New MDF President/CEO Joel Pedersen – Season 4 Episode 5 – April 14

Today we have our first Talking Mule Deer conversation with the Mule Deer Foundation’s new President/CEO, Joel Pedersen. Joel tells us about how he grew up hunting and fishing with his family and how a chance encounter on a boy scout camping trip in New Mexico led him to become a wildlife biologist. He describes his educational path and his early years in the wildlife profession before heading to the National Wild Turkey Federation where he worked for 22 years. We hear about various programs Joel was involved with including NWTF’s forest stewardship, conservation policy, and outreach campaigns, as well as strategic planning and organizational development efforts. We then transition to hear about what excited Joel about the opportunity to work for MDF and how Talking Mule Deer helped him prepare for the interview and the job. Joel describes his first weeks at MDF and how he’s spent the past month getting to know the staff and fully understand the work that is going on. He talks about his priorities in continuing to build fundraising opportunities as well as growing membership and helping to develop volunteer leadership. We wrap up by talking about MDF’s conservation projects on the near horizon with new grant funding and project work that is lining up for on-the-ground habitat restoration efforts this summer. We hope you agree that the future of MDF is in good hands!