Our Staff
About
Brad joined the Joint Venture as the Science Coordinator in 2024 working out of the Nebraska Coop Fish & Wildlife Research Unit. His background in natural resources and conservation is diverse and spans multiple states. Originally, from rural Missouri, he earned a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Environmental Studies at Truman State University (2016). Then he spent several years traveling, which included time spent on a national wildlife refuge in Massachusetts, collecting long-term monitoring data with the National Park Service in Missouri, and providing scientific support for the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture in Nebraska. Narrowing in on conservation partnerships and geospatial applications, he traveled south to earn a M.Sc. in Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture at Mississippi State University (2023) with research focused on spatial conservation planning. He stayed at MSU to work as the Coordinator for the CRP Menu project before returning to Nebraska and the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture. In his spare time, Brad enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, camping, and/or birding in addition to spending time indoors playing board games, trivia, and catching live music at local venues. You may also catch him daydreaming about restoring tallgrass prairie and oak savanna for grassland birds.
About
Andy is a native of Nebraska - born and raised in Kearney. He earned his B.S. and M.S. at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, after which he worked for the Central Platte Natural Resources District, focusing on Geographic Information System data analysis and development of spatially explicit Decision Support Tools. In 2003, Andy joined the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture and then the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Much of his work during that time involved developing biological and geographic models to help quantify the habitat needs of migratory waterfowl in the Rainwater Basin and to identify locations with the greatest potential habitat value. Since becoming RWBJV coordinator in 2009, Andy has worked on broadening and diversifying the partnership and its funding sources, and has supported initiatives that benefit both agriculture and wildlife habitat. When not working, Andy enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, Kristen, and three children, Riley, Addy, and A.J.
About
Roger received a degree in Environmental Geography from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2008. Upon graduation, he started working for the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, where he performs geospatial analysis and data management, and oversees daily operations of the GIS lab. Roger believes kayak fishing is the greatest sport known to man. He lives in Hastings with his wife Amanda, their two children, and a dog, Polly.
About
Brody Vorderstrasse was hired in 2020 through a partnership with the Central Platte Natural Resources District, NRCS, and RWBJV as a Communications Assistant. Brody is originally from Glenvil, Nebraska. Brody went to college at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated in 2017 with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife and a minor in Animal Science. After college he moved to Iowa to work with two online hunting shows, Midwest Whitetail and The Hunting Public. While he was there, he was mainly a videographer, but also helped produce podcasts, social media content, and edited video blogs. In his free time, Brody enjoys getting outdoors and hunting deer, turkeys, and snow geese.
About
Nelson Winkel is the Prescribed Fire Planning Specialist with the Central Platte Natural Resource District located in Grand Island, NE. His position covers lands in the areas of Twin Platte, Middle Republican, Tri-Basin, Lower Loup and Central Platte NRDs. Outside of his job for the NRD, he enjoys growing vegetables and native flowers while also helping the Wood River Volunteer Fire Department. Nelson has over 10 years of experience in managing rangeland with fire. His goal is to help land operators be competent at using controlled burning to manage grazing and to prevent loss of their land from cedar trees invasion. Please contact Nelson to see if controlled burning can be a “good match” for your operation.
About
Sadique joined the Joint Venture as a GIS Specialist in 2024. This is a collaborative position between the Nebraska Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) to provide additional GIS capacity and support to NGPC and the Joint Venture partnership. Originally from Bangladesh, Sadique earned a BSc and MSc degrees in Disaster Management from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (2020) working on an environmental impact assessment for the Sundarbans mangrove forest. He later earned a MSc in Geography and the Environment from Texas Tech University (2023) with research focused on global stilling, the decrease in wind speed near Earth's surface, and its impacts. When not working, Sadique enjoys traveling, outdoor activities, and sports.
About
Dakota was hired in 2023 through a partnership with the Nebraska Community Foundation as Operations and Grant Manager. He received a degree in computer science from Missouri State University. Dakota loves to hunt and do water sports. He lives in Hastings with his son Griffin.
