Executive Director

Dr. Julie Thorstenson

Dr. Julie Thorstenson (Lakota) is the Executive Director for the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society.  She grew up on a cattle ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in Northcentral SD, where a love for the land and the environment was instilled in her.  Dr. Thorstenson earned a B.S., M.S. and PhD in biological sciences from South Dakota State University.  Her research focused on cottonwood site selection using GIS for riparian restoration and incorporating culture into ethics education for scientists and engineers.  Dr. Thorstenson has worked in Indian Country her entire career in various positions, including Wildlife Habitat Biologist and Health Department CEO for her tribe. She currently lives on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota with her husband and three children.

Membership Coordinator, Office Manager

Heidi McCann

Heidi is an enrolled citizen of the Yavapai-Apache Nation. She graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) with a B.A. degree in American studies and a minor in History. She also earned a Master’s in Museum and Field Studies. Prior to joining the staff, she was a Research Faculty member, Associate Scientist II at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) where she conducted research on the Exchange for Local Observations and Knowledge of the Arctic (ELOKA). Her published research includes articles and a book chapter on stewarding Arctic Indigenous Knowledge data. She has worked diligently on Indigenous culture and language preservation projects with her tribe and conducted research in partnership and collaboration with Arctic Indigenous People. She is a strong advocate for co-production of Indigenous knowledge and the decolonization of  Indigenous Knowledge research.

Her love of the outdoors brought her to Colorado and has steered her career into the environmental field. She is currently working on an administrative and photo collection archiving project at the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society, while also working on increasing and engaging membership.

Education Coordinator

Ashley Carlisle

Diné (Navajo) from Tohatchi, NM. Alumni from Colorado State University-B.S. in Fish, Wildlife & Conservation Biology (2017). M.S. in Conservation Leadership (2019) Ashley joined the NAFWS in 2019 and is responsible for Youth programming, Summer Youth Practicum (high school), Mentoring Program (college), Scholarships (college), Internship (college), and Resources (high school & college)

Fish & Wildlife Biologist

Sean Cross

Sean was born and raised on the Flathead Reservation. He attended University of Montana after leaving the Army and has worked for many organizations like , USFS-Powell RD Wildlife,  Fisheries and Hydrology, Nez Perce Fisheries Program in Orofino, Idaho,  Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribe Fisheries Program. Sean was the NWRS-Refuge Manager at Medicine Lake Refuge MT, Modoc Refuge CA.

Fish & Wildlife Biologist

Corey Lucero

Corey Lucero is an enrolled member of the Sac & Fox Nation of north central Oklahoma, she is also of Kickapoo and Wichita descent and resides in Isleta Pueblo. She is a graduate of Oklahoma State University-Stillwater Campus, with her Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife & Fisheries Ecology Management.

Before coming back to the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society, she has worked as a Field Biologist collecting biological data for Environmental documents, data for Forestry and roads documents. And has also worked in the fields of Aquatic Invasive Species and as a Wildlife Disease Biologist doing sampling and educating in both Chronic Wasting Disease and the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).

She has been with the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society as a Fish & Wildlife Biologist since May of 2020.

Conservation Law Enforcement Officer Consultant

Robert Romero

Robert joined the NAFWS team in 2020 to serve as the Conservation Law Enforcement Officer Consultant and whose primary focus is to support Tribal conservation officer needs on a national level.  He graduated with a B.S. in Wildlife Science from New Mexico State University (1991) and worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a Refuge Operations Specialist and Special Agent for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2018.  Robert is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna.

Public Information Officer

April Richards

April received a Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan in conservation ecology and environmental justice with a focus in fisheries and aquatic ecosystems. While in Michigan, she worked with the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa to support native fish restoration in the 1836 Treaty Waters of Lake Michigan. Following graduate school, April worked with the Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA) to assess toxin transfer from harmful algal blooms to subsistence fishing communities in southeast Florida. For the past year, April has worked with commercial fishers in the Gulf of Mexico to collect data on fishing efforts and protected species interactions. April joined the NAFWS team in September 2021 as the Public Information Officer in charge of media relations and public outreach initiatives.

Wildlife Connectivity Coordinator

Shailyn Miller

My name is Shailyn Miller and I was born and raised in central Montana. I am a member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, Montana. I graduated from Montana State University-Bozeman in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fish and Wildlife Ecology & Management.  I moved to Denver, Colorado after graduating and since then have worked seasonally for Colorado Parks & Wildlife, USDA Forest Service and an ecological consulting firm. In my free time, I love to hike, fish, hunt, workout and spend time with my fiancé and our cat.

Director of Programs

Laurel James

Laurel James is an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation and an Interdisciplinary PhD Candidate at the University of Washington in the School of Environmental & Forest Sciences and the Department of Anthropology. She also holds a MS Degree in Fire Ecology and a BS degree in Wildlife Science. Laurel has worked her entire career in the field of Natural Resources beginning as a wildland firefighter (engine, helitack & hotshot) then mostly in Wildlife Resources (endangered species, timber sales and NEPA assessments).  She was a member of the 2012 Indian Forest Management Assessment Team (IFMAT), as a graduate student observer and was recognized for her work with Tribal Communities in receiving the State of Washington, E3 (Education-Environment-Economy) Green Apple Award for Diversity in Action in 2013. Laurel continues to pursue her Interdisciplinary PhD at the University of Washington and her dissertation focuses on a Forest History for the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes.  As the Director of Programs for NAFWS, Laurel is excited to work with Natural Resource professionals, across the nation!

Senior Tribal Climate Resilience Liaison

Justin Leon

Justin was born and raised in Georgia, where he obtained his B.S. from the University of Georgia in wildlife management. He moved to Alaska after graduating in 2008 and has made Alaska home since then. He obtained his M.S. in fisheries from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he focused on Chinook salmon in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. He comes to the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society after spending 10 years as a fishery biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. As a fishery biologist, he worked with crab and salmon research, and wild fisheries stock management in Northwest Alaska, the Alaskan interior, and the Aleutian Islands. He lives in Nome, Alaska with his wife and two children. He enjoys hiking, hunting, fishing, foraging, and spending time with his family in his free time.

Invasive Species Coordinator

Karen Howe

Karen is Hia-Ced O’odham and enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona and is also of Crow Creek Yanktonai Nakota descent.  While born in Arizona, Karen grew up in Los Angeles and after working as a photographer for some years attended Northern Arizona University.  After NAU, Karen was immediately hired by her enrolled tribe as the Ecologist and managed its Wildlife and Vegetation Management Program for almost 10 years where she expanded research capability into endangered plant and wildlife species and invasive species management.  She then worked for the U.S. Navy at their largest land installation in the Mojave Desert and gained more experience with endangered fish and wild horse and burro management.  Karen currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.