Executive Board
Robert (Bob) Newman, Past President
Bob is currently a Professor in the Dept. of Biology at the University of North Dakota (1995-Present). He obtained his B.S. in Zoology from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. Bob has lived and worked in North Dakota for the past 27 years and been actively involved with TWS at the State, Section, and National levels. He has served on the TWS Council Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Sustainability, the past-Chair and former board member of the Climate Change & Wildlife Working Group and a board member of the Native Peoples’ Wildlife Management Working Group. Bob believes our highest priorities are to advocate for wildlife, to promote opportunities for students and support young, rising leaders, and to make our organization welcoming and supportive of human diversity.
Curt Francis, President-Elect
Curt serves as the East Region Supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department Private Lands Initiative. He oversees the delivery of habitat and hunting access in 30 counties through the Department’s PLOTS program. Before joining the Department, Curt spent time working for agencies including Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, USDA – APHIS and USDA – NRCS. He attended NDSU earning a Master’s degree in Zoology examining reproductive investments in Lesser Scaup and a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management from Lake Superior State University. Curt originates from the Suburbs or Detroit, MI but has enjoyed calling North Dakota his home since 2003. He enjoys spending time hunting and ice fishing with his wife and daughter and training their two hunting dogs.
Phil Mastrangelo, President
In 2015, Phil retired after a 31-year career with USDA Wildlife Services. He began working with Wildlife Services in mid-1980’s as a biological aide and subsequently hit all the rungs as he climbed the career ladder and retired as the State Director for the North Dakota and South Dakota Wildlife Services programs. Phil first joined The Wildlife Society about 45 years ago when he was a student at Eastern Kentucky University where he earned his B.S. degree in Wildlife Management and M.S. degree in Biological Sciences. After starting his professional career, he maintained his TWS membership in each of the states where he worked (KY, TN, TX, WV, MS, ND). As he neared retirement Phil’s doctor told him to stay active and his wife Linda told him to stay out of the house. He now spends his retirement fishing, hunting, tending his small patch of prairie at his home north of Mandan, and assisting Linda, who trains their hunting dogs. He has also been a guest lecturer for the wildlife resource programs at the University of North Dakota and the United Tribes Technical College and enjoys spending time with the next generation of wildlife professionals.
Alex Rischette, Treasurer
Alex is currently working as a mitigation biologist with Ducks Unlimited. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Science from North Dakota State University and later returned to complete a master's of science in Range Management. His graduate research focused on the nesting ecology of upland nesting ducks and shorebirds. Alex is originally from southern Minnesota but currently calls Mandan, ND home. He spends his free time shooting his bow, scouting for mule deer, and training his young golden retriever.
Hanna Edens, Secretary
Hanna is a Fish & Wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Ecological Services North Dakota Field Office. Prior to this, Hanna worked as an Environmental Consultant in the private sector with a focus on wildlife surveys, wetland delineation, and environmental regulatory compliance. She obtained both her Bachelor’s in Zoology and a Master’s in Biology from North Dakota State University (NDSU). Her graduate research focused on North Dakota bats. In 2022, Hanna was selected as 1 of 10 individuals to participate in The Wildlife Society (TWS) Leadership Institute and has previously served the North Dakota chapter (NDCTWS) as a student liaison and an executive board member. In her free time, Hanna, with her husband, Trent, and their two golden retrievers, Stanlee & Luna, can be found enjoying various outdoor activities together.
Page Klug, Executive Board
Page is a research wildlife biologist and field station leader with the USDA, APHIS, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center. The USDA-APHIS-WS NWRC North Dakota Field Station is housed within the Department of Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University, where she is affiliated graduate/adjunct faculty. Research at the North Dakota Field Station is focused on developing methods and tools to manage bird damage to agriculture. Page received her B.S. degree in Environmental Science and Policy from Drake University, M.S. degree in Biology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and PhD degree in Biology from Kansas State University. She has investigated the impact of row-crop agriculture and rangeland management on wildlife as well as the impact of introduced species. Page is a TWS Certified Wildlife Biologist and has been a National TWS member since 2003 and a NDCTWS member since her arrival in ND in 2016. She lives in Fargo with her husband (Todd) and son (Gus) along with their English Setter, cat, and snake. Page is a prairie enthusiast who loves to garden for her family and wildlife and create soil via worm composting.
Levi Jacobson, Executive Board
Levi currently works as a Wildlife Resource Management Supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department based in Bismarck. He started with the Department in 2006 as a summer seasonal while attending college. He currently oversees 9 counties and the management of about 33k acres of Wildlife Management Areas that the Department owns or leases. He grew up on a farm and ranch by Warwick, North Dakota and received his BS from the University of North Dakota. When he is not working, he is typically out enjoying North Dakota’s natural resources whether it is fishing with his wife and three daughters, chasing mule deer with a bow and arrow, or following his chocolate lab looking for pheasants.
Jesse Kolar, Executive Board
Jesse is an upland game biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department based out of Dickinson, ND. He gained experience as a NDGF technician sampling fish, tracking pronghorn and tracking sharp-tailed grouse. He also spent a summer monitoring Dusky Flycatchers in Idaho for a graduate student studying various tree thinning practices. Jesse completed a master’s degree at the University of Missouri, which stemmed from his NDGF pronghorn technician position. He subsequently started a Ph.D. studying the effects of oil and gas development on mule deer in ND, but after completing the research, abandoned the dissertation for a wildlife biologist position with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He took a brief hiatus from wildlife biology to work with coffee farmers in Honduras with the Peace Corps, which seems appropriate since it takes a mug plus a Stanley thermos of coffee to finish a morning of counting grouse. In his free time he enjoys hunting mule deer and sharptail in the badlands, wildlife photography, darkhouse spearing and birding—sometimes to the chagrin of his wife and not-as-patient border collie.
Torre Hovick, Executive Board
Torre currently serves as an association professor of rangeland wildlife ecology at North Dakota State University. He received his BS at the University of Northern Iowa in biology, MS at Iowa State in wildlife ecology, and PhD at Oklahoma State University in wildlife ecology. Torre joined NDSU in 2014 and during his time there his research program has primarily focused on managing wildlife populations in working rangelands. Both his MS and PhD research focused on the influence of restored disturbance regimes (interacting fire and grazing) on native grassland bird communities. Torre’s interests are focused on maximizing production and conservation in working landscapes and promoting ecosystem services to all North Dakotans. He believes The Wildlife Society is a great avenue to improve our future natural resource leaders and to help promote the importance of wildlife to the state of North Dakota. When not doing research, Torre enjoys taking photos of wildlife and spending time outdoors with his two daughters. As both a researcher and recreationalist in the state of North Dakota, it is my goal to increase and improve outreach and education opportunities about our natural resources with the goal of improving conservation of biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides to North Dakotans.