Michael Bowman, Wheat/Corn/Alfalfa Producer, Bowman Family Farms; 25x25 Coalition National Steering Committee Member; Steering Committee for Colorado Renewable Energy Forum; Rural Chair of Colorado Agricultural Energy Task Force, Wray, CO

Mike is a fifth-generation native of Colorado born and raised on the family’s Yuma County farm that produces winter wheat, corn and alfalfa. Throughout his adult life he has been active in the development of his home community, Wray, CO (pop. 2000). Named an All-America City in 1993, Wray was the smallest town at the time to achieve that distinction; a catalyst for the AMC award was the construction of the Wray Rehabilitation and Activities Center, a community centerpiece, of which Mike was a founding director. He serves on the National Advisory Council for both the Heartland Center for Leadership Development (Lincoln, NE), Holistic Management International (Albuquerque), and co-chairs a school food program for children of the Hwange Communal Lands in northwestern Zimbabwe.

Mike is a national steering committee member for the Ag Energy Working Group “25x’25” (www.25x25.org), and leads the 25x’25 state alliance formation nationwide. He was a member of the Trans-Atlantic Dialogue on Climate Change and Agriculture in 2006, presenting on American agriculture in Brussels, steering committee member for the Colorado Apollo Alliance and was Summit Chair for the 2006 Intermountain Harvesting Energy Network Conference – a regional effort to promote energy from agriculture in the Intermountain West (www.harvestenergy.org). Mike is a member of the Colorado Agriculture and Rural Leadership program and is a Bighorn Fellow.

“25x’25” is a national, agriculturally-led alliance that seeks to bring change to the energy future of the United States. 25x'25 Vision: By 2025, America's farms, forests and ranches will provide 25 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States, while continuing to produce safe, abundant, and affordable food, feed and fiber.

Bob Brown, Senior Fellow, Public Policy, O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West, Missoula, MT

Bob Brown is Senior Fellow at the University of Montana’s O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Missoula (http://crmw.org/). Bob was born in Missoula, Montana, in 1947. He was raised on a small grain and cattle ranch in the Flathead Valley near Whitefish in northwest Montana. Bob attended Montana State University, where he earned BA degrees in history and political science, and The University of Montana, where he received a Master of Education degree. He is a Navy veteran.

In 1970 Bob was elected to the first of two terms in the Montana House of Representatives. In 1974 he won election to the Montana Senate where he served until 1996. While a state senator Bob chaired the Education Committee, the Taxation Committee, the Republican Senate Caucus, and was president of the State Senate his final term in office. He served as a member of the Montana State Board of Public Education from 1996-2000. In 2000 Bob was elected Montana Secretary of State. In 2004 he won the Republican nomination for Governor of Montana, but was unsuccessful in the general election later that year.

Because legislative office is not a full-time occupation in Montana, in addition to serving in the legislature, Bob was employed for most of his career as a high school government, history and economics teacher, and speech team coach. He also was UM’s director of University Extension at Flathead Valley Community College, and following his legislative service, was employed as a public affairs representative and lobbyist for The University of Montana, the Montana University System, Qwest Communications, and the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company.

Jim Burchfield, Associate Dean, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula

Jim Burchfield is trained as both a rural sociologist and a forester, and his major interest centers on how people may reside and interact with forest and grassland settings in a productive, harmonious manner. Dr. Burchfield received his academic training at the University of Washington and the University of Michigan. His PhD dissertation explored the success of voluntary associations among small private woodland owners. He continues to study the effectiveness of community-based groups in the development of plans and activities on forested lands. Dr. Burchfield’s recent work examines the principles of social acceptability in forest management, the effects of wildfires on rural communities, and the implications of stewardship contracting on public lands. Prior to becoming the Associate Dean, Dr. Burchfield was the Director of the Bolle Center for People and Forests at the University of Montana. He also worked for the USDA Forest Service in several locations in the United States prior to coming to The University of Montana. He has conducted assessments of social conditions in the Columbia River basin, worked in the international division of the Forest Service in Washington, D. C., and helped implement forest management operations on National Forests in Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and the state of Washington.

Timothy Burroughs, Regional Program Officer, International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives Policy Institute, Oakland, CA

Timothy Burroughs is a Program Officer in ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection campaign. ICLEI is the world's leading association of local governments advancing sustainable development. Since 1993 ICLEI has been providing resources, tools, and technical assistance to local governments working to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. Timothy came to ICLEI in the summer of 2005 from the EPA Headquarters’ Climate Change Division in Washington, DC. There he assisted with the development of the Climate Friendly Parks initiative, a partnership program between the National Park Service and the EPA that works to educate and empower the public on the issue of global warming. Before joining the EPA, Timothy worked as a wilderness instructor and environmental educator with Outward Bound and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in The Gambia, West Africa. In the Peace Corps he worked at the local level on sustainable agriculture and beekeeping practices. Timothy earned a master’s degree in global environmental policy from American University and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Mount Saint Mary’s College in Maryland.

Ted Dodge, Director, National Carbon Offsett Coalition

Ted Dodge is the Executive Director for the National Carbon Offset Coalition (NCOC). Ted is a practitioner and trainer in the area of organizational development, development of funding strategies and implementation of community based projects, and rural based nonprofit corporations. His involvement with carbon sequestration and the development of carbon credit trading projects dates to the mid-90's. He was instrumental in the creation of the NCOC.

The NCOC conducted the first international carbon credit trade involving a tribal government. NCOC is an aggregating member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). In recent days, NCOC’s Tribal Portfolio of Terrestrial Credits was been approved by CCX. Currently, NCOC is establishing its Tribal portfolio to be entered onto the market.

In conjunction, NCOC is a partner of the Big Sky DOE Carbon Sequestration Partnership and is working to establish agricultural carbon credits for landowners. The National Carbon Offset Coalition is working in the states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

Mr. Dodge graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor’s of Agricultural Production with a Range Management option. He is a fourth generation Montanan, born in a mining camp known as the Anderson Mine and ultimately raised in Deer Lodge, Montana.

John Engen, Mayor, Missoula, MT

Mayor John Engen became Missoula's fiftieth mayor on January 3, 2006. Engen won the city-wide election on November 8, 2005.

John Engen, 41, worked for about 15 years professionally in the newspaper business in his hometown of Missoula, Montana. An award-winning writer and editor, Engen’s newspaper career began at 17 when he was invited to write a humor column for the Missoulian. He continued to write the weekly column for the next 17 years. Engen served as a paste-up person, typesetter, copy editor, assistant features editor, assistant news editor, pre-press manager and production manager during his Missoulian tenure.

He has managed a media division for a Montana retail chain and most recently has operated his own advertising and publishing company, Engen Creative. He published the official University of Montana football and basketball programs and consulted with private and non-profit enterprises. In addition, he co-owns a travel agency with his wife, Tracy.

Mayor Engen currently serves on the boards of First Night Missoula, the Friends of Flagship, the American Heart Association Leadership Council and the Clark Fork River Market, among others.

A Missoula native, Engen graduated from Hellgate High School and The University of Montana, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Engen has served on a number of volunteer boards and is past president of the Missoula Downtown Association, Young Audiences of Western Montana and the Missoula Food Bank boards. He served on the finance committee of Play Ball Missoula and is a member of the Smurfit-Stone Citizen Advisory Panel.

Tom France, Director, National Wildlife Federation, Northern Rockies Natural Resource Center, Missoula, MT

Tom France has served as counsel and director of the National Wildlife Federation’s programs in the northern Rockies since 1981. During his years with NWF, Tom has been involved with many of the most important natural resource issues facing the northern Rockies, including gray wolf and grizzly bear recovery, national forest planning, oil and gas development, hard rock mining, livestock overgrazing, and wildlands protection. Tom earned his B.A. and Juris Doctorate degrees from the University of Montana.

Jordan Gates, Environmental Advisor to Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson

Jordan Gates is Environmental Advisor to Salt Lake City Mayor, Rocky Anderson. Mayor Anderson developed a scheduling conflict with the Clinton Global Initiative project so he was unable to attend the Montana Climate Challenge Conference personally and he asked Jordan to substitute for him.

Jordan is a Magna Cum Laude, graduate with a degree in environmental studies. Based on outstanding academic performance, he received the Eugene K. Andreason merit scholarship. In his senior year, he was selected to intern in the Salt Lake Cities Mayor’s office working closely with Lisa Romney in the promotion of the e2 Business Program and the design of the e2 Citizen Network.

After relocating to Salt Lake City with his family, Jordan developed a strong connection to the unique geography of Utah. He quickly became a passionate back-county skier, mountain biker and white-water kayaker, all activities, which strengthen his connection to the environment, and reaffirm his commitment to an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Jordan has been active in the local community by volunteering his time with Tree Utah, Wasatch Community Gardens, Utah Clean Energy, and The Downtown Alliance. He participated in the University of Utah’s student recycling organization’s efforts to audit the university’s waste stream and then backed its recommendations for an increase in on-campus recycling opportunities. Throughout his academic and personal life he has strived to understand and reduce the impact that simple everyday decisions have on our environment.

As a resident of Salt Lake City for over twenty years Jordan has experienced first hand the tremendous growth that has come with the increased visibility of our fine city. While he believes that we must continue to grow, he understands that we must do so in a manner that maintains our outstanding quality of life without jeopardizing the quality of life for future generations.

Bill Gerwing, Director of Environmental Policy, BP America

Tracy Houck, Executive Director, Montana Farmers Union, Great Falls, MT

Ms. Tracy Houck joined Montana Farmers Union in April 2005. The Montana Farmers Union is a statewide grassroots organization working for family farmers, ranchers, consumers and rural communities through conferences, scholarships and other educational opportunities, as well as legislative representation and support for producer-owned.

Previously Ms. Houck was the Program Manager of Gateway Community Services, a non-profit outpatient treatment center with special emphasis on treating women, adolescents, indigent, and criminal justice populations. Prior to that she was employed as Executive Director of Voices of Hope.

Ms. Houck’s areas of expertise and interest focus on building frameworks for collaboration and developing community infrastructure to support programs that targeting at-risk behaviors, address issues pertinent to under served populations and rural areas, and strengthen non-profit program administration. She has a vested interest in the Ag community and has worked on many projects to preserve our rural communities.

A mother of an active 10-year-old gymnast and a three-year-old democrat, you can find Tracy leading a Girl Scout troop and working out with friends and exploring a new found passion for golf. Tracy’s husband is in active duty military at Malmstrom Air Force Base (564th Squadron!) and she spends a lot of her time, single parenting while he is protecting our freedom.

Ms. Houck has done extensive work in training, non-profit administration and prevention curriculums and presents on many topics locally and at the state level. She works on various community collaboration projects including the Continuum of Care, Healthy Youth Coalition, Meth Free Cascade County, DUI Task Force, Tobacco Prevention Coalition and United Way. Ms. Houck has been involved in prevention activities and executive management with nonprofit organizations in Montana for more than 11 years. She has had extensive training including farm stress, sexual assault, domestic violence, addictions, self-harm/suicide, program management, training of trainers, professional ethics, and strategic planning.

Tracy was the recipient of the November 2000 Shining Spirit Award and holds an additional honor from the Montanan Professional Women’s association as the Young Careerist 2001.

Kathy Hadley, Executive Director - Montana, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Butte, MT

Kathy Hadley has been the Executive Director - Montana - of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (http://www.ncat.org/) since 1997. Prior to that she served as Associate Director and Development Director for NCAT. She has more than 18 years of management experience with project, program, and corporate responsibilities, including personnel, resource center, and computer services areas. Previously she was a business owner and partner in an energy and environmental consulting firm and worked for the Montana State Energy Office. In 1997 she was appointed to the Governor's Electric Utility Industry Restructuring Advisory Committee for the state of Montana. She has a BS in Biology and MS in Biology from State University College at Buffalo.

Dr. Dave Naugle, Wildlife Biologist, University of Montana, Missoula

Dr. Naugle completed his PhD in 1998 at South Dakota State University where he studied the landscape ecology of waterbirds in prairie wetlands. Since then, Dave and his students have continued to work on wetland and grassland bird conservation planning in the northern Great Plains. Dave has published >40 peer-reviewed papers and co-authored >150 presentations at national and international conferences. His research into effects of climate change on prairie wetlands that he will discuss at the Climate Challenge Conference is a natural extension of his long-standing interest in waterfowl conservation.

Jerome Ringo, President, Apollo Alliance, Washington, DC

Jerome Ringo has been cited as “the most interesting environmental leader in the United States right now,” by The Nation, and among Ebony magazine’s most influential African-Americans in 2006. He is President of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition including business, labor, faith and conservation groups, farmers and others united in the effort to forge a new energy future that will both create jobs and reduce America’s dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil.

Jerome and his wife Mary volunteered to assist evacuees from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, and then as residents of Lake Charles, Louisiana, became evacuees themselves when Hurricane Rita swept through the Gulf several weeks later. Those experiences thrust Jerome forward as a national conservation spokesman on an array of issues including global warming’s influence in making hurricanes more intense, reforming national water policies and projects to put the public interest first, and restoring the degraded wetlands of coastal Louisiana and other habitats vital to wildlife.

Louisiana has a history as a sportsman's paradise -- wild landscapes where Jerome would fish, catch crabs, and hunt for duck, goose and deer. He is distraught to see those local resources diminishing and is fighting to halt the environmental destruction of Louisiana's coastlines along with the country's other places of natural beauty including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Everglades.

As an avid hunter and angler, Jerome is an ambassador to America for the wildlife and habitat concerns of the nation’s 40 million sportsmen and women.

Both as a former Board member of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and now as Chair of the Board of the National Wildlife Federation, Jerome seeks to reach out to those communities he loves. After a 20 plus-year career in the petrochemical industry (the largest employer in Louisiana), Jerome has a clear understanding of the impacts of poor environmental practices on the communities that surround those petrochemical plants. He believes more attention needs to be given to those communities so adversely affected. Jerome's company, Progressive Resources, Inc., provides those communities with expert technical assistance, legal counsel, and scientific advisors to improve their quality of life.

Jerome and his wife, Mary Guidry Ringo, live in Lake Charles, Louisiana with their four children.

Dr. Steve Running, Ecologist, University of Montana, Missoula

Steven W. Running is trained as a terrestrial ecologist, receiving his B.S. (1972) and M.S. (1973) degrees from Oregon State University, and his Ph.D. (1979) degree in Forest Ecology from Colorado State University. He has been with the University of Montana, Missoula, since 1979, where he is a Professor of Ecology. His primary research interest is the development of global and regional ecosystem biogeochemical models by integration of remote sensing with climatology and terrestrial ecology. He is a Team Member for the NASA Earth Observing System, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and is responsible for the EOS global terrestrial net primary production and evaporative index datasets. He has published over 220 scientific articles. He currently serves on the standing Committee for Earth Studies of the National Research Council, and on the federal Interagency Carbon Cycle Science Committee. He is a Co-Chair of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate System Model Land Working Group, a Member of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program Executive Committee, and the World Climate Research Program, Global Terrestrial Observing System. Dr. Running is a chapter Lead Author for the 4th Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Prof. Running is an elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and is designated a Highly Cited Researcher by the Institute for Scientific Information.

Carolyn A. Sime, President-Elect of the Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Helena, MT

Carolyn Sime is President-Elect of the Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society. The Wildlife Society (http://www.wildlife.org) is a non-profit association of professional wildlife biologists dedicated to excellence in wildlife stewardship through science and education. For nearly 70 years it has promoted wildlife conservation and its connections with people. The Society’s goals include advancing professional stewardship of wildlife resources and their habitats, and advocating the use of sound biological information for wildlife policy decisions. The Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society (http://www.montanatws.org) strives to support the wildlife management profession, endeavors to conserve ecosystem integrity and restore habitat for wildlife across Montana and promotes sound policies that sustain hunting and wildlife-related recreation and the resources essential to that purpose. Recent activities of the chapter include a publishing a major report, Effects of Recreation on Rocky Mountain Wildlife: A Review for Montana. Carolyn is the program chair for the 2007 Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society Annual Conference to be held in Bozeman, February 6-9. The theme of the conference is: Developing Energy and Sustaining Natural Systems – How do we do it? This conference is open to non-TWS members for a small daily fee that covers refreshments.

Carolyn has worked for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in various capacities for the last 16 years, including 6 years as a research biologist studying white-tailed deer population dynamics and habitat relationships in northwest Montana. Currently, she is the Gray Wolf Program Coordinator. During 2000-2003, she worked with a citizen advisory council and the public from throughout Montana and elsewhere to craft the state’s wolf conservation and management plan. She is now spearheading efforts to implement the federally approved plan under an interagency cooperative agreement that places FWP as the lead agency responsible for wolf conservation and management in Montana.

Carolyn’s professional interests focus on the linkage between wildlife biology, natural resource policy and law, human dimensions, and citizen participation. Her Bachelors of Science and Master’s of Science degree in Fish and Wildlife Management were obtained from Montana State University in 1988 and 1991, respectively.

Dr. Vince H. Smith - Agricultural Economist, Montana State University, Bozeman

Dr. Vincent Smith is Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Economics at Montana State University (MSU) and co-director of the Agricultural Marketing Policy Center at MSU. He received his BA and MA degrees in economics from the University of Manchester and his Ph.D from North Carolina State University. Dr. Smith’s research interests include environmental and resource economics, international and domestic agricultural policies and their implications for U.S. markets, risk management and crop insurance policy, science policy, and health economics. He has co-authored nine books and monographs, written over 60 refereed journal articles and book chapters, and published numerous outreach bulletins, magazine articles, and newspaper articles on topics ranging from the economics of crop insurance to the functioning of world wheat markets. Dr. Smith is an internationally recognized expert on the economics of the resource and environmental consequences of farm programs and his book, The Economics of Crop Insurance and Disaster Aid, co-authored with Professor Barry Goodwin, is perhaps the most widely cited scholarly reference on crop insurance programs. In 2004, Dr. Smith has also received national outstanding awards for his research programs on agricultural policy and the environment and agricultural science policy. His outreach education programs have also received a national award for excellence. Dr. Smith’s resume and publications list are available at: http://www.montana.edu/econ/smith/vsmith.html.

Virginia "Ginny" Tribe - Professional Facilitator, Inc., Missoula, MT

Virginia Tribe is an experienced facilitator, mediator, educator, and trainer, having spent nearly 30 years in public education, county and federal service, and private consulting. She combines a background in education with 15 years of professional management experience working in local and federal agencies in strategic planning, organizational development, conflict management, citizen participation, and community building. In 1987, Virginia Tribe established herself as a private contractor, working as a professional facilitator in organizational problem solving. Ms. Tribe designs and conducts processes and seminars to meet the specific needs and situations of individual clients in today's challenging operating environment. Her work is framed by principles of self-respect, interest-based problem solving, and personal accountability for one's own role in any situation. Ms. Tribe's style creates a confidential, investigative environment that encourages participants in candid discussion toward durable solutions and sound working relationships. Virginia Tribe serves a diverse set of clients with individual needs, interests, and situations. Virginia Tribe received her education from the University of Montana in Missoula. She continues her studies in mediation and negotiation, interpersonal communications, and "people dynamics".

Dr. Ronald H. Wakimoto, Professor of Forestry, The University of Montana, Missoula

Ron received his B.S. in Forestry and M.S. and Ph.D. in Wildland Resource Science from the University of California at Berkeley. He began his faculty career at the University of California, Berkeley in 1976 and has been at The University of Montana since 1982 teaching and conducting research in wildland fire management. He teaches academic courses in wildland fire management, fuel management and fire ecology. More recently Dr. Wakimoto has conducted research on the social acceptability of fuel management treatments, smoke quality and quantity from smoldering combustion, fire fighter safety, crown fire spread and the fire ecology of the Northern Mixed Prairie. In 1986 he served on a Committee of Scientists in a National Park Service review of the prescribed burning programs at Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park and Yosemite National Park. In 1988 and 1989 Dr. Wakimoto was one of two academics to serve as technical advisors to the National Fire Policy Review Team following the Yellowstone events. In 1997 he gave testimony on Wildfire Policy to the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. In 2000 he gave testimony on the Montana fire-fuel situation to the U.S. House Natural Resources Sub-Committee on Forests and Forest Health. In 2001 he gave testimony to the same committee concerning the implementation of the National Fire Plan. In 2004 Ron was elected a Fellow by the Society of American Foresters.

Dave White, State Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Bozeman, MT