Brandon Nelson
State/Region: Southern California
Family (two-legged or four): There are 4 members of the family. My wife Aletha, my son Parker, our English Lab, Newton (after Sir Isaac not the figs) and our Belgian Malinois, Apollo.
Favorite outdoor activities: I love hiking with my family, archery hunting and anything outdoors.
Goals for your state/region: I want to help build strong chapters that work together to support the RMEF mission while being a top fundraising state.
Why did you want to work for RMEF: Over the past few years with support from my wife Aletha, my son Parker and of course are two large dogs, I’ve been able to deepen my understanding of the hunting community and animal conservation in the Pacific Southwest which pushed me to find a better way to create lasting impact and ultimately accept this position with RMEF.
Chelsea Porter
State/Region: Western Montana
Family (two-legged or four): Evan (husband), Holli (daughter, age 4), Beau (son, age 2)
Favorite outdoor activities: Hunting, boating, waterskiing and reading a good book while sitting on the deck enjoying the sun.
Goals for your state/region: To continue the success that “TEAM Montana” has had in 2021 and 2022!
Why did you want to work for RMEF: After volunteering with the Five Valleys Chapter for the last several years, I loved being able to see the work done by RMEF and how it has such a direct impact on our everyday lives. Beyond conserving habitat and elk populations, it allows volunteers to spend time with other people who care about the same things they do. It gives volunteers, and the staff lucky enough to work with them, a common goal to work toward and foster lifelong friendships built on enjoying the outdoors, caring about conservation and wanting to do better for future generations. The excitement of getting to do that kind of work for my actual job, not just as a volunteer, is more than I could ever put into words.
Chris Doyle
State/Region: Southwestern & Eastern Montana
Family (two-legged or four): My lovely wife of eight years, Maureen Doyle, and sons Patrick (age 5yrs) and Connor Doyle (age 3). Buck is our 11-year-old German shorthaired pointer and our new dog Rusty is a nine-month-old fox red Lab.
Favorite outdoor activities: My favorite outdoor activities are hunting, fishing and really anything related to just being in the great outdoors. I find time whenever possible to get out with my wife and two boys to enjoy our wild places.
Goals for your state/region: Goals for Montana include keeping RMEF at the forefront of people’s minds so that when they think of conservation and the future of elk and other wildlife, they think of RMEF first. My goal is to keep a TEAM Montana mentality for RMEF across the state and keep all of our amazing volunteers and chapters connected to ensure that Montana continues to be one of the top fundraising states for RMEF.
Why did you want to work for RMEF: I am so grateful for the opportunity to work for such a great organization with what I believe to be a crucial mission for our world today. Having two young sons of my own, I realize the importance of groups like RMEF to ensure that our future generations have access to opportunities in elk country, like I did at their ages. I want to bring my passion for elk, wildlife conservation and habitat stewardship to RMEF and work with all the wonderful volunteers across this state that make this organization so successful.
Justin Larsen
State/Region: North Dakota
Family (two-legged or four): Wife of 24 years – Marnie. Three children Grady (age 20-junior at NDSU) Bailey (age 17-a senior) and Bristol (age 13-8th grade), Also two quarter horses, and a new golden retriever –Maverick.
Favorite outdoor activities: Our family loves to spend time outdoors hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and traveling across this beautiful country.
Goals for your state/region: I am looking forward to getting back to my home state and working alongside the volunteers to expand the conservation efforts of RMEF in North Dakota.
Why did you want to work for RMEF: My passion for hunting and the outdoors has pulled at my heart for many years to make it my career. I’m eager to embark on this rewarding opportunity to come home and join the RMEF to make an impactful legacy.
Kory Enck
State/Region: Western Pennsylvania & West Virginia
Family (two-legged or four): I have a close-knit family of whom I treasure. I live on a small hobby farm and currently have two paint horses that never get ridden…enough.
Favorite outdoor activities: Archery hunting elk and whitetails, smallmouth bass fishing, flyfishing for trout and stripers, horseback riding, kayaking and biking. Just being outside is sometimes enough.
Goals for your state/region: We have a “treasure” here in Pennsylvania with a growing elk herd of more than 1,300 animals. There is also an elk hunting season. Together with my volunteers, I look to increase the amount of land and habitat available to elk and in turn expand the territory enabling us to manage that habitat even more. I want to enable future generations to hunt and enjoy an even larger herd of elk. It will take a lot of work and we will need to raise more money, but as a team I think we can handle it easily.
Why did you want to work for RMEF: I have had a passion for elk and elk hunting since the mid-1980s. In college, I took numerous trips to Pennsylvania’s elk country to hunt whitetails and observe an existing herd of about 100 elk. By the early 90s, I was taking trips out west to hunt elk. I was hooked! My passion for this job comes from those experiences and my enjoyment of each. As a longtime volunteer for RMEF, I also learned that I love raising money for a great cause. Now I get to put all of that together into and awesome fulfilling career. I’ve also always been impressed with the result of habitat improvements and often repeat the phrase, “What’s good for elk is good for just about all other wildlife.” Thus, in the world of conservation, it’s a win-win when we raise money for elk habitat and improvements!
Eric Brown
State/Region: Kansas and Missouri
Family (two-legged or four): I am married to my high school sweetheart, Ashley, and together we have two sons Porter (8) and Fisher (1).
Favorite outdoor activities: Honestly, I like to hunt and fish for just about anything. Being a Kansas native, bowhunting whitetail is definitely toward the top of my list.
Goals for your state/region: My goal is to grow our current chapters and to expand our reach within the region. I also want to expand upon our volunteer work and programming to make sure that our efforts are seen and known by those both inside and outside of the organization.
Why did you want to work for RMEF: I believe the future of hunting is up to those who participate. RMEF is a leader in habitat conservation and their support for hunting heritage programs is second to none. I want my kids and their kids to have the same opportunities outdoors that I have had and I don’t want to sit on the sidelines hoping that it happens. This career gives me the opportunity to be an active participant in the future of hunting and conservation.