A JOURNEY TOWARD ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

Raised in upstate New York, Mike earned a BS and MS in secondary science at SUNY-Oneonta and Cornell and then a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology at Iowa State University. , His varied career included an assistant professorship at the University of Maine-Orono&rsquo,s School of Forest Resources, Field Director for The Wildlife Society, Audubon&rsquo,s Director of Federal Relations, program development officer for the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences)&mdash,where he formed a committee to address renewable natural resources issues&mdash,and tenure with Tenneco, Inc., a Fortune 50 Company. , While there, he graduated from the University of Virginia&rsquo,s Darden Business School&rsquo,s &ldquo,The Executive Program.&rdquo, , Mike was promoted to Director of Environmental, Health &, Safety (EH&,S) for Tenneco Oil E&,P. , From there, he became VP of EH&,S for Transco Energy Co. Under his leadership, the companies received the National Wildlife Federation&rsquo,s &ldquo,Conservation Achievement Award,&rdquo, , Ducks Unlimited&rsquo,s &ldquo,Silver Teal Award,&rdquo, and The Conservation Fund&rsquo,s &ldquo,Calder Award.&rdquo, He then served in Governor Pataki&rsquo,s cabinet as Commissioner (CEO) of New York&rsquo,s Dept. of Environmental Conservation. , After leaving the DEC, he helped found and served as president of the Conservation Alliance of New York and recently retired as President and CEO of the Ruffed Grouse Society&mdash,an international wildlife conservation organization promoting sound forest management for the benefit of both hunted and non-hunted wildlife. His awards/recognition include a letter from President Carter thanking him for his help in passing the Fish &, Wildlife Conservation Act of 1980 (later known as CARA), induction into the &ldquo,Hall of Fame&rdquo, by the offshore energy industry for his work at Tenneco on wetlands mitigation banking and &ldquo,Rigs to Reefs&rdquo, (converting reti