The Wisconservation Corps: Meet Our Members

About the Corps     Meet Our Members     Join the Corps

The Wisconservation Corps is the Natural Resources Foundation's professional AmeriCorps program. Each year, the Foundation places Wisconservation Corps members at non-profit and state agency offices around Wisconsin. Wisconservation Corps members work full or part-time positions in land management, education and outreach, volunteer coordination, and field research.  Below you'll find information about our currently serving members . . .

Jenna Assmus, Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin
Jenna was born in Viroqua, WI and spent her first five years in The Driftless Area of the state.  Her family then uprooted and moved to South Dakota where she spent much of her time pining for Wisconsin and the annual camping trips her family would take there.  Since graduating from Briar Cliff University where she majored in Graphic Design and Mass Communications, she has worked four years with environmentally focused non-profits in the Pacific Northwest.  As a Wisconservation Corps member, Jenna is placed with the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin working with the SNA campaign, field trip program and communications.

Alexander Britzius, MacKenzie Environmental Education Center
Although he was born and raised in Trempealeau County, WI, Alexander is not yet convinced of his origins, and continues to search.  His search has led him to a yoga center in MA, a fishing lodge in AK, a survival school in NJ, a B.A. in Art from UW-Stevens Point emphasizing 3D with a minor in Environmental Education & MacKenzie Environmental Education Center as an educator.  Outside of MacKenzie, Alexander is a tour guide at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center outside Baraboo, rock climbs, and wanders all the wild places he can find taking pictures, collecting wild edibles, tracking, and learning from the birds.  Post AmeriCorps Alexander plans to do a yearlong Wilderness Survival and Mentorship program to deepen his EE teaching skills, and one day have a piece of land in WI to caretake and call home.


Courtney LeClair, Wisconsin DNR - Madison
Courtney LeClair grew up in Door County where she observed the influences that the environment has in our happiness and gained a great appreciation for natural processes. She graduated in 2004 from Edgewood College in Madison, WI with a B.S. in Biology. She is currently working as the Early Detection Invasive Plant Coordinator with the Wisconsin DNR in Madison where she maps new locations of target invasive plants and gives presentations to a variety of focus groups. In the future, she would like to continue working on invasive plant control, education, and restoration.

Adam Stone, Wisconsin DNR - South Kettles
While growing up in Oconomowoc, WI, Adam and his family enjoyed the nearby Kettle Moraine State Forest as they hiked on the Scuppernong Trails and swam in Ottawa Lake.  Because of his love for nature, Adam chose to pursue a B.S. in Natural Resources-Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.   Adam continued to enjoy nature during college by skiing in Lake Tahoe and Jackson Hole, mountain biking in Fruita, CO, and winter camping and backpacking along the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  After graduating in December 2008, Adam joined the Wisconservation Corps and is placed with the DNR in the Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest; the same place he often visited as a child.  Adam hopes to restore and maintain much of his old stomping grounds during his time in the Wisconservation Corps by working with the DNR.


Ann Calhoun, The Nature Conservancy
Growing up surrounded by corn and soybean fields in Lockridge, Iowa, Ann idolized her county park naturalist and knew she wanted to have a career in the natural resources. Her decision to attend Wartburg College opened many doors for her including a trip to the rainforest in Guyana, South America. While in college, Ann was a summer stewardship intern with The Nature Conservancy of Iowa—where she fell in love with grassland ecosystems and land management.  After graduation, she had wanderlust and decided to traipse the country pursuing seasonal jobs in land stewardship and prescribed/wildland fire which led her to positions in Arkansas, Virginia, and California. Oddly, she missed the humidity of the Midwest and in 2007 moved to the beautiful landscapes of Wisconsin where she hopes to stay. Ann is very excited to be working with TNC again and has greatly enjoyed the many opportunities the AmeriCorps program offers.  


Sarah Randle, Mississippi Valley Conservancy
Sara grew up on a tiny spring fed lake in northern Barron County. Her enthusiasm for working in the outdoors stems from her childhood exploring the countryside. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she graduated with a degree in Geography- Resource Management. Her path in college was all but ordinary, as she pursued alternative opportunities such as studying abroad in Thailand, doing a national student exchange program at Humboldt State University in the redwoods of California, and completing an AmeriCorps program with an environmental non-profit called EarthCorps in Seattle, Washington. Although Sara still has a passion for traveling, she is now focused on learning more in depth about Wisconsin’s flora, fauna, and landscape. She is now an AmeriCorps volunteer for the Mississippi Valley Conservancy in La Crosse. The Driftless Area of Wisconsin is unexplored territory for Sara; she has already fallen in love with the bluffs and looks forward to the bird migrations on the Mississippi River. Her other interests include hiking, gardening, dancing, yoga and sustainable living. She is excited to participate in this AmeriCorps program on her pursuit to more fully appreciate the intricacies of the Earth.


Bobbie Webster, The Nature Conservancy
Bobbie grew up in Wisconsin Rapids, WI.  Frequent family camping trips throughout the state helped develop her interest in nature. She pursued her interest in the environment and politics at University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point where she studied Political Science and Resource Management with a Land Use Planning emphasis. After working with the Center for Land Use Education to educate landowners and local officials about addressing forests on comprehensive plans, Bobbie returned to University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point for a M.S. in Forest Ecology.   Bobbie is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with The Nature Conservancy in Door County through the Wisconservation Corps.  She will be assisting with a variety of resource management activities including: mapping trails, planting trees, controlling invasive species, surface water sampling, and research on the Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly.