Board and Staff
Russell Kuhlman
Executive Director
Russell was born and raised in Upstate New York and started hunting and fishing at a very early age. He received a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Science from SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY. After college, Russell travelled to Morocco to serve as an Environmental Educator with the United States Peace Corps. Upon his return, he headed west to start his career in the wildlife field. While exploring the West, he discovered the need to protect our wild public lands and wildlife. In his spare time Russell enjoys fly fishing in alpine lakes and exploring our backcountry public lands.
Jose Witt
President
Growing up in southern Nevada, Jose has deep ties to the Mojave Desert, it’s flora and fauna. He grew up exploring the peaks and canyons of Red Rock Canyon NCA and navigating the expansive backcountry of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge by truck and foot. He has ten years of experience in conservation work in various forms including recruiting volunteers in stewardship projects, leading campaigns for public lands protection and most recently as Executive Director of the Southern Nevada Conservancy, leads a team or interpreters to educate the community about the value of public lands. In his free time, he enjoys long backpacking trips with his wife and dog as well as an occasional mountaineering climb of peaks in the West.
Kevin Cabble
Vice President
Kevin has been a NvWF board member for over two decades. He has degrees in Zoology and Fisheries and Wildlife Science. He is a current Master Gardener and a past Homeowners Association President and board member. Kevin is currently employed as a Physical Scientist for the Dept. of Energy.
Tammi Gaudet
Treasurer
Tammi is a licensed Landscape Architect, and has served as President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Executive Director on three other non-profit boards associated with the environment. She is the past Vice President and Treasurer of her HOA; worked for Special Collections Library at the UNLV and has extensive archival knowledge of NV historical documents. Tammi has tremendous organizational skills and an extensive math of finance background. Tammi has a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture and minored in English/Literature. She is currently employed by LAGE Design Landscape Architecture in Henderson, NV.
Raul Morales
Raul is a northern Nevadan resident; recently retired from the Bureau of Land Management.
Grace Palermo
Director
Grace is the Southern Nevada Programs Director at Friends of Nevada Wilderness, based in Las Vegas, where she has worked since 2015. She and her staff develop passionate volunteers, build strong relationships with land managers and community partners to reach new audiences, and find ways to uplift each other’s work. Before becoming a Nevadan, Grace lived on the Oregon coast for a few years where she served an AmeriCorps term with the Bureau of Land Management and met her husband. Grace grew up in Duluth, Minnesota where she was always jumping in lakes and earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and philosophy. She also has an Outdoor Industry Business Certificate from Western Colorado University.
Robert Gaudet
Director
Robert has served on numerous outdoor groups & advisory boards, and has a dynamic speaking voice. He has been a volunteer hunter/angler/archery/conservation education instructor for Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) for total of 25 years. He has a degree in Applied Science and uses technical knowledge to trouble-shoot and solve problems. He is retired from 30 years at a telephone company.
Brian Schmidt
Director
An outdoor person his entire life, Brian has been a Nevada resident for 28 years and has explored extensively throughout the state for work and recreation. He has developed a keen understanding of the relationships between wildlife conservation and human activities. He has been a volunteer Hunter Education Instructor for the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) for 15 years, which has allowed him to positively influence young people’s understanding and awareness of wildlife conservation and ethics. Habitat protection, preservation of public access, and intelligent land use policies are important matters for him.
Jack Prier
Director
Jack grew up on a farm in Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and has a deep fascination with wildlife and habitats. He now lives in Elko, NV. He has Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Chemistry. He has worked as a commercial fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico and the Bering Sea, and has staked land grids for various benefactors of the mining industry. Jack coordinates several tree-planting events every year in the Ely/Elko regions of the state, and he currently works in construction.
