Board of Directors

Candace Beardslee

Candace Beardslee is an internationally renowned artist and jeweler. She is a founding member and past Trustee and Conservation Chair of Northwest Women Flyfishers, and a founder of the Concerned Citizens for Planned Growth in Duvall, Washington. She has served on City of Duvall committees overseeing sewer issues and Comprehensive-Plan revisions, as an appointed member of the Washington Fisheries Management Task Force, and most recently served on the citizens advisory committee for the 2006 King County Flood Hazard Management Plan.

Candace received a BA in art education from Central Washington University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington. In addition to her board duties, she manages the Wild Fish Conservancy Store, directs the annual benefit auction and banquet, and designs the Wild Fish Journal, the semi-annual newsletter of the Wild Fish Conservancy. She lives in Duvall, Washington.

Dr. Stephen Conroy

Dr. Steve Conroy is a Senior Ecologist with the King County Department of Transportation where he directs fish passage restoration projects, conducts research on the reconstruction of steep stream reaches, and provides biological support in policy and regulation development. Dr. Conroy has been a researcher at Case Western Reserve University, the University of Washington, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He has been a Senior Ecologist with the King County Department of Development and Environmental Services, and a past Director of Science and Research at Wild Fish Conservancy.

Dr. Conroy earned an Honors degree in Biochemistry and his PhD in protein chemistry from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He has authored peer-reviewed scientific/biomedical publications as well as articles about ecology and wild-fish conservation. He lives with his wife in Covington , Washington.

Vance Jennings

Vance Jennings is an avid outdoorsman, angler, and conservationist. He has been teaching English and theatre for the Naches Valley School District for over 20 years, and has maintained a long-term involvement with the Warehouse Theatre Company in Yakima, Washington. Vance earned a BA in Education in English and an MA in Education as a Reading Specialist from Central Washington University, and holds an administrative credential from Heritage College. He lives in Yakima with his wife, Sandy.

Joe Kelly

Joe Kelly has been an exploration Geologist, a teacher, and a refinery operator. He earned his BA in Education and a MS in Geology from Western Washington University, and completed graduate coursework in Geology at the University of Washington and Stanford University.

An enthusiastic fly fisher, Joe is co-chair of the conservation committee for the Fourth Corner Fly Fishers. He has spent most of his life in the region, and has witnessed first hand the steady degradation of local wild-fish populations and habitats. He is currently retired and living in Ferndale, Washington.

Hugh H. Lewis, Secretary

Hugh Lewis is an avid angler, conservationist, and a founding member of Wild Fish Conservancy. He has been the organization’s legal counsel since its inception in 1989. Hugh received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California and a law degree from George Washington University. He has practiced law in Washington D.C., northern Virginia, and Bellingham, Washington. He currently operates a private practice specializing in real estate, condominium law, commercial leasing, small business and commercial practice, and natural resources and fisheries law. He lives with his wife in Bellingham, Washington.

Bill McMillan, President

Bill McMillan is an esteemed angler, conservationist, and author. He has spent a lifetime advocating for wild fish, writing a number of acclaimed books, articles, and papers on conservation, fish, fly-fishing, and nature, including two influential scientific papers on the biology, ecology, and natural history of steelhead. He is a founding member of the Wild Fish Conservancy.
   

Bill studied fisheries, English, and philosophy at Clark College, University of Washington, Portland State University, and Central Washington University. He has served on the Gifford Pinchot Forest’s Spotted Owl Citizen’s Advisory Board and the Washington Department of Wildlife’s Fishery Policy Task Force, and has directed a team of Russian and American scientists on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula. He lives with his wife Lynn in Sedro Woolley, Washington.

Dick Rieman, Vice President

Dick Rieman is a retired high school teacher and commercial airline pilot, a hunter, angler, and conservationist. He has received the Governor of Washington’s Environmental Excellence Award and an award from the US Fish and Wildlife Service for his work to conserve spotted owls the Wenatchee National Forest.

Dick has been a candidate for the Chelan County Board of Commissioners, and has served on the Leavenworth Comprehensive Planning Committee. He is a board member of the Icicle Creek Watershed Council and the Icicle Canyon Coalition. He serves on the Provincial Advisory Board to the Wenatchee and Okanogan National Forest Supervisor, as an advisor to the board of the Chelan/Douglas Land Trust, and as Treasurer of the Icicle Fund. He earned a BS in education, biology, and physics from the University of Montana. He has presented and written reports regarding timber practices, water quality, surface and groundwater conditions, wildlife data, and development impacts on watersheds and landscapes. Dick lives in Leavenworth, Washington.

Brian Roberts, Treasurer

Brian Roberts is a Director at Russell Investments in Tacoma, has previously worked in venture capital and business consulting, and is a former airline pilot. He has been a volunteer and consultant in wild fish conservation projects since 1990, participating in projects with Wild Fish Conservancy, the Tulalip Tribes, and the Washington Department of Ecology. He earned a BA in Economics from the University of Vermont and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Washington. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Bernard Shanks

Dr. Bernard Shanks has spent his entire career in outdoor and environmental management. He currently manages the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units in the western states for the US Geological Survey. He is a past Director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, where he led the development and adoption of Washington’s first science based management plan dedicated to the conservation of the state’s wild-fish resources, the WDFW Wild Salmonid Policy.

Dr. Shanks was the Assistant Director for Resources to California Governor Jerry Brown and a public land and wildlife policy advisor to Arizona Governor Bruce Babbit. He is the author of three books on public land policy, wilderness survival, and California wildlife. A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, avid sport angler, and dedicated conservationist, Dr. Shanks lives with his wife in Deer Harbor, Washington.