as traffic, air pollution and roadless areas in Jackson Hole. Kathe claims never to have met an environmental cause she didn’t like.

Nancy Hoffman:
A supporter of the Conservation Alliance since the early days, retired real estate broker Nancy Hoffman was welcomed back home to the board in July 2008. Nancy owned Ely Associates Property Management in Jackson for 17 years and retired in the late ’80s to enjoy raising and racing quarter horses. “Had some winners, too,” she says with pride. Having lived in the Jackson Hole area for more than 30 years, Nancy also said she hopes her experience, history and familiarity with the issues will prove to be a good resource for the Alliance. “Finding a good Comprehensive Plan that truly meets the vision of the community and specifically protecting the wildlife and vistas that make Jackson Hole what it is are our most pressing issues,” she added. Nancy’s other volunteer work includes serving as president of the Star Valley Land Trust Chapter of the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust, vice president of the newly formed Therapeutic Riding STAR group in Star Valley, and secretary of the Sweetwater Irrigation Company. She’s also involved with the Horse Council of Wyoming and the Wilderness Society, and was honored by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department as the 2007 and 2008 Landowner of the Year for the Jackson area for her outstanding land stewardship.

Jeff Hogan:
With camera in hand, award-winning cinematographer Jeff Hogan has made himself at home everywhere from the wilds of Patagonia to the wildly pitching deck of a crab boat on the Bering Sea. But when he first set foot in Jackson Hole in 1980, Jeff found his home base. “I first moved to Jackson Hole with plans to spend the summer between semesters while studying architectural engineering at Wentworth Institute of Engineering and Technology in Boston,” Jeff said. “I never returned to study in Boston.”
A self-employed wildlife filmmaker and cameraman, Jeff has many productions for National Geographic, the BBC and ABC to his credit, on subjects ranging from beavers, bears and baboons to wolves and whales. In 2005-06, he even braved 30-foot seas and below freezing temperatures aboard the fishing vessels “Rollo” and “Northwestern,” documenting fishermen’s lives on the Bering Sea for the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” series. At home, Jeff and his wife Karen and son Finn spend much of their time exploring the wilds of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. A gifted photographer as well, Jeff also co-owns Wild Exposures Gallery in downtown Jackson, where he has kindly hosted events for the Conservation Alliance and shared his passion for the valley’s unique beauty and wildlife.
Jeff called being invited to join the Alliance board a great honor, and said he “plans to take greater care in studying the issues that will direct the future of Jackson Hole and enlighten those around me who may care about these issues but may be pressed for time.” Jeff also hopes to recruit new members to the Alliance to help preserve wildlife and wilderness.

Beverly Lane:
We hated to lose her as a valued staffer in 2007, so we were very glad to welcome Beverly Lane back in her new role as board member in February 2009. A third-generation conservationist, Beverly grew up in Charleston, S.C., and before her early 20s, managed to work for three political campaigns, intern in the U.S. Senate, volunteer in Zimbabwe and work at the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge, “among other things,” she says modestly. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in History and interning at the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Beverly moved to Jackson Hole. She learned about the Alliance when she bought one of our hybrid car raffle tickets, and ended up researching and writing grants for us as an intern. It was a short step from there to becoming our outreach associate in February 2006, organizing issues forums, events and field trips, again, among many other things! Now working as volunteer operations coordinator for Trout Unlimited, Beverly says she hopes to help the Alliance create a solid base of active members under the age of 40. “Growing up in the low country of South Carolina and going to school in Virginia, most of my life has been surrounded by the remnants of history, a constant reminder of the lasting impacts of human events – good and bad,” she says. “I feel that I’m now living in a place and a time in which the community’s choices are more important than ever, impacting future generations in immeasurable ways. I want to be a part of making sure good choices are made.” When she’s not out making the world a better place for all of us, Beverly’s most likely found floating and fishing the rivers of northwest Wyoming with her best friend, Baggs.

Thomas D. Mangelsen:
While most grumble at the idea of rising before dawn to head off to work, for Alliance board ambassador Thomas Mangelsen, meeting the sunrise is a lifelong passion, which carries him to the farthest corners of the earth in search of bald eagles, polar bears, Bengal tigers, and African lions.
Tom’s love for wild animals and wild places originates from spending his childhood fishing and exploring the banks of the Platte River in Nebraska with his brothers—carrying home tadpoles, frogs, snakes, and baby birds. On hunting trips with his father, Tom spent hours in duck blinds. As he observed the waterfowl migrating through the area, he learned important lessons for his future photography—patience and understanding animal behavior.
In college, Tom continued in his love of nature, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology, and then continuing his graduate work in zoology and wildlife biology. After college, he was fascinated with photographing his early studies, birds in flight. The ensuing result was a love for wildlife and nature photography, developing into a life’s work of sharing his love for nature with others.
Embarking on that journey, Tom made his home below the Teton Range in Moose, Wyoming, and opened his first gallery in Jackson, Wyoming, in 1978 featuring signed, limited edition prints. That first gallery grew over the years into thirteen galleries across the West and Midwest.
As one of the premier nature photographers in the world, Tom travels 8 months out of the year, photographing many different species all over the world. "What you see in my pictures is what I care about – the natural world, the animals with whom we share this planet. I am interested in bringing that experience into people's homes, into their personal spaces, to remind them what we have to protect and care about."

Mac Munro:
When Mac joined the board in 2004, he was no newcomer to the organization. Mac is the only board member to have started his relationship with the Alliance as an art auction intern. Mac’s internship spanned the winter of 1997, and from there, he worked both full and part time for Alliance from 1997-1999 as research and outreach assistant. "I really enjoyed the work I was involved in and the people I was working with during that time period. I felt it was rewarding and wanted to get more involved in the advocacy aspect of the environmental world here in Jackson."
Mac also brings with him a strong background in environmental studies. He moved to Jackson in 1994 to pursue a graduate degree in environmental education through the Teton Science School’s Professional Residency in Environmental Education program. His bachelor’s degree is in environmental studies and geography from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, and he has a master’s in environmental education from Prescott College in Prescott, Arizona.
Since settling in Jackson, Mac has had many jobs in the outdoor field, including working as a mountain bike guide and a nordic and telemark ski instructor. In 1999, Mac and three friends founded Two Ocean Builders, a small company specializing in custom residential and commercial building projects in Jackson. Now the owner of a different small business, Mac and his wife Janet have a son, Henry, who fills much of their time, and a chocolate lab named Ruby. Janet is a massage therapist, outdoor enthusiast and a board member of the Thanks A Million Foundation. Mac enjoys skiing, ice hockey, golf, fishing, playing music and recreating in the outdoors. "I am very excited and honored to be a part of the Alliance’s Board of Directors and can’t wait to contribute," says Mac. "This organization is extremely important to this community and the natural world that surrounds it. I look forward to the challenges ahead and working to protect and maintain this valley’s natural integrity.”

Debbie Reis:
A tried-and-true Alliance volunteer for many years, Debbie Reis was welcomed onto the board in Fall 2009. Raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Debbie made a trip out west in her teens that left a lasting impression: “We took a family vacation to Yellowstone – it was the first time I’d seen wildlife up close and I promised myself, ‘one day I’ll live in Jackson Hole.’ It took a while, but I finally made it!”
Debbie graduated from the Tudor Hall School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and studied child development at the University of Cincinnati before becoming a junior fashion model for advertisements and commercials. She has two daughters, Jenny (named after Jenny Lake) and Ashley, whom she first brought to Crescent H Ranch in 1991, returning each summer for six years before Debbie bought a home south of Wilson. At that time, public land in the neighboring Mosquito Creek area was about to be swapped for another piece of property and developed, and Debbie says she learned first-hand how involved the Alliance is as they “stepped in and stopped the swap.”
Meeting honorary Alliance board member Mardy Murie on Mardy’s 101st birthday also inspired Debbie. “I’ve always admired people who make a difference and I aspire to be that type of person,” she says. “I wanted to become a part of this wonderful group of caring and devoted people, who love Jackson Hole as much as I do, and want to do everything possible to protect this special place.”
As well as serving as chair of the Alliance’s development committee, Debbie volunteers for St. John’s Living Center, St. John’s Auxiliary and the National Museum of Wildlife Art, among others. As an Alliance board member, Debbie says that she “hopes to come up with creative ways to raise money for the Alliance, to encourage our younger generation to become members, and to work with others to preserve our natural resources and our community character in this beautiful valley – working together, we can all make a difference!”

Pegi Sobey:
A professional fundraiser for the past 25 years, Pegi Sobey brings a wealth of expertise to her role as chairperson of the Alliance’s Development and Planned Giving Committees. Pegi was born in Dayton, Ohio, the eighth of nine children, and worked and volunteered in Ohio, Florida, Texas and California before retiring to Moran with her husband, Doug, in 2001. After working in law office management and stockholder relations with BFI, Pegi embarked on a second career as development director and fundraising consultant for numerous nonprofits, including The Marine Mammal Center, Audubon Canyon Ranch, Marin Conservation League, Marin Audubon Society, San Francisco Estuary Institute, Yosemite National Institute, Marin Baylands Advocates and WildCare. She also provides volunteer assistance to Endeavor Wildlife Research, Wild Things Unlimited and Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation. Now, Pegi says she wants to help the Alliance achieve fiscal stability and to establish a successful planned giving program to begin to build a permanent endowment fund to sustain JHCA’s current and future efforts. When she’s not monitoring wildlife as a volunteer for Wyoming’s Game & Fish Department, or removing barbed-wire fencing for the Wildlife Foundation, Pegi enjoys traveling, skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, golfing, playing cards, canoeing, wildlife viewing and videography/photography.

Anthony Stevens:
The Alliance was enriched with a new voice when Anthony Stevens joined the board in May 2005. Born and raised in Jackson Hole, he learned to love the outdoors while backpacking, horseback riding and spending summers on a ranch in Dubois. A course with the National Outdoor Leadership School, as well as spending time with his mother Emily Stevens, longtime valley resident and environmental steward, inspired him to get involved in protecting the wild lands that shaped who he is today.
“I joined the Board of Directors at the Alliance because I wanted to educate and inform those around me about the issues that threaten and often harm our valley, county and state,” Anthony said. “The biggest problem that I see facing Jackson Hole is overgrowth. Without proper planning, we will increase the density of the valley to the point that we will destroy what it is that makes this place so unique.”
Anthony also serves on the board of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, an environmental education and advocacy group in Lander, Wyo. In his 30s, Anthony is one of the youngest directors on the Alliance board, and said he looks forward to getting more young people involved. “We [the younger generation] need to get more involved in protecting the environment in which we live and play,” he said. “If we don’t start fighting for what we have now, we may not have it in the future.”

Nancy Taylor:
Some people have a green thumb -- Nancy Taylor has a green heart, mind and soul.
The author of “Go Green: How to Build an Earth Friendly Community,” Nancy also teaches classes in yoga, meditation and green building, has a business called Green Living and Building Consulting, and wrote the weekly “Going Green” column for Planet Jackson Hole from 2004 to 2009. Reflecting Nancy’s wide range of environmental interests, her columns, which now continue at www.22local.com, have covered the gamut from global warming to toxic chemicals to renewable energy.
“I am passionate about this natural environment and have a deep respect for the way the Alliance addresses conservation and planning issues in the region,” she said regarding her decision join the board. No stranger to community service, Nancy is also a member of the Authors Guild, the United States Green Building Council, the local Green Building Action Team and the resource group of Sustaining Jackson Hole. She’s also a former board chair of the Northern Rockies Action Group in Helena, Mont., and of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, Calif.
The mother of two daughters who also work in the environmental field, Nancy has a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Denver and a master’s in social work from the University of California at Berkeley. Since 2004, each winter, she has taught a six-week course called “The Art of Green Living and Building” in collaboration with the Murie Center. In connection with her consulting business, she has worked with many homeowners and businesses on all aspects of green building, from solar site selection and construction materials, to indoor air quality and energy efficiency.
A resident of the valley off and on since 1973, Nancy lists oil and gas development, and “a lack of understanding of what is truly sustainable in this bioregion” as the most critical issues facing Jackson Hole today.

Shirley Thomas:
Looking after people’s well-being is second nature for recently retired health care administrator Shirley Thomas. Now, since joining the Conservation Alliance board in early 2010, she’s helping to care for an entire ecosystem.
A registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in community health education and master’s in health care administration, Shirley first became involved with the Alliance in the mid-1990s through her daughter, Heather (Thomas) Overholser. (A longtime former Alliance employee, Heather is now head of Teton County’s recycling and solid waste program.)
“I’ve remained a member ever since,” says Shirley, “and I’m excited to be able to share some of my knowledge and passion for our wonderful community as a member of the Alliance board. I hope I can be an asset to this great organization.”
Shirley spent most of the first decade of 2000 telecommuting from her Melody Ranch home to her job as director of the Solaris Physician Network in New Jersey; she retired in 2010. Her husband Daniel, a teacher at Jackson Hole High School since 2001, also recently retired, giving the couple more time to become involved in the community.
Shirley believes that the biggest issue facing Jackson Hole is “our development dilemma in a world that presses us to think only of the financial and to forget about the environmental impacts of our actions.”
“I hope that I can be someone who can discuss the pros and cons of our development issues and work toward making our town and county truly sustainable,” she adds. “I would also like to help more young people get involved.”
Besides the Alliance, Shirley serves on the Eco-Fair planning committee and also volunteers for the Center for the Arts, the Grand Teton Music Festival and the recycling center. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, skiing, watercolor painting, photography and cultivating her organic vegetable garden.

Carol Wauters:
Joining the Alliance board in early 2007, director Carol Wauters is no stranger to environmental work, or to the valley. She began visiting Jackson Hole 25 years ago, when her daughter Lexey became a ski instructor at the Village right out of college. Carol moved here full time in 2002. Her undergraduate degree is in biology from Colby College in Maine, which she followed with research in immunology at Cornell Medical School before obtaining a Masters of Education from New York University. While living in Croton-on-Hudson, Carol was part of a committee that achieved a special “school-within-a-school” in the Croton public school system, where she taught science and art. Other work included four years as assistant director of a political action group focusing on environmental and social problems in Westchester County, and volunteering for many years for the Hudson River Folk Festival in its campaign to clean up the river through “education, outreach and political persuasion.” She has also volunteered for the Sierra Club and the Alliance, and believes in doing “whatever is required to maintain and preserve this very intricate ‘web of life’ of which we are but a part.”