Board of Directors

Officers
President : Storrs Bishop, Ennis, MT
Secretary : Dave Bricker, Ennis, MT & Phoenix, AZ
Treasurer : Dennis Aigner, Ennis, MT

Directors
Dennis Aigner : Ennis, MT & Laguna Beach, CA
Joe Dilschneider : Ennis, MT
Nancy DiMeola : Ennis, MT
Sunni Knapton : Ennis, MT
Mike Lum : Ennis, MT
Jeff Montag : McAllister, MT
Sherri Shows : Ennis, MT

Staff
Executive Director : Richard Lessner, PhD
Assistant Treasurer : Diane Bricker

Storrs Bishop, President
Ennis, MT

Storrs Bishop is a local rancher in Ennis. He first visited the Madison Valley in 1952, spent some time putting up hay, fished the river, and was hooked forever. In 1973 he returned to the Madison Valley after 15 years in Aspen, CO. He bought the old Chowning Ranch and a Main Street retail business in Ennis. He is a Realtor and a licensed professional outfitter for the past 30 years. He served on both local and Montana state Education Boards. Storrs and his wife, Bev, raise purebred Norwegian Fiord horses and they are original directors of the Norwegian Fjord Horse Registry.

David Bricker, Secretary
Ennis, MT and Phoenix, AZ

David Bricker has an MBA from the University of Kansas and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He spent more than 20 years as a professional money manager working for major banks in the U.S. and Europe. Much of his focus was on the management of foundation and endowment assets. He has been a trout fisher for more than 40 years. In addition to serving on several boards of Trout Unlimited chapters and fly fishing clubs, he has been involved in on-stream projects in a number of states. He is a founding director of the Madison River Foundation. Bricker and his wife, Diane, reside in Ennis and also have a home in Phoenix. Diane serves as the Foundation's assistant treasurer.

Dennis Aigner, Treasurer
Ennis, MT and Laguna Beach, CA

Dennis Aigner, an economist and statistician, is a retired college professor. He and his wife Camille Bertolet reside in Laguna Beach, CA and have a summer home in Ennis.

Jeff M. Montag, Director
McAllister, MT

Jeff Montag is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in Texas and Montana. Before retiring in 2008, he was a partner with the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, working in its Houston office for over 30 years. At Deloitte, Jeff was a senior technical audit partner, with a focus on the Oil & Gas Industry, and also served in leadership roles in local, regional and national human resource activities. Jeff and his wife Kim wife are avid fly fishers and residents of McAllister, MT.

James H. Goetz, Esq., Director
Bozeman, MT

Jim Goetz was born in Miles City, MT. He grew up Ennis, MT and was graduated from Ennis H.S. He earned his Bachelor's degree from Montana State University and his LL.B from the Yale Law School. He is the senior partner in the law firm Goetz, Gallik & Baldwin, P.C.

Jim handled Montana stream access cases on the Dearborn and Beaverhead Rivers in the mid-1980s for the Montana Coalition for Stream Access. He successfully blocked the Corps of Engineers Libby Reregulation Dam on the Kootenai River in the late 1970s for the Libby Rod and Gun Club and he drafted Montana's Conservation Easement legislation in the early 1970s. Jim represented Trout Unlimited early in his career in the Yellowstone River Reservation hearings and he has represented the Salish and Kootenai Tribes for many years on water issues, including landmark litigation establishing in-stream flows on the Jocko River. He is the recipient of the Conservationist of the Year Award from the Montana Environmental Information Center and the Resource Defense Award of the National Wildlife Federation.

Joe Dilschneider, Director
McAllister, MT

Joe Dilschneider has been a Madison Valley resident and a licensed fishing guide and outfitter since 1995. Joe owns and operates Montana Trout Stalkers. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Joe is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in Environmental Science. His past work experience includes industrial sales, residential mortgage lending, and outdoor recreation industries. Joe, his wife, Rikki, and their two daughters, Elina and Noni, make their home in McAllister, MT.

Mike Lum, Director
Ennis, MT

Mike Lum was born in Minot, ND and grew up in Denver, CO. He has been a resident of Ennis since 1991 working for the Madison River Fishing Co. Mike is a widely respected fishing guide and advocate for the Madison River. Over the years, through research, writing and discussion, he has acted as a proponent of progressive thinking and action for the protection of the Madison River, and is a vocal advocate for the dissemination of critical information about the river and the valley. Mike regards his involvement with the Madison River Foundation as an important way to more effectively promote both the health of the Madison watershed and the critically important economic and social resource that is the Madison River. Mike and his wife, Karen, reside in Ennis.

Sherri Shows, Director
Ennis, MT

Sherri is a native of Montana. She grew up in Ennis and earned a Bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Sherri and her husband, Joel, own and operate Fan Mountain Inn in Ennis. She is on the board of the Ennis Chamber of Commerce. Sherri and Joel have two daughters, Jessica and Kaytlin, and a son, Bryce.

Nancy DiMeola, Director
Ennis, MT

Nancy and her husband, Tom, own and operate the Madison River Fishing Company, a longtime fly shop and fishing guide service on Main Street in Ennis. The shop is a well-known Ennis landmark among anglers and it supports a nationwide mail order business. The MRFC catalog is a mainstay among fly anglers coast to coast. Nancy and Tom live in Ennis just steps from the Madison.

Richard Lessner, PhD, Executive Director
Cameron, MT

Richard Lessner was awarded a doctorate in Religious Studies and American History from Baylor University. Prior to moving permanently to Montana in 2007, he had a career in newspapering, having served as editorial page editor and columnist at the Arizona Republic and New Hampshire Union Leader. Richard also was executive director of two non-profit organizations in Washington, DC. He has been an avid fly fisherman for 30 years and lives with his wife, Pamela, and their two cats near the Madison River in Cameron, MT.