The college's Impact Advisory Board is a forum for discussion, debate and recommendations on issues impacting the college. It also considers issues related to the overall advancement and welfare of the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and makes recommendations to the dean of the school.

Jim Durglo

Jim is a member of the Confederated Salish, Pend d’ Oreille, and Kootenai Tribes of Northwestern Montana (CSKT). He holds a B.S. in Forest Resource Management from the University of Montana (‘87). Durglo also holds a Forest Engineering Institute (FEI) certificate from Oregon State University and a certificate in Continuing Education in Forestry, Ecology, and Silviculture certificate from UM, University of Idaho, and Washington State University collectively. He currently has over 35 years of experience in wildland fire management, forest planning and management, and environmental compliance. Durglo has been the Forestry Department Head for the CSKT since 2003. Prior to that, he was a Forestry Project Planning Program Manager at CSKT, the National Environmental Policy Act Compliance Program Manager at CSKT; a Bureau of Indian Affair’s Environmental Specialist and Forestry Presales Officer at the Yakama Agency in Toppenish, Washington; and a Presales Forester at the Warm Springs Agency in Central Oregon. Durglo also spent some time on the Big Island of Hawaii working for a sugarcane plantation, and spent three summers with the US Forest Service as a smokejumper in Missoula, Montana. He is currently the Inter-Tribal Timber Council’s (ITC) Operations Committee chairman. Jim has served on the Board of Directors for Salish Kootenai College since June of 2009. Durglo was recognized as the Distinguished Native American Alumni in 2014 from the University of Montana W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation.

Dave Franke

David Franke is a principle at Franke & Company, a private investment firm headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Franke & Company is a family office that focuses its efforts on a diverse set of private and alternative investment opportunities. Across the firm’s history, the investment portfolio has included investments into assets such as operating businesses, private equity transactions, real estate, oil & gas, and other alternative asset classes. Franke has been with the firm since 1991. During his tenure, he has assessed hundreds of investment offerings, participated in the negotiations of company investments, and been active in the management and oversight of acquired investments within the company portfolio. Franke & Company is also an active philanthropic investor with a focus toward higher education. David leads the efforts in finding philanthropic opportunities, assessing the merits of such, negotiating the gift and then stewarding the impact of the gift. Franke is a member of the Northern Arizona University Foundation Board, has active committee roles with University of Montana, Mayo Clinic, United Way and other agencies. Prior philanthropic roles have been as Chairman of Sojourner Center (a Phoenix-based domestic violence agency), Chair of Arizona Business Accelerator, Education committee member of Opportunity International, and other roles. Franke holds a B.A. in political science from University of Washington and an MBA from Arizona State University.

Sonya Germann

Sonya Germann was born and raised on a working cattle ranch in southwestern Montana where she cultivated a solid work ethic, a strong sense of community, and a commitment to sustainable stewardship of the land. Sonya has worked with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation for 12 years and is currently the Forestry Division Administrator where she oversees DNRC’s largest division that fosters responsible and proactive stewardship of Montana’s forests and rural lands by providing service to communities and private landowners to promote sustainable forests and watersheds for the benefit of all Montanans. The Division also protects lives, property, and natural resources from wildfire by providing safe and effective services to Montana’s citizens as well as leadership, coordination and resources to the State’s wildfire organizations. Prior to becoming Forestry Division Administrator, Sonya was the Forest Management Bureau Chief for the Trust Land Management Division. As Bureau Chief, she partnered with foresters, applied scientists, and managers to sustainably manage nearly 800,000 acres of forested state trust lands while producing Montana's most predictable supply of timber on an annual basis.

Colin Hardy

Dr. Colin Hardy is the Program Manager for the Forest Service’s Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory.  His research organization is the largest unit in the country dedicated to wildland fire, and the Fire Lab comprises the most comprehensive and largest suite of combustion and wind tunnel facilities in the world. In his early career as a scientist, he worked in smoke emissions characterization and was editor-compiler of the NWCG Smoke Management Guide for Wildland Fire. A mid-career milestone was the Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) project, for which he was the national science lead. Prior to the 2008 restructuring of the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Colin was Project Leader of the Fire Behavior Research Unit. He is a native Missoulian, and a second-generation fire scientist. Education: B.S., Resource Conservation; University of Montana; M.S., Forest Resource Management; University of Washington; PhD in Forestry (thermal infrared remote sensing); University of Montana.

Justin Hokin

Justin has worked in the utility and energy business for 15 years in a private equity capacity. He has spent 20 years in the hotel industry. He manages a venture investment portfolio funding and building Caribbean lodging and real estate, marketing and social media software, beverage development and distribution, private surgery facility and a little recording studio in the Virgin Islands. He assisted in funding and completion of British Virgin Islands’ first comprehensive environmental survey. He has a degree in Geography from UM. Justin loves to travel, fish and hang with his three young daughters.

Dawn Houle

Dawn Houle is Director of Strategic Partnerships for Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc. She previously worked as Chief of Staff for the National Indian Gaming Commission; as a policy analyst for the Indian Health Service; Development Director and Executive Director for the Tulalip Tribes; and as a forest manager for the Quinault Indian Nation. Ms. Houle has an MBA from Saint Martin’s University and a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Montana.

Joel & Patricia Meier

The Meiers have dedicated their lives and legacy to outdoor recreation, conservation, and education. Avid adventurists, Patti and Joel have set foot on all seven continents. Patti has spent her professional career ensuring access to medical and dental care as well as prevention of disease and health education. She devoted her professional career to consulting with Head Start, Migrant Programs, and the Indian Health Service, providing training and technical assistance under the American Indians Program Branch Interagency Agreement. For 45 years, Patti has been a professional ski instructor, first at Missoula’s Snowbowl, and now for Vail Resorts at Beaver Creek and Keystone, Colorado. Joel devoted his career to conservation and environmental education. What connected him to the environment and the outdoors was his initial position as an Outward Bound instructor and training officer for the Peace Corps in Puerto Rico. As a scholar at the University of Montana, Dr. Meier served from 1970 to 1994 as Professor and Coordinator of the Recreation Management Degree Program, and also served a term as Associate Dean of the College of Forestry and Conservation. At Indiana University he served from 1994 to 2007 as Professor and Chair of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Studies. Patti and Joel are active environmentalists and philanthropists. They have endowed academic chair positions at both the University of Montana and Indiana University. Their philanthropic endowment legacy includes the University of Montana Wildland Recreation Management Chair; the Indiana University Outdoor Leadership Chair; the Indiana University Art Museum Chair of Education; the Patricia and Joel Meier National Outdoor Leadership School Scholarship Fund; the Montana Trails, Recreation and Park Association Scholarship Fund; and an endowed scholarship fund at the Keystone Science School.

Mary Mitsos

Mary is president and CEO of the National Forest Foundation. Prior to that, Mary was Director of Community-Based Forest Stewardship at the Pinchot Institute for Conservation where she provided leadership for the program in sustainable forestry and sustaining rural communities. She brings expertise in a range of topics relating to the protection and sustainable management of forest ecosystems and sustainable development. Her specialized interests are in collaborative stewardship, and contracting mechanisms on public forestlands, conservation-based development and strengthening the working relationship between local communities and forestland managers. She is currently a member of the Managing Partner team that provides assistance to non-profits that are participating in The Ford Foundation Community-Based Forestry Demonstration Program. With more than two decades of experience in the natural resources field, Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Business from the University of Colorado-Denver. In addition, she earned an M.S. in Natural Resources, and an M.A. in Applied Economics from the University of Michigan, where she completed her Master’s project on Sustainable Management of Common Property Resources. She served on the steering committee of the Seventh American Forest Congress Communities Committee, as a Board member of the National Network of Forest Practitioners.

Paul Moseley

Paul Moseley is owner of Ruby Springs Lodge in Alder, Montana. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of La Verne. He currently serves on board of trustees for his alma mater. In addition, he serves on the board for Kamilche Company, a privately owned forest products company, Montana Trout Unlimited and the Clark Fork Coalition. His passion is to spend time outside of cell coverage with his children Austin and Bennett.

Mark Nonnenmacher

Mark Nonnenmacher is Executive Vice President-Special Industry Lending and Services at Northwest Farm Credit Services and sits on the Association’s Executive Team. Northwest FC S is a cooperatively-owned provider of financial services to agriculture, forest products and fishing companies in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Alaska and is a member of the nation-wide Farm Credit System.  Mark has 30 years of experience with Farm Credit and one of the teams he leads serves forest land owners and forest products companies, the second largest portfolio at Northwest FCS. He is a 1983 graduate of the University of Montana in Forest Management and a 1987 graduate of the University of Oregon with an MBA in finance. Mark and his wife Laura reside in Spokane Washington and have two grown sons.

Jan Portman

Jan V. Portman has studied, worked and volunteered her time in natural resources, natural sciences and conservation. Her volunteer service includes 20 plus years with The Nature Conservancy on the Global Board of Directors, the Trustee Council and the boards of Ohio and Montana. She is currently a trustee for Rare, ArtWorks Cincinnati and The Nature Conservancy of Montana. She has also served on the boards of the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and the Hillside Trust. She is a member of the advisory board for the Center for the Environment, Ecological Design and Sustainability at Smith College. With her husband Wym, she is co-chair for the Ohio River Trail Campaign – an urban hike and bike trail in Cincinnati. She is a geologist and geographer by training, with degrees from Smith College and Harvard University. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio and the Blackfoot Valley of Montana and has three grown children.

Tom Schultz

Tom Schultz joined Idaho Forest Group in January 2018. Prior to working for Idaho Forest Group, he served as the director of the Idaho Department of Lands for six years. As secretary to the State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board), he oversaw the management of 2.4 million surface acres of endowment lands and 3.3 million acres of endowment minerals in the State of Idaho. Prior to joining the Idaho Department of Lands, Tom worked for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) for 14 years. He served as the administrator of the DNRC Trust Lands Division, and served as the administrator for the DNRC Water Resources Division from 2009 to 2010. Before working for the State of Montana, Tom served as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Launch Officer in the United States Air Force. Tom earned a Bachelor’s degree in Government from the University of Virginia and holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Wyoming as well as a Master’s degree in Forestry from the University of Montana.