Our Leadership
Executive Committee & Executive Director
Leopoldo “Leo” Miranda-Castro – Executive Director
Owner and Manager of Ochille Farm
Leopoldo “Leo” Miranda-Castro is the owner and manager of Ochille Farm in west-central Georgia. Until the end of 2022, he was the Southeast Regional Director of the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (2018-2022). Leo oversaw the work of approximately 1,300 federal employees in carrying out the Federal Government’s partnership role in conserving fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within 10 southeastern states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Leo began his work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a Private Lands biologist in his native Puerto Rico, later becoming the national coordinator for the private lands program and then Program Supervisor of the Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office in Annapolis, Maryland. He then was selected as the Assistant Regional Director of the Southeast Region’s Ecological Services Program. An advocate of public-private conservation partnerships, he points to the success of the shade-grown coffee industry, sustainable timber production and protecting military bases buffer zones in conservation as examples of how government organizations and private landowners can work together to achieve real "win/win" outcomes for people and for wildlife. On any given weekend, you are likely to find Leo in a tree stand or by a river, hunting or fishing with his son, Pablo and his wife Jessica. Leo attributes much of their shared love of nature and commitment to conservation to the pursuit of these outdoor recreational pastimes, and hunting in particular. Leo was a career Senior Executive Service, the highest career-level position in the federal government. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of Puerto Rico and a Master of Science in Zoology from North Carolina State University. He and his wife Jessica, son Pablo, and their four-legged family members live in west-central Georgia.
Tony Wasley – Executive Committee Chair
President, Wildlife Management Institute
Tony Wasley is the President of the Wildlife Management Institute (WMI). As President of WMI, Tony serves on the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP), Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports (CAHSS), and the USGS Cooperative Research Units, National Cooperators’ Coalition (NCC). He is a professional member of the Boone and Crockett Club and The Wildlife Society.
Before joining WMI, Tony served as Director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife for ten years, where he also served as the state deer biologist, an area biologist, and a habitat staff specialist. He previously chaired the North American Wetland Conservation Council (NAWCC), served as President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), sat on the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council (a federal advisory committee to the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture), and was president of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA). He graduated from the National Conservation Leadership Institute, received B.S. degrees in Wildlife Management and Biological Sciences from California State University, Chico, and earned an M.S. in Biology from Idaho State University.
Cindy K. Dohner – Past Executive Committee Chair 2021-2022
President, Cindy K. Dohner LLC
Cindy Dohner is an independent environmental consultant with extensive experience in comprehensive natural resource conservation providing support to Federal and State Agencies Fish and Wildlife Agencies, private landowners, NGOs, and industry. She is a strong business professional with experience in landscape and watershed conservation, building partnerships, species conservation, and assisting landowners solve large scale conservation issues. She worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 25 years, and before her retirement in August 2017, she served as the Regional Director of Southeast Region. She provided vision, leadership, and oversight for activities in 10 States and the Caribbean and oversaw the management of 130 national wildlife refuges, 24 national fish hatcheries and fishery offices, and 16 Ecological Services offices with more than 1500 employees. She earned her B.S. in Marine Biology from Millersville University, and a M.S. in Fisheries and Aquaculture from the University of Rhode Island.
Jimmy Bullock
Senior Vice President of Forest Sustainability, Resource Management Service, LLC
Jimmy Bullock oversees sustainable forestry and environmental policy and programs and advocacy on forestry issues for RMS-managed timberlands in the United States. He also has responsibility for forest certification and audit programs and leads environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives for RMS-managed timberlands globally. He has a well-established track record of supporting innovation in voluntary and collaborative wildlife conservation on working forestlands. Jimmy earned his B.S. degree in Forestry from Mississippi State University in 1980 and his M.S. degree in Wildlife Ecology from Mississippi State in 1982. A Certified Wildlife Biologist, Mississippi Registered Forester and Society of American Foresters Certified Forester, Jimmy is on the Board of Directors for the National Conservation Leadership Institute, the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, the Mississippi Wildlife Federation, the Forest Landowner’s Association, and the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy.
Mike Leahy
Senior Director of Wildlife, Hunting, and Fishing Policy, National Wildlife Federation
Mike supports the restoration of all wildlife populations through his work on policy related to wildlife, hunting, fishing, and public lands. Mike’s priorities include transforming wildlife conservation for the 21st century through funding and improving the Endangered Species Act and other wildlife laws; representing the conservation interests of hunters and anglers in healthy, abundant wildlife populations and habitat; and ensuring national forests, wildlife refuges, and other national lands remain in public ownership and are well managed. Mike’s work is informed by over two decades of work to conserve wildlife and natural resources, and an interest in all things outdoors. Mike has been Conservation Director for the Izaak Walton League of America; Rockies and Plains Director and Natural Resources Counsel for Defenders of Wildlife; and Forest Campaign Director for National Audubon Society. Mike enjoys getting out to hunt, fish, hike, and have fun in the outdoors. Mike has a law degree from Georgetown University and studied Natural Resources at Cornell University.
Dave Tenny
President and CEO, National Alliance of Forest Owners
Dave Tenny is the founding President and CEO of NAFO. Under his leadership, NAFO has grown from 14 initial members in 2008 to 49 member companies that own and manage 46 million acres of private working forests and 31 state and national associations that represent tens of millions of additional acres. Dave’s passion for building trust and pursuing solutions-based advocacy has helped NAFO become a leading national advocate for the economic, environmental and social benefits of America’s sustainably managed private forests.
Dave previously served as Vice President for Forestry and Wood Products for the American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) and as Deputy Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment at the United States Department of Agriculture where he had responsibility for the U.S. Forest Service. He got his start in the U.S. House of Representatives where he served as Counsel and Natural Resources Policy Advisor for the House Committee on Agriculture and as Counsel for U.S. Representative Wally Herger of California.
A native of Boise, Idaho, he earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and a law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Lucas Cooksey
Project Director, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute
Lucas Cooksey is a Project Director for the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute under the Military Lands Sustainability, and Strategic Conservation and Policy Programs. His work supports blending policy, planning, and practice into seamless programs that both sustain and enhance active land use alongside meaningful natural resource conservation. With over 20 years of experience in Natural Resources Management, his career includes appointments as a Park Ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, serving as the U.S. Army Fort Sam Houston & U.S. Air Force Joint Base San Antonio – Natural Resource Program Manager, the Senior Natural Resource Specialist for the U.S. Army Environmental Command, and the Natural Resources Program Manager for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command Headquarters, where he lead the conservation programs on over 75 Army Installations throughout the U.S and Abroad. His development of innovative projects that balance ecosystem management and military readiness have been recognized by receiving the Texas Parks & Wildlife “Lonestar Land Steward Award” in 2010 and the Secretary of the Army “Civilian Service Commendation Medal” in 2020. Lucas attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Range and Wildlife Management and then obtained a Master’s Degree in Biology from Texas State University – San Marcos. Outside of work he enjoys quality time spent in the outdoors with his wife and daughter.