Executive Board
Kathy Duttenhefner, President-Elect
Kathy Duttenhefner is the Natural Resources Division Chief for North Dakota Parks and Recreation, bringing over 35 years of experience in conservation and ecosystem management. In her leadership role, she directs critical stewardship initiatives across state-managed lands, including the strategic restoration and management of native prairies, woodlands, and tree and shrub landscapes. Her technical expertise spans prescribed burns, noxious and invasive species control, and collaborative projects such as Western Prairie Fringed Orchid surveys with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A dedicated educator and advocate for women in the outdoors, Kathy has long served as an instructor for the Wild Outdoor Women (WOW) and Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) workshops, teaching hands-on skills from plant identification to technical outdoor recreation. As President-Elect of the North Dakota Wildlife Society, she fosters partnerships and promotes conservation leadership, helping guide the next generation of natural resource professionals and ensuring the long-term health of North Dakota’s natural heritage.
Mandy Guinn, President
By night, Mandy Guinn is a molecular ecologist with a focus on host-pathogen interactions. She earned her Master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she studied bat habitat use and distribution across the Great Plains. She is currently completing her Ph.D. at the University of North Dakota, researching the evolutionary and genomic responses of Little Brown Bats to White-Nose Syndrome, and hopes to defend in December.
By day, Mandy serves as the Department Chair of Environmental Science at United Tribes Technical College (UTTC), where she has been a leader in advancing undergraduate curriculum, research, and STEM programming for over 17 years. She spearheaded the development and accreditation of two Bachelor of Science programs, Environmental Science and Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences, both grounded in hands-on, research-based learning that prepares students for careers in conservation and natural resources. As curriculum committee chair, Mandy has been instrumental in implementing culturally responsive teaching and community-based research initiatives across UTTC. She also works closely with local, regional, and national partners to build strong pipelines that support student transitions into graduate programs and the STEM workforce.
In addition to her role at UTTC, Mandy mentors high school and undergraduate researchers across the U.S. through multiple National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs, including field-based projects in Costa Rica and Panama. Her goal is to help build self-efficacy and STEM identity all while making science accessibility, relevant and achievable.
Mandy lives in Bismarck, with her husband Jeremy, their four kids, Gavin, Xavier, Ezekiel, and Aurora, and their “old man” Ninja (German Shorthaired Pointer). In her spare time she loves to fish but rarely makes it up for the earlier morning bites. She is a night owl by nature and profession.
Curt Francis, Past President
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.
Jodie Provost, Treasurer
Jodie is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, hunter, birder, horse rider, and appreciator of wide open, wild spaces. She hails from North Dakota, graduating from North Dakota State University with a B.S. in Zoology and University of North Dakota with an M.S. in Biology. She worked 30 years for Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as an Assistant Wildlife Manager, Wildlife Resource Assessment Specialist, and Private Land Biologist. Her management experience includes prairie, savanna, shrubland, wetland, and forest. She currently works for the North American Grouse Partnership as their Communications Director. Her volunteerism includes many years with the Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society and is ongoing with The Wildlife Society from the local to section to national levels. She is grateful to serve the North Dakota Chapter of TWS!
Jeff Williams, Secretary
Jeff works for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department as a Private Lands Biologist. He is responsible for the delivery and implementation of the Private Lands Initiative (PLI). He coordinates habitat and hunting access projects via PLOTS and other PLI programs in an eight-county area. Prior to joining the Department in 2023, Jeff worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever in a variety of roles. Jeff is an Associate Wildlife Biologist thru TWS certification. In his free time, Jeff enjoys hunting a variety of game with his Drahthaar, fishing, and sporting clays.
Cara Gregor, Executive Board
Cara Greger grew up on a small grain and livestock farm near Grace City, ND. Her family grew flax, barley and wheat and raised 30 head of Simmental cattle. She graduated in 1998 with a Zoology/ Wildlife Management Bachelor of Science Degree from North Dakota State University. During the summers, she held various bio tech positions for US Fish and Wildlife Service (Arrowwood NWR & Chase Lake NWR) and USGS (Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center). After leaving North Dakota in 1998, Cara worked numerous Natural Resource related jobs including: Natural Resource Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, West Africa; Wildland firefighter Minnesota & Iowa for USFWS Big Stone NWR; Wildlife Biologist, Butte, MT BLM; Invasive Species Specialist, MNDNR Lac qui Parle WMA, and from 2010-2021 for Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Parks and Trails division at Lac qui Parle (Natural Resource Park Specialist) and Big Stone Lake (Assistant Manager) State Parks. Currently, Cara works as the Western ND Conservation Coordinator for North Dakota Wildlife Federation. Her focus is on habitat projects related to woody encroachment and using prescribed fire for range management. Partnering with other organizations to work on outdoor and wildlife education with adults and youth are other priorities of her job.
Cailey Isaacson, Executive Board
Cailey is a PhD student at the University of North Dakota (UND) studying wild turkeys with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Her dissertation is evaluating the survival, reproduction, movement, and pathogen presence of nuisance turkeys across North Dakota. She earned her B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology in 2022 from UND. Prior to graduate school, Cailey worked as a research technician locating and monitoring nesting waterfowl for three summers and spent three springs surveying prairie grouse.
Cailey has been involved with the North Dakota Chapter of The Wildlife Society (NDCTWS) and The Wildlife Society since 2019. She served as student chapter president for two academic years at UND and as the student liaison between the student chapters and NDCTWS from February 2022 to 2023. At the most recent state chapter meeting, Cailey volunteered to serve as chair of the Professional Women in Natural Resources Working Group, with the goal of revitalizing the group and returning the Women’s Social to the annual meeting agenda. She also participated on the planning committee for the 2026 annual meeting.
When she is not chasing turkeys, Cailey is spending time with her fiancé and puppy hunting, fishing, birding, or reading a book.
Heather Husband, Executive Board
Heather found her dream job with the North Dakota Natural Resources Trust as the Meadowlark Initiative Coordinator in 2022, connecting people to programs for grassland and wetland restoration and enhancement. Previous to this she spent about 35 years with a wide variety of NGO, federal, state, and tribal agencies across Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota including the US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Ducks Unlimited, Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, and the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality. Her experience includes wetland and grassland restoration, waterfowl, migratory bird, and T&E species research, wildland firefighting, water quality/watershed monitoring and nonpoint source pollution management, backcountry wilderness safety/maintenance, and conservation partnership development. She has a B.S. in Biology (Wildlife) from Montana State University and an M.S. in Natural Resource Management from North Dakota State University. Originally from Kalamazoo, MI, Heather has called North Dakota home for 27 years and feels most at home on the open prairie in a brisk North Dakota “breeze”.
Trista Montgomery, Executive Board
Trista is in her fourth year as an assistant professor in the Fisheries and Wildlife Science program at VCSU where she teaches botany, plant ecology, prairie restoration, range management, and GIS. Coming from the northwoods of Minnesota where she studied forest ecology, it has been an adventure being immersed in nuances of grassland ecology and finding a new love. Teaching students to be forever learners is a major part of her teaching philosophy. She enjoys seeing students make the transition from learning the concepts in the classroom (and in the field!) to applying them in their future conservation career.