Bob Priddy received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri in 1963. He has been working as a journalist and as a historian for over 30 years. In 2000 he received the University of Missouri Alumni Association’s Faculty-Alumni Award. In 2002 he received the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism — the School’s highest award. Bob is currently the News Director of The Missourinet, a statewide commercial radio network that provides news, sports and special programming to about 60 radio stations in Missouri. The Radio-Television News Directors Association and the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation presented him with a distinguished service award in 2010. This award has been previously given to such figures as Walter Cronkite, C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb, and CBS News President Frank Stanton. He’s a historian who has written four books which focus on Missouri history. Three of them are based on his popular daily radio program, Across Our Wide Missouri. Bob is a member of the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Board of Trustees of the Friends of the Missouri Archives. Bob and his wife reside in Jefferson City, Missouri. They have two grown children.

Doug Ladd is Director of Conservation Science for the Missouri Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. He has been involved with vegetation ecology, fire management, conservation planning, natural area assessment, and ecological management, restoration, and research for more than thirty years, with particular emphasis on vegetation, ecological restoration and fire ecology. He has also worked on lichens in the Midwest for over two decades, and is currently collaborating with Richard Harris of the New York Botanical Garden on a study of Ozark lichens, which has resulted in the discovery of several species and genera new to science. He has undergraduate degrees in botany and chemistry, and a master’s degree in botany from Southern Illinois University, where his thesis research was conducted under Dr. Robert Mohlenbrock on the flora and vegetation of north-central Vermont. In addition to numerous articles and reports, he is the author of two plant field guides, North Woods Wildflowers and Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers, and coauthor of Discover Natural Missouri and Distribution of Illinois Vascular Plants. A research associate at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis and the Morton Arboretum in Chicago, Ladd resides in Webster Groves with his wife Deborah and daughter Melica.

Randy Heidorn currently manages the day to day operations of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC), a model reserve system of over 500 natural areas protected by dedications, conservation easements and other protection agreements. Heidorn specializes in stewardship and defense of natural areas working with scientists, staff, contractors, volunteers, non-governmental organizations, public and private landowners, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), and the Illinois Office of the Attorney General to conserve natural areas. He led efforts in state government in the development and implementation of the Illinois Prescribed Burning Act which certifies prescribed burn managers in the State of Illinois. Heidorn has been closely involved with the initiation of the development of biological control for purple loosestrife and garlic mustard. He helped initiate a process to formally designate special groundwater recharge areas for Illinois’ dedicated Nature Preserves. His 28 year long career in Illinois government has included service as the INPC Deputy Director for Stewardship and District Natural Heritage Biologist for IDNR in the Chicago area. Heidorn received his Masters of Arts in Zoology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1982) and also his Bachelors of Science in Biological Sciences from Southern in 1978.

Randy Heidorn has been a member of the Natural Areas Association since the early 80s and on the Board of the Directors since 1999. He has served on several committees, was the conference chair in 2004 in Chicago, served as treasurer for 5 years and is currently the Vice President. He is also the Treasurer of The Illinois Prescribed Fire Council. Randy lives with his wife Jean Scherer and two boys on a hobby farm in rural Sangamon County, Illinois.

Peter currently works for Pandion Systems, an environmental science, ecology and communications company that since 1997 has designed innovative solutions that strike a balance between the needs of people and the environment. With Pandion he currently works as a lead trainer for the National Association of Interpretation’s Certified Interpretive Guide training program, leads the Gopher Tortoise training program for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and has trained hundreds of teachers in fire ecology for the Florida Division of Forestry. Before joining Pandion in 2006 he worked for The Nature Conservancy where he founded and managed a new program for Florida’s land managers called the Natural Areas Training Academy. Peter managed the academy for five years during which time over 50 land managers earned a certificate in natural areas management. Peter has also been a lead facilitator for a variety of environmental projects from springs protection working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to the Firewise Communities program of the Florida Division of Forestry.

Peter also taught college for 20 years in biology, environmental science and math. He holds an MA in Environmental Interpretation and Resource Geography from Oregon State University and a BS in Zoology and Botany from the University of London, England. Born and raised in England he has lived in the U.S. for 30 years. He shares his nature-based interests with his wife and two sons.