Ryan Hance joined the NISC team in October 2023. While an undergrad at Iowa State University, he interned with the Iowa Chapter of The Nature Conservancy where he fell in love with land stewardship and solidified his ecological career trajectory. After college, he...

Aaron Hogate joined JDCF as a member of the Northerwest Illinois Invasive Species Strike Team in June of 2020. Originally from New Jersey, Aaron witnessed firsthand how mismanagement can degrade and destroy natural areas. After earning his degree in Biology, Aaron...

Anna joined JDCF as a NISC Restoration Technician in February 2023. She graduated from Northern Michigan University in 2021 with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management. After working a variety of seasonal land stewardship jobs from Montana to Vermont, she is...

Growing up on a farm near Scales Mound, Illinois, Leanne developed an appreciation for the outdoors early in life. She has managed prairie and savanna preserves at University of Nebraska Omaha, earned her Ph.D. in Ecology from Iowa State University, and worked with...

Amanda Lidberg started as JDCF’s bookkeeper in June of 2026. She graduated with her B.S. in accounting from the University of Minnesota. She moved to the area in 2023 and fell in love with the beautiful Driftless Region. When she isn’t behind a computer...