CURRENT MISSION

I'm not sure I have a 'mission' as such. I guess I want to see as much as I can, do as much as I can, and never, ever say "I wish I had done that" instead of "I wish I hadn't done that."

ABOUT ME

I retired from government in 1999 and now I travel about eight or nine months out of the year. I've spent the past few years in Central and South America and the South Pacific. A couple of years ago my brother and I drove from Wisconsin in the USA to Panama. It took seven weeks and I'd do it again if I were 20 years younger, or had someone twenty years younger to share the driving with.

I worked at the Colorado Division of Wildlife for 25+ years as a Wildlife Conservation Officer, a Non-game and Endangered Species Biologist, the Land Use Coordinator, the Human Dimensions/ Responsive Management Coordinator, and as the Head of Environmental Education. I am currently an Associate Faculty member at University College, University of Denver, teaching Wildlife Management and Policy, Environmental Policy Analysis, Environmental Politics, and Environmental Values and Ethics in the Environmental Policy and Management program. I am also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Natural Resources, Recreation and Tourism at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and hold an appointment to the graduate faculty of the Graduate School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado at Denver. My educational background is a B.S. from the University of Utah in Environmental Biology, an M.S. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Zoology, and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Denver in Public Administration. My doctoral dissertation was, "Ethical Issues in State Wildlife Policy: A Qualitative Analysis." I am also Senior Associate for Qualitative Research with Responsive Management, a private consulting firm specializing in the social science aspects of wildlife management issues.

At the broadest level, my area of proficiency is environmental policy analysis. More specifically I offer expertise in social science research combined with a strong background in the technical aspects of natural resource management, especially wildlife ecology and conservation biology. I specialize in qualitative research techniques although I have extensive experience in traditional, quantitative research. The techniques I am most familiar with and have the most experience in are: Focus Groups, Semi-Structured Interviews, Delphi Groups, Qualitative Content Analysis, Nominal Group Analysis, and Case Study Research. Additionally I offer expertise and extensive experience in organizational analysis and administration.

My current professional interests are in the societal and cultural aspects of environmental policy and environmental ethics. I am especially interested in the application of integrated social science research to natural resource management, policy formulation and analysis. I have a strong commitment to the development of ethical environmental policy and a strong interest in expanding the scope of my proficiency in national and international issues.

PHILOSOPHY

Belief in the supernatural is the underlying cause of most of human suffering. The profound confusion of Spirituality and religiousness that pervades the world’s Religions is harmful to the individual and to all societies. Earth is the home planet, it is all we have and we had better learn to enjoy, and protect it. I practice a westernized form of Theravada buddhism (that's Buddhism with a small 'b') and am primarily concerned with making my life on Earth and life on Earth the best it can be.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've been using Couch Surfing mostly for information. However I am more available now than in the past as my own travels have taken a cut this year.

Interests

SCUBA, bird watching, reading SciFi, opera, swinging in a hammock.

• wildlife
• birds
• education
• ethics
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• opera
• surfing
• scuba diving
• buddhist
• biology
• ecology
• teaching
• public administration
• religion
• science
• social science
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Opera, SciFi, most anything. I write (unpublished) mystery and ScFi novels for enjoyment.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Probably the most amazing thing in the past couple of years was a week living with a Houarani tribe in the Amazon and two weeks in a Kuna village in Panama.

•