Sou Barrett, Grizzly Council Chair and Ex-officio Trustee
Sandra Becky
Jack Capp
Douglas H. Chadwick
Carolyn E. Dobbs, Ph.D
Charlie E. Eiseman, Treasurer
Thomas H. Fey
Robert W. Koons, Chair
Joe Matza
Maureen Mayer
Doug Seus, Co-Founder, Trustee Emeritus
Lynne Seus, Co-Founder
Sally O. Smyth
Stuart D. Strahl, Ph.D., Vice Chair
Debi Strong
John E. Swallow
David E. Wesley, Ph.D., Secretary
Kelly A. Wilson
Meggen Wilson
Sandra Becky
Vital Ground Trustee since October 2010
Sandy brings over 25 years of extensive volunteer and fund raising experience to Vital Ground. She currently serves as an officer of the Women's Board of the Chicago Zoological Society, was chair of the annual dinner party fund raiser for the Morton Arboretum, is past president of the local hospital auxiliary, and has held numerous chair and committee assignments. Sandy developed a passion for conservation, wildlife protection, and animal welfare while growing up in rural Nebraska where she continues to be involved in a Centennial Farm operation. She graduated from Dana College with majors in psychology and sociology and then started a career with a major insurance company. She was the first woman in the company's history to become Premium Audit Manager. She later married her husband Wally and returned to school to study horticulture. They live in Wheaton, Illinois, and also enjoy spending time in northern Michigan.
Jack Capp
Vital Ground Trustee since October 2011
Jack graduated from Colorado State University with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Wildlife Biology. Jack brings 38 years of experience from his US Forest Service career. In his career, he worked in several positions in 9 different locations in Oregon, Colorado, California, New Mexico, Alaska, and Washington DC. In DC, he worked one year on the personal staff of Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. While Alaska Director of Wildlife, Fisheries, Ecology, and Subsistence, he provided key leadership in the controversial revision of the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan. His last assignment was Special Assistant to the Director of International Programs. He established international partnerships for conservation of migratory wildlife species and served on international wildlife conservation councils. He now serves on three boards at Colorado State University for the Department of Athletics, College of Natural Resources, and the Alumni Association. He also does part-time consulting in nature education in inner-city schools in Chicago and Houston. Jack lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Douglas H. Chadwick
Vital Ground Trustee since 1991
Doug received his Bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Washington and a Master's degree in wildlife biology from the University of Montana. After working as a seasonal biologist in Glacier National Park, he turned to popular writing about nature and conservation. The author of eleven books, Mr. Chadwick has also produced more than hundreds of articles for publications as varied as Reader's Digest and the New York Times Review of Books. He contracts mainly with the National Geographic Society, which has sent him to explore ecosystems from Siberia to the Congo. Doug has had a special interest in grizzly bears for 30 years. As a scientist, he played a role in getting the species listed as threatened in 1975. His recent book, The Wolverine Way (May 2010), is a chronicle of adventure and discovery while helping study one of the least know wild animals on the continent. A founding board member of Vital Ground, he lives in Whitefish, Montana, with his wife, Karen Reeves, whose professional background is in forestry.
Carolyn E. Dobbs, Ph.D.
Vital Ground Trustee since October 2008
Carolyn brings extensive experience in policy at local, state, and federal levels of government and expertise on large-scale habitat connections. For 36 years, she has devoted her career to teaching and administration at Evergreen College in Olympia, WA, where she is now Faculty Emerita. She holds a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Memphis, an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Kentucky, and a Masters and Ph.D. in Urban Planning from the University of Washington. Carolyn's professional research focused on protected areas, especially in the United States, Great Britain, and Ecuador with particular attention to connectivity between critical habitats for grizzlies and wolverines. In Washington State, Carolyn is a gubernatorial appointee to the Forest Practices Board and a board member of the National Park Fund. Carolyn spends as much time as possible in the mountains hiking and snowshoeing and observing bears.
Charlie E. Eiseman, Treasurer
Vital Ground Trustee since November 2009
Charlie brings extensive financial experience to the board, having worked in marketing, management, and retail lending for such institutions as Federal Home Loan Bank Seattle, Western Security Bank and Havre Federal Savings and Loan. Now working part time for the Federal Home Loan Bank, he is also an owner of PEAK Health and Wellness Center, Missoula’s premiere fitness facility. Charlie graduated from the University of Montana–Missoula in 1973. Dedicated to conservation, he also serves on the board of Five Valleys Land Trust in Missoula. He is already providing guidance, advocacy and support of Vital Ground’s mission and contributing valuable expertise and insight to Vital Ground’s staff and fellow trustees.
Thomas H. Fey
Vital Ground Trustee since November 2007
Tom spent 35 years managing businesses in the public sector. He founded and managed A&W Beverages, the canned and bottled A&W Root Beer Company, and was an executive of several companies, including Pepperidge Farm, Godiva Chocolatier, Prince Gardner, and Mrs. Fields Cookies. Today he is active in the not-for-profit sector. He is the past Chair of the Egyptian Theater Co. and past Treasurer of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy USA. Today he is Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Finance Committee of Westminster College and is Chair of the Summit County RAP Tax Committee. Tom received his BA from The Pennsylvania State University and his MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. He resides in Park City, UT with his wife, Lynn.
Robert W. Koons, Chair
Vital Ground Trustee since April 2004
Robert is executive director of the DC-based Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust and is responsible for strategic and operational planning and implementation, project selection and negotiation, and management of professional and volunteer staff. He has a diverse background in leadership and management in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors and has been involved with conservation and land trust projects nationwide as founder, leader, director and manager. In the six years since Bob joined the WLT, the number of states the organization serves has grown by 60%, and acres protected have grown from 53,000 to around 2 million. Bob is a graduate of Colby College with Executive Management training from Harvard Business School. Formerly Board Chair of The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Bob is a true conservationist with tremendous experience in the governance of land trusts and wildlife conservation organizations. He resides in Washington, DC and Flagstaff, AZ.
Maureen Henry Mayer
Vital Ground Trustee since October 2011
Joe Matza
Vital Ground Trustee since November 2009
Doug Seus, Vital Ground Co-founder, Trustee Emeritus
Vital Ground Trustee from 1991-2006
Doug and his wife Lynne obtained their first wolf in 1971 and subsequently launched a career in the animal training business for the entertainment industry. Between educational programs for universities and commercial shoots for television, Doug and Lynne expanded their wildlife menagerie to include cougars, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, owls and eagles. But in 1977, they followed their dream and bought a grizzly bear cub from a zoo in Peoria, Illinois. Through their movie work with Bart the Bear and their humane training methods, the Seuses spawned a legion of followers and are considered the premier animal trainers in the entertainment business. With Bart as ambassador, the Seuses launched Vital Ground in 1990 through the purchase of 240 acres of prime grizzly bear habitat adjoining protected land in The Nature Conservancy's Pine Butte Swamp Preserve along the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains in Montana. For Doug, the joy of working with bears and other animals doesn't come from teaching tricks or seeing them on screen. It's about building a relationship with them.
Lynne Seus, Vital Ground Co-founder
Vital Ground Trustee 1991-2004 and since October 2006
Lynne and her husband Doug founded Vital Ground in 1990. The famed animal handlers raised and trained an orphaned Kodiak brown bear named Bart to appear in feature films, which have included Legends of the Fall, The Edge and The Great Outdoors, among many others. Before his death in 2000, Bart had worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Brad Pitt and Sir Anthony Hopkins. Today, the Seuses operate Wasatch Rocky Mountain Wildlife Ranch and focus exclusively on grizzly bears and wolves. At present, a substantial amount of their time, resources and the talent of their animals are dedicated to promoting the work of Vital Ground. The Seuses reside in Heber, Utah.
Sally O. Smyth
Vital Ground Trustee since October 2010
Sally has always been torn between working (as a copywriter, feature and business writer), traveling (as much as humanly possible) and doing the right thing: protecting wildlife habitat. Since moving from Manhattan to Camden, Maine in 1985, wildlife took precedence. Partly to escape the designation of ‘little old lady in sneakers,’ Sally obtained her Masters in Environmental Policy from Tufts University in 1996. On behalf of Caspar and Lupine, two raccoons she had the opportunity to rehabilitate in the 1980’s, Sally and her husband, Tom DeMarco bought and eventually donated to a local land trust, three acres of tidal waterfront land frequented by these raccoons and other wildlife for foraging. A random viewing of Doug Seus and his bears on Animal Planet led her to Vital Ground. Sally believes that Vital Ground sees the big picture—connecting wildlife habitats so that species are free to roam.
Stuart D. Strahl, Ph.D., Vice Chair
Vital Ground Trustee since October 2006
With 25 years in national and international programs, Stuart is a career conservationist with deep experience in applied science, restoration ecology, public policy and not-for-profit management. He currently serves as President/CEO of the Chicago Zoological Society and Director of the world-famous Brookfield Zoo. From 1996-2003, Stuart was founding President/CEO of Audubon of Florida, leading Audubon into national prominence in the largest ecological restoration initiative in history, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. He gained international experience as Research Fellow and founding Director of Latin American Programs for the Wildlife Conservation Society between 1985 and 1992. Fluent in Spanish, Stuart is dedicated to converting conservation into a mainstream public issue, has broad experience in bringing together diverse interests in the U.S. and Latin America, which has resulted in preservation of over 30 million acres of wildlife habitat and over $15 billion in conservation funding. Stuart received his B.A. in Biology from Bates College, and his Ph.D. in Biology from the State University of New York at Albany. He has served on numerous boards and appointed commissions, and is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Conservation Biology, the Everglades Foundation, Elective Member of the American Ornithologists' Union and Professional Member of the Boone and Crockett Club, among others.
John E. Swallow
Vital Ground Trustee since March 2006
As Executive Vice President of Production Technology, John has worked closely with many of today's leading filmmakers, overseeing cutting-edge visual effects work for Universal Pictures. Titles released during John's tenure include King Kong, The Incredible Hulk, Jurassic Park 2 & 3, the Mummy series, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Nutty Professor movies, Gladiator and more. Prior to joining Universal, John served as Executive Producer at the effects house Pacific Data Images in Hollywood; and as Vice President of Production at Apogee Productions, a seminal special effects company. Feature film work during those years included effects for Natural Born Killers, Carlito's Way, Toys, Lorenzo's Oil, Twin Peaks, Gremlins 2 and Die Hard 2. John was also the Effects Producer for the film Dragonheart. He holds a degree in Design and Photography from California State University, Long Beach, and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Visual Effects Branch, serving on their Executive and Steering committees. Currently, John lives with his wife Lori in Los Angeles, California.
David E. Wesley, Ph.D., Secretary
Vital Ground Trustee since October 2007
David is a wildlife biologist by training, experience and interest. He has bachelor and masters degrees from Mississippi State University and a Ph.D. from Colorado State University. He spent several years teaching at both the high school and college levels followed by 22 years with Ducks Unlimited where he gained experience in habitat conservation, fundraising and administration. David was the manager of DU's conservation/habitat programs in the United States when they began opening regional offices in 1984. He retired from DU in 1996 and refocused his attention on elk via the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Since retiring from RMEF, he has done consulting work with the Wildlife Habitat Council where he helped initiate a migratory bird conservation program with emphasis on corporate lands. Since his second retirement, he has been involved with a number of conservation groups with focus on youth conservation. His personal interests, combined with his professional activities, led him to co-edit a book entitled Fireside Waterfowler and to engage in a variety of conservation videos. David and his wife, Mary Dale, live in Missoula, Montana.
Kelly A. Wilson
Vital Ground Trustee since October 2002
Kelly has been a licensed realtor in Utah since 1999. She has been an integral part of a real estate partnership that consistently ranks in the top 5% of the group's real estate agents in the nation. Kelly is an active member of her church where she assists, teaches and is secretary of the Women's Group board, and she volunteers for numerous other organizations in the community. Before moving to Utah in 1998, Kelly and her husband lived in New Zealand for 12 years, where they worked for a fly-fishing outfitter. Kelly also worked for Canterbury Health in the medical records department for six years. Hailing from northwestern Pennsylvania, she attended Penn State University for Wildlife Technology. Kelly lives in Park City, Utah with her husband, Bern, and her two daughters.