Seminars and Panels

President & CEO, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers

Throughout his varied professional career, Berry has amassed a distinctive suite of skills and experience as an inspiring and transformative leader, conservation advocate, skilled fundraiser, government relations professional, and effective nonprofit and agency manager. He is regarded as a colleague who values collaboration and partnership, and brings an infectious enthusiasm to his work.

In his most recent position as the President and CEO of Fly Fishers International, Berry led efforts to develop an array of successful fundraising programs, overhaul membership strategies, create engaging and contemporary education programs, and launch a dynamic rebranding initiative. As the former Commissioner of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Berry managed 130 full-time employees, directed critical conservation initiatives, and has been widely credited for modernizing and financially stabilizing the Department. Among other notable achievements while in this leadership role, Berry spearheaded a successful campaign to declare fish and wildlife as public trust resources.

Berry has also previously served as Vice President at the Vermont Community Foundation, Director of Environmental Advancement and Governmental Affairs at Vermont Law School, and in other professional roles focused on conservation, government relations, and development. Early in his career, Berry spent almost 10 years as a fishing guide in the Northern Rockies while also working as an outdoor writer, commercial fly tyer, and artist.

Berry holds an undergraduate degree from Middlebury College and has completed extensive Master’s Degree work in Environmental Science from the University of Montana. He is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast with a passion for hunting, fishing, and a variety of other outdoor pursuits. Berry currently lives in Vermont with his wife Brooke and has two grown sons Quinn and Willem. He shares his house with 5 spaniels he trains for hunting and field trials, has restored two historic homes, and when time allows, plays guitar and banjo in a local band.

Christopher Borgatti was born and raised in the suburbs west of Boston, Massachusetts. As a boy, first with a bicycle and then with a jon boat, he spent most days after school fishing and exploring the Charles River. 

A hunter, angler, surfer, and competitive endurance athlete, Chris has long recognized the role public lands and waters have played in his outdoor passions. After learning about BHA, he became involved in the New England chapter and joined the chapter board in 2018. Chris now serves as the Eastern Policy & Conservation Manager for BHA. 

Ryan Callaghan is the conservation director for MeatEater and vice chair of the executive committee on the BHA North American board. Ryan has been a passionate member of the outdoor community, growing up guiding, hunting, fishing and playing in the West.

Chris grew up in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a passion for hunting, fishing, camping, and nature. Now a resident of the outdoor mecca of State College, Pa., he is surrounded by the ridges and valleys of the Allegheny Mountains.

A veteran of newspapers and public relations, his conservation ethic was honed while directing communications at a land trust in State College. He joined BHA in 2017 and now serves as the Eastern Field Director, working with chapter leaders and members to conserve and protect access to our public lands and waters.

While he gets outdoors near home often, Chris also travels to hunt, fish, and recreate on public lands as often as possible, both with his family and his BHA compatriots.

Don Rank is a lifelong Pennsylvania resident, born and raised in the Philadelphia area. As a youth, he learned to hunt and fish on the large tracts of state game lands surrounding the family cabin built by his grandfather in the mountains of PA. To this day, that cabin continues to be the epicenter of many of his outdoor pursuits.

Professionally, Don has been in practice as a nurse anesthetist since 2003, concentrating primarily on pediatric anesthesia. He served in the same role in the Army Reserves and has lectured for various nurse anesthesia graduate programs in the Philadelphia area.

Prior to joining the North American Board, Don served on the board of the Pennsylvania Chapter, first as secretary, beginning in 2018, and since 2021 as chairman. During that time, he has focused primarily on legislative and policy issues, making dozens of trips to the state capital to advocate for BHA with lawmakers and agency decision makers. As the chapter policy lead, Don has empowered many BHA members to become advocates for conservation in the state.

Don’s wife, Wendi, is also an active BHA member. In addition to outdoor pursuits, Don, Wendi and their two children enjoy traveling in the U.S. and abroad. Their most recent adventure was to Scotland.

Melanie was born in the Cotswolds, England, but for the past 23 years, she has called New York State home. She lives off-grid, immersed in the beauty and wilderness of the six-million-acre Adirondack State Park.

In 2022, Melanie founded WILD FOODS with the goal of helping others identify and learn about the edible plants, rhizomes, berries, nuts, lichens, mushrooms, and cambium that sustained their ancestors for centuries.

In 2023, she competed on Season 10 of Alone, finishing in 4th place after an impressive 43 days—just 23 days shy of the winner.

Carmen leads Home Range Wildlife Research mission to conduct wildlife science that directly informs the conservation and management of species.  She is dedicated to examining the impacts of climate change and human development on wildlife as well as finding ways to  mitigate their impacts.  Carmen's background is in mammal ecology, habitat, and management where she has worked in a diversity of landscapes including the southeast US and the Alberta Rocky Mountains.  Carmen holds a B.Sc. degree in Wildlife Management and Conservation from Humboldt State University and a M.Sc. in biology from the University of British Columbia, Kelowna.  She resides in Winthrop, WA.

J.R. Young was raised in Bellevue Washington. He enjoyed his weekends and summer at a cabin in Central Washington where he started hunting and fishing at an early age. He spent countless days exploring Wenatchee National Forest as well as the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest closer to Bellevue. He truly fell in love with the outdoors.

Currently living in The Santa Cruz Mountains in Los Gatos California with his wife, son, dog and chickens, he continues to enjoy the outdoors on a regular basis. At J.R.’s house, most activities surround food, preparing for food, canning food, foraging for food hunting for food and most importantly sharing the experience of food with friends and sometimes complete strangers. J.R. is a man that loves life, and he encourages people to explore that natural world and enjoy what is theirs to enjoy. He holds his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Washington and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Fairfield University in Connecticut. After spending eleven years as a tax accountant he has joined his wife in her Naturopathic Medical Clinic.