Washington (June 19, 2008) – The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies announced today that Mark J. Humpert will be joining its staff as the Teaming with Wildlife Director. With more than 20 years of experience in the wildlife conservation field, Humpert currently is the Wildlife Diversity Program Manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. He will begin work at the Association on August 11.
As Director, Humpert will manage the Teaming with Wildlife campaign and oversee other extensive outreach efforts related to state wildlife diversity programs. He also will be coordinating the activities of a 5,000+ organization coalition and managing legislative advocacy efforts around funding for state fish and wildlife agencies to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered.
“Over the past several years, I’ve had the chance to work with wildlife diversity and wildlife action plan coordinators from across the nation,” said Humpert. “The opportunity to build on the past successes of the Teaming with Wildlife program and to continue activating the Teaming with Wildlife coalition at this crucial time to ensure state agencies and partners have the public funding to fully implement their plans is exciting.”
Humpert has been involved with the Teaming with Wildlife coalition at the state and national levels for many years and, prior to accepting the Director position, represented Nebraska on the Association’s Teaming with Wildlife committee. Notably, he coordinated the Nebraska Teaming with Wildlife coalition, which grew from 49 to more than 270 organizations within five years during his tenure. Humpert also lead outreach efforts for Nebraska’s Wildlife Action Plan, State Wildlife Grants Program, Nongame Check-off Program, Nebraska Partnership for All-Bird Conservation, and the Healthy Families Play Outside Network.
"Mark has the understanding of the planning and implementation processes needed for wildlife action plans to succeed," said Matt Hogan, Executive Director for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “With his experience advancing public policy and developing comprehensive outreach strategies, he is a welcome addition to the team.”
In 2007, Humpert was named the Nebraska Wildlife Professional of the Year. He is past President of both the state of Nebraska and Ohio State University Chapters of The Wildlife Society and holds a Masters in Public Administration from Bellevue University and a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management from Ohio State University.
