Leigh Work, Executive Director

Leigh moved to the region in 1991 and since then has worked as an environmental educator, wildlife biologist, and conservationist. Leigh has a great depth of experience in working with local landowners, conservation non-profits, local, state, and federal agencies. She respects the spectrum of opinions found within the region and its communities, especially in regards to wildlife. She enjoys using her skills and expertise to assist the JHWF in making a positive and lasting impact to benefit our region’s wildlife. Leigh completed her Master’s degree in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with a focus in international wildlife conservation and protected areas management. Leigh then worked as a field biologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society, and spent 3 years studying the impacts of natural gas development on pronghorn antelope working around the oil and gas fields of Pinedale, Wyoming. Prior to joining the JHWF, Leigh worked as an ecologist with the Conservation Research Center of the Teton Science Schools on a project to assess mule deer and road crossings in Teton County. Her passions lay in wildlife conservation and, most importantly, her husband Chet and their twin daughters and son. Contact Leigh at: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Paul Hood, Nature Mapping Data and GIS Coordinator

Paul grew up in central Wisconsin and finished his undergraduate at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). He received a bachelor’s in Physical Geography with an emphasis in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). While attending UMD, Paul gained valuable experience working with faculty to develop a model that identifies archaic water bodies and create a methodology to identify stream impairments using remotely sensed imagery. Paul spent his college summers walking oil pipelines throughout the Midwest to map land use adjacent to pipelines. Paul’s passion for the intermountain west landed him in Teton Valley, Idaho in the winter of 2007. He has worked a variety of seasonal positions in the area including fighting wildfire, managing forest fuels, maintaining and mapping trails, aiding with the Big Horn Sheep Project and monitoring irrigation water use. His local GIS experience includes creating maps for the U.S. Forest Service, managing and analyzing Gobi bear data for Craighead Beringia South, and contracted work with Teton County, Idaho. Paul enjoys adventures in the mountains with his dog Nimbus, music, and working with the youth at Red Top Meadows juvenile treatment center in Wilson. He is beyond excited and humbled to be a part of Nature Mapping Jackson Hole. He looks forward to working with all of the amazing volunteers and managing the immense amounts of data they collect. Contact Paul at: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Tara Meyer, Programs and Communications Manager

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Tara spent her childhood exploring and falling in love with the rich natural landscapes of the Pacific Northwest and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). After graduating with a B.A. in Natural Sciences from Colgate University, Tara followed her passion for mountains and wildlife conservation to Nepal and India, before settling down at Conservation International (CI) in Washington, D.C. for three years. At CI, Tara coordinated community-based conservation programs across Asia and the Pacific, and she worked on field projects in Indonesia, Cambodia and Singapore. Tara then traveled to Tanzania and joined two small non-profits working to mitigate human and wildlife conflict issues in communities bordering Ruaha National Park. Tara's experience in East Africa reminded her of the challenges people face when living with wildlife back home. So in January of 2012, Tara returned to the GYE to research wolf predation and conflicts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Grand Teton National Park. Prior to joining JHWF, Tara served 11 months as the Manager for Programs and Communications at the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative in Jackson, Wyoming. Contact Tara at: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)