Staff and Board

Dan joined IWF as executive director in October of 2022.  Growing up in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Dan has had a lifelong love affair with wildlife and wild spaces.  His background includes fieldwork with Atlantic puffins off the coast of Maine, cheetahs in Namibia, Weddell seals in Antarctica, American redstarts in Jamaica, and avian glass collisions. After working for the Smithsonian Institution for over a decade he moved to Indianapolis with his wife Katie and two sons. Since moving to Indiana he has led the Indianapolis Zoo in their development of their Flights of Fancy Exhibit and led the beloved environmental education-themed Holliday Park for the city of Indianapolis. Dan loves hiking, birdwatching, basketball and spending time outdoors with his friends and family.

Aaron joined the Indiana Wildlife Federation in 2016 as Habitat Programs Manager. Born and raised in Indiana, he received a degree in computer graphics from Purdue and moved to Oregon. While there, his love of nature was rekindled and, after 4 years, he and his wife decided to move back home so he could pursue a degree in environmental science from IU. Aaron has worked with field geologists and as an intern for the Indiana government, but his real passion is working for non-profit organizations. He loves to spend his free time hiking, camping, and gardening.

We recently brought former Board Member Tina Mahern onto the IWF team. Tina will collaborate with our team to make the public aware of IWF’s mission through social media and communication strategies. She is passionate about preserving public lands and the wildlife that depends on us. She brings experience in non-profit fundraising, volunteer management, and public interaction.
Born in France, Tina grew up as an Air Force dependent and traveled during her youth throughout continental Europe and the US. She learned how to hunt, fish, identify and track animals, ride horses and inherited her love of wildlife from her outdoorsman father. Tina loves hiking with her two standard dachshunds and passing her love of the outdoors on to her grandsons. She is an avid gardener, cook, painter, builder and an entrepreneur.

Marc joined IWF in May of 2024 as the Field Coordinator for Clean Water Engagement. An agronomist by profession, Marc brings over 35 years of professional experience in agriculture and environmental restoration. Although born and raised in Indiana, Marc’s professional career has taken him across the country and globe pursuing his love for both agriculture and wild places. His career started in the beef cattle industry where he worked in the western states cooperating with ranchers and recruiting cattle for a retained ownership program supported by feedlot operators and end users. As this program ended, Marc found his professional calling in the field of Agronomy and has never looked back. Marc is an advocate for using conservation practices to enhance yields and profitability and has dramatically decreased the amount of chemical inputs his growers use on their farms while supporting high yields and economic success. His work has shown healthy soils pay big dividends and that healthy soils and clean water go hand in hand. Marc inherited his love for wild places from his late father who instilled a respect for nature at a young age. His professional career has also included time spent as a professional mountain guide and project manager overseeing restoration projects in Michigan, Indiana, and Wyoming.

Marc lives in Plymouth, Indiana with his wife Teresa where they enjoy life with their two dogs. He is an avid outdoorsman who loves hunting and fishing pursuing these activities in the states of Indiana and Wyoming. His other pastimes include snow skiing, mountain biking, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and training Border Collie dogs. He also serves on the agricultural board for STEMM, an orphanage in Tanzania which is supported by agricultural endeavors and has worked extensively throughout Africa.

Marc is excited to serve with the team and board of the Indiana Wildlife Federation as an expert in the fields of conservation and agriculture and looks forward to promoting activities to help improve water quality for his fellow Hoosiers.