The Team at Craighead Beringia South
Staff
Derek Craighead
Derek is the founder and president of Craighead Beringia South (CBS). Derek received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in wildlife biology from the University of Montana. For more than a decade, he worked in Alaska as a supervisor for the Naval Arctic Research Laboratories’ Animal Research facility in Barrow, Alaska, and as a regional biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He returned to Montana as director of the Wildlife-Wildlands Institute. Derek is presently serving on the board of The Peregrine Fund. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Derek is an ardent hiker, fly-fisherman, lifelong falconer and an experienced bush pilot. Derek and his wife, Sophie, have two children, Scotty and Sage, and a houseful of pets.
Bryan Bedrosian
Bryan was born and raised just outside of Chicago, and moved to Wisconsin to attend the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, where he began his interest in studying birds. While obtaining his undergraduate degree in Biology, he was always either researching raptors or fishing. After finishing, he and his wife, Emily, moved to Jackson Hole where began volunteering with Craighead Beringia South finding raptor and raven nests and assisting with Red-tailed Hawk trapping for the satellite migration study. He then obtained his Master's degree from Arkansas State University studying the raven population of Jackson Hole. He is currently the Avian Program Director heading up golden eagle, bald eagle, red-tail hawk, raven, sage-grouse and osprey studies with cooperating agencies. He enjoys BBQing, bluegrass, hunting, birding, fishing and officiating marriages.
Howard Quigley, Ph.D
Howard obtained his bachelor degree from the University of California Berkeley, his master's from the University of Tennessee, and his doctorate from the University of Idaho. In addition to being the Director of the Teton Cougar Project Howard is also the Director of the Jaguar Program for Panthera. He focuses on the conservation of jaguars range-wide and the conservation of cougars in California and Wyoming. He is the author of more than 30 scientific publications and popular articles. His work with carnivores has included field studies of the giant panda in China, jaguars in the Brazilian Pantanal, and Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East. Click here to read an interview with Howard featured on Mongabay.com
Marilyn Cuthill
A wildlife biologist with a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Design Marilyn has been working with Craighead Beringia South since 2005. In her role as Teton Cougar Project coordinator she oversees the daily activities of field data collection and immobilizing and radio collaring cougars. As an educator Marilyn has developed school wide environmental education programs and led secondary education outdoor wilderness programs. As part of CBS's Gobi Bear of the Mongolian Desert project Marilyn and her colleagues have completed a book on bear conservation to educate students in rural Mongolia. The book will guide students and teachers through a series of ecological activities contributing to their understanding of wildlife conservation and management. Born in France Marilyn has raised three sons and enjoys fishing, hunting, dancing, hiking, tracking and gardening.
Mark Elbroch
Mark joins Craighead Beringia South from California where he is a PhD Candidate at UC Davis. His dissertation work focused on pumas in Chilean Patagonia. He is also Principle Investigator for the Garfield-Mesa Lion Project in Colorado and a collaborator on the Mendocino Blacktail-Puma Project in northern California. Mark has his feet firmly planted in science, and has written several books on animal behavior, tracking guides, and survival manuals. A 2011 Switzer Fellow, Mark truly enjoys tracking wildlife, investigating dead things, hiking in the mountains, and sharing stories around a fire, preferably all in the same day.
Ross Crandall
Field biologist for the Avian Program at Craighead Beringia South, Ross came to Jackson Hole after several years of field experience in Argentina, Alaska, New Mexico, and California working on a variety of sensitive bird species including Black Oystercatchers, Spotted Owls, and Red-crested Cardinals. A Wisconsin native, Ross attended the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and majored in Wildlife Ecology in 2005. Ross is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting, hiking, making instruments, and playing music. In Fall of 2011 Ross began graduate studies at the University of Montana with the Golden Eagle project in South Central Montana.
Jesse Newby
Jesse grew up in the Mission Valley of Montana where he and his wife Tasha were married. He received his B.S. (1999) at the University of Montana and has worked as a field biologist researching snowshoe hares, bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, wolves and cougars throughout Montana, Wyoming and Alberta. He and his wife also served as Peace Corps volunteers working in the Philippines on a conservation project focusing on endangered hornbills. While working with Craighead Beringia South on the Teton Cougar Project Jesse earned his Master's degree from the University of Montana (2011) for his work examining cougar dispersal behavior in multiple systems within Montana and Wyoming.
Peter Alexander
Originally from the farmlands of Illinois Peter first moved to the west to study Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Since then Peter has worked on a wide variety of field projects ranging from sea turtle conservation in Gabon to cougar ecology in Alberta. Peter has also studied plague dynamics in black-tailed prairie dogs in Colorado, desert tortoise conservation in Utah and pronghorn rutting behavior in Montana. Peter moved to Jackson in the spring of 2008 to work with the Teton Cougar Project. He enjoys skiing, fishing and outdoor photography.
Aaron Nolan
Double A moved from Wisconsin to join the Beringia team as an Avian Biologist. He obtained his B.S in Biology from the University of WI - Stevens Point focusing on birds. Aaron has a diverse background of field work experience working with many bird species including song birds, raptors, waterfowl, and game birds. He has also worked with many species of mammals including spotted skunks, coyotes, red and gray fox and raccoons. When not working Aaron enjoys spending time skiing and canoeing with his wife Gina and dog Rosie, pickin' bluegrass and watching da' Packers.
Katherine Gura
Katherine was born and raised in the pines of North Carolina and graduated with a B.A. from Middlebury College. She has a variety of field experience ranging from conducting bird censuses in Tanzania to researching avian speciation in white sand forests of the Peruvian Amazon. In 2009 Katherine headed out west to Jackson to work as an avian field technician at Grand Teton National Park. She joined the Craighead Beringia South team to work on the raven and eagle projects. When she is not bird-watching, Katherine enjoys running, doing arts and crafts, and playing old timey numbers with her family band, the Carolina Cardinals.
Trapper Haynam
Trapper has been a seasonal technician on the raven project since 2005. After completing his undergraduate degree in both Wildlife and Geology, Trapper will continue his education by pursuing a Master's degree at the University of Montana. He will be modeling Craighead Beringia South's sage-grouse data. In addition Trapper is working on his Wilderness First Responder's Certification in the Tetons. Trapper enjoys break dancing, rock climbing, baking and statistics.
Paul Hood
Paul works on GIS analysis and mapping for different projects as well as evaluates new project opportunities. He was born in central Wisconsin and finished his undergraduate at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Here in the Tetons he has worked a variety of jobs ranging from Big Horn Sheep technician to Trail Maintenance and Fuels Crew Leader. Paul enjoys adventures in his VW van, spending time in the backcountry, music, Nimbus (his beautiful dog) and working with youth at Red Top Meadows in Jackson.
Katie Dahlgren
Katie joins Craighead Beringia South with a background in engineering, construction and non-profit work. At Craighead Beringia South she coordinates development, communications and overall organizational operations. She received her B.S. in Civil Engineering (2005) at Washington State University. Born in South Africa, Katie grew up in Seattle and has lived in the Jackson area since 2007. She enjoys skiing, hiking, live music, paddle boarding, volunteering in the community, and new adventures.
Craighead Beriniga South is operated by a Board of Directors.
Board of Directors
Carol Gonnella
Peter Jenny
Roger Scott
Michael and Tana Wall
Sophie Craighead*
Peter Van Roijen*
Maurice Hornocker*
*Emeritus