Board of Directors
David Reynolds, Chairman of the Board
Mr. Reynolds holds a master’s degree in industrial safety and is a Certified Safety Professional. After 34 years in the safety profession, he retired to pursue other interests. He and his wife of 34 years live in Springfield, Missouri. Living in this area gives him the opportunity to pursue his passions for the outdoors, including hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing and mushroom hunting. In 1999, he and his wife led an initiative to purchase 340 acres at Cedar Gap, which they donated to the Missouri Department of Conservation through the Foundation. The couple are also Lutheran Missionaries, organizing teams to travel to Brazil annually to build churches. Mr. Reynolds has also served on the Board of Directors for the Ozarks Regional Land Trust.
Steve Mowry, President
Mr. Mowry, a partner of Von Erdmannsdorff, Mowry and Bartlett law firm of Kansas City, is a past president of the Missouri Prairie Foundation. During his term as president with that organization, he organized the Smithville Lake Prairie Revitalization Project in Clay County. He also began a Missouri chapter of the North American Grouse Partnership, and is a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited. In July 2009, Field and Stream magazine recognized Mr. Mowry as a "Hero of Conservation" for his prairie conservation and revitalization efforts in the Mystic Plains Conservation Opportunity Area in Adair and Sullivan Counties. Of his award, he is quick to praise public agency staff and private landowners for making prairie restoration a reality in northeastern Missouri. In addition to his conservation leadership efforts, Mr. Mowry also is the founding member and organizer of the Sarah McCoy Foundation, which provides educational opportunities to young people in Clinton, Buchanan and Andrew Counties.
Stephen Bradford, Secretary
A former Conservation Commissioner, Mr. Bradford has a lifelong interest and participation in conservation efforts and outdoor activities. For 38 years, he has worked in the public and private sectors specializing in financial management and business development. He served in leadership roles for five Missouri governors and served as Commissioner of Administration for both Democratic and Republican governors. As a Conservation Commissioner—appointed in 2000—Mr. Bradford worked to improve departmental financial management and to increase and improve Missouri's trout and quail populations. He currently operates Missouri's largest home health services company and runs several farming operations. Among his many honors and recognitions, Mr. Bradford is a Conservation Federation of Missouri Life Member.
Ann Sullins, Vice-President
Ms. Sullins, of St. Louis, grew up in a hunting and fishing family in West Plains, Missouri. Her lifelong love of the outdoors was nurtured by the woods surrounding her childhood home, and the diverse wildlife and crystal clear streams of the Ozarks. Today, Ms. Sullins carries out her strong interest in cons
ervation efforts through service on the Confluence Greenway Advisory Board and as chair of the Advisory Board for The Trust for Public Land – Missouri. Ms. Sullins joins the Foundation board with more than 20 years of experience in community affairs and public service. She is the former Vice President, Director of Community Relations for Commerce Bank, St. Louis, where she directed the corporate and foundation charitable giving efforts for eastern Missouri and central Illinois. Among her current civic roles, Ms. Sullins serves on the boards of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theatre of St. Louis and is a board member of the Gateway Center for Giving. Previously she served nine years on the Clayton Board of Education where she was president for three years. She is a 2001 Woman of Achievement and is a graduate of Leadership of St. Louis.
Jim Carson, Treasurer
Jim graduated from the University of Missouri School of Businesss in 1969 then spen
t two years in the Army with a tour in Vietnam. Upon return from Vietnam Jim started to work in the family construction business and continues to work as the company transitions into it's third generation. Jim and his wife Ginny have lived on the family farm in Lawrence County for many years where Jim has, with the help of the Missouri Department of Conservation and various incentive programs such as EQIP and WHIP, transformed the 400+ acres into a farm where wildlife and commercial farming and cattle raising not only coexist but where they benefit each other. Jim has been an avid outdoorsman enjoying hunting, fishing, backpacking, hiking and anything else outdoors since he was a child roaming these southern Missouri hills. His love of conservation and wildlife management continues to this day.
Dave Erickson
Mr. Erickson, of Columbia, earned a Master's degree in wildlife management from Pennsylvania State University in 1977. In 2009, he retired after 33 years with the Department of Conservation. His first job with the 
Department of Conservation was as a wildlife research biologist working with furbearing mammals. Dave worked as a researcher for seven years, and as a research supervisor for two years. He also worked in a variety of other capacities for the Department, including as a special programs supervisor, an assistant chief of Wildlife Division, the first administrator of the Department's Administrative Services Division under Director Jerry Conley, as Wildlife Division chief under John Hoskins, and finally as an assistant director where he oversaw the Department's resource division operations. In 2009, Dave was honored with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies' highest award, the Seth Gordon Award. He also received the E. Sydney Stephens Professional Wildlife Award from the Missouri chapter of The Wildlife Society in 2006 and the G. Andy Runge Award from the same organization in 2006.
Jan Horton
Ms. Horton has been active for nearly three decades promoting community development, the arts and environmental concerns in Springfield. She is president emeritus of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and also served as executive director, president and CEO of that organization for 14 years. Prior to that, she worked as teleauction and underwriting coordinator at KOZK public television. Among her extensive contributions as a volunteer, Ms. Horton helped create the Junior League of Springfield and has served on the boards of the Springfield Arts Council, Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Springfield, Springfield Little Theater, Missouri Citizens for the Arts, National Audubon Society and Missouri Nature Conservancy. She also assisted in the formation of Ozarks Friends of the Environment. Among her many honors, she was named Springfieldian of the Year in 1998.
Chip McGeehan
Chip McGeehan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in fisheries and wildlife management at the University of Missouri – Columbia. He went on to pursue a career in business, but remains dedicated to wildlife management and conservation. He sustainably grazes herds of bison on his 1,000-acre ranch along the James River in Webster County, where he also hosts annual hunting and fishing opportunities. He enjoys bow hunting and angling, and he is very active in the recruitment of youth hunters. He served as a Missouri Conservation Commissioner from 2005 to 2011 and was instrumental in the Department’s elk restoration program. He is a lifetime member of the Conservation Federation of Missouri and serves on the Federation’s board of directors.
Cynthia Metcalfe
Ms. Metcalfe, of St. Louis, earned a degree in history and is a former IBM systems designer. She served as a Missouri Conservation Commissioner from 2001 to 2007. In addition to that appointment, Ms. Metcalfe has served on the University City Council, the St. Louis County Boundary Commission, Missouri Governors’ Task Forces on Education and Juvenile Delinquency, and the St. Louis Community Colleges tax campaign and Foundation Board. Currently, she is a member of a steering committee to develop a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Audubon project at the Riverlands Environmental Demonstration Area along the Mississippi River. Ms. Metcalfe's passion for nature stems from her childhood spent exploring rural St. Louis county; summers as a camper in Wisconsin and the Quetico wilderness; teaching youth camping, sailing and canoeing; weekends identifying wildflowers at a Franklin County family farm; backpacking and camping in the Rocky Mountains with her family; constant gardening; extensive cycling trips with her husband; and battling invasive species at their land in Warren County. “I want every child and adult in Missouri," she said, "to have the opportunity to experience and develop a reverence for our natural world, now and forever."
Lowell Mohler
Mr. Mohler was born and raised on a farm near Oregon, Missouri, and is a 1958 graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in agriculture. Following military service he worked for both the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Agriculture and then joined the Missouri Farm Bureau retiring as Chief Administrative Officer in 1996. He was awarded the Master Conservationist Award by the Department of Conservation in 2000 for his longtime efforts in bringing agriculture and conservation interests together. Lowell was appointed Missouri Director of Agriculture in 2001 and served until appointed a member of the Missouri Conservation Commission in 2003. He was a strong supporter of youth programs, wetland expansion and habitat development during his years on the Commission and continues those same interests today. Mr. Mohler is a longtime member of Ducks Unlimited, the Conservation Federation and the National Rifle Association and enjoys hunting and fishing whenever possible. He continues to be active in the family farming operation on the Missouri river near Jefferson City and also farms in Holt County, Missouri.
Jim Wilson
Jim has been a biologist, educator and administrator for most of his life. Formerly with the Missouri Department of Conservation in endangered species, natural history and education, Jim helped develop and supervise natural history programs, nature centers and conservation education programs across the state.
In his current position as part of the Des Lee Collaborative Vision at UM-St. Louis, he works with Forest Park Forever to develop education programs to connect people to nature in the 1,200-acre urban park and the greater St. Louis region.
Jim has recently served on the boards of directors for the Open Space Council of Greater St. Louis and the Discovery Expedition of St. Charles, a group that researches, re-enacts and interprets the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He is currently a member of the boards of Audubon Missouri and the St. Louis Audubon Society, and cooperator with the Confluence Greenway, a confederation of interests supporting conservation, recreation and heritage activities around the confluence of the big rivers near St. Louis.
Don Bedell
Ex-Officio
Don Bedell has been a member of the Conservation Commission since 2009. Mr. Bedell is an accomplished businessman, avid conservationist and enthusiastic sportsman. He is a Life Sponsor of Ducks Unlimited, a Life Member of Quail Unlimited, Inc., a Sustaining Member of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, a Diamond Sponsor of the National Wild Turkey Federation and a Life Member of Safari Club International. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Master of Science in Animal Nutrition with a double minor in biochemistry and wildlife. He is owner of B&B Boats and Bikes in Sikeston and B&R Marine & Cycle in Batesville, Ark. He has founded and run numerous other businesses, primarily in healthcare/nursing home management. He serves on numerous boards of directors and is an advisory board member to the Southeast Missouri State University College of Health and Human Services.
Robert L. Ziehmer
Ex-Officio
On January 15, 2010, Mr. Ziehmer assumed the duties of Director of the Missouri Department of Conservation, serving as the Department’s eighth Director since its formation in 1937. He believes that citizen input and involvement are critical to conservation. One of his top priorities as Director will be maintaining the citizen confidence and support that have made Missouri a national conservation leader.
A native of California, Missouri, Mr. Ziehmer currently resides there with his wife and daughters. He began his Conservation Department career in 1991, and holds bachelor and master’s degrees in fish and wildlife management from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
