James embodies the phrase “Renaissance man.” He has experience with multiple professions on multiple continents. At different points in time he has studied physics, law, and data science, and he earned degrees and has work experience in each of those broad subjects. He lived in Thailand for a year where he taught English and later lived in Italy for over a decade, restoring a home and making olive oil.
James is by no means defined by work – he has broad and shifting interests: exercise (he completed an Ironman), painting portraits and landscapes, and composing classical music. James’ most recent project is to learn how to play the bagpipes – apologies to the neighbors.
He is most proud of his three children, who constantly amaze and delight him and are his greatest accomplishment.
Klayton grew up north of Detroit in Romeo, Michigan. He received a degree in engineering from the University of Michigan. Today, he helps automotive companies solve their technical challenges working with ITW. When he’s not working, you can find Klayton volunteering in downtown Detroit with his sister at Anchored Hope Outreach, a non-profit focused on helping to combat the practice of human trafficking, sailing on the Great Lakes, or hanging out with his dog, Penny.
Melissa Estep grew up exploring the Sierras in California and is now a long-term resident of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, Colorado. Melissa’s area of interest is in water supply and quality, in which she holds a Master’s degree. As a federal employee, she focuses on long-term water supply planning and management for the western United States, specializing in mitigating the impacts of climate change and supporting consultation for indigenous sovereign nations.
Outside of work, Melissa spends the majority of her time exploring everything from the mountain tops to canyon bottoms. She is happiest while mountaineering, trail running, packrafting, or simply getting lost deep in the wilderness.
Melissa’s occupation and interests brings a wide range of knowledge to this foundation for future growth.
Lorna is the Engagement Manager at the Peak District National Park Authority in the UK. It’s a role that neatly encompasses the ethos of the DuBose Foundation. She connects people, often in underserved communities, to national parks in order to further a trio of objectives shared by the foundation: conservancy causes, educational advancement and the democratization of opportunity.
Lorna says she knew from an early age that she wanted to “be outside, connected to nature, doing something for the planet” and studied countryside management at university.
When she isn’t outside working (or in the office managing programs to get others outside), you can find Lorna herself in the outdoors, where she enjoys hiking and cycling. Lorna works in the Greater Manchester (England) area, where she also lives with her partner, Andy.
Kirstin, along with her family, represents a lifetime of adventure, travel, and education woven together like a rich tapestry. Her work and that her husband, Dr. Gregory Hedger, has been rooted in their shared passion of bringing education to children in all parts in the world. One of their first jobs took them to a multi-year assignment in Romania. Opportunities since have taken them to Indonesia, Pakistan, Qatar, Venezuela, and the Cayman Islands.
She and her family currently live between both Myanmar and Minnesota. She and Greg have four children – son Max, and daughters Anna, Sadie, and Kaija.
Stacey Morse is a founding partner in the consulting firm, The Morse Group, a company committed to empowering people, teams, and organizations to lead and co-create balanced solutions that benefit work, life, and community. Established almost 30 years ago, the group was founded around the question of how you tap creativity in the business world and use engagement as a strategic tool to drive growth. Using a holistic approach, The Morse Group strengthens teams and builds connections to promote leadership and engagement creatively.
Stacey’s partner in The Morse Group is her husband, Stuart. Initially, business and engineering students, they made the switch early on to explore their passions of art and photography. This created a pivotal turning point in their lives as they began to produce art as a reflection of a company’s identity. This led to a number of projects with companies which evolved into their current consulting practice which guides organizations to approach their thinking creatively and strategically. While Stacey focuses much of her work on non-profits, Stuart works with a variety of companies in the business sector, all with a focus to bring people together around a common vision to better business and society.
Stacey and Stuart live in St. Louis, Missouri and have two adult children, Merill and True who reside in Montana and Colorado. The entire family is creatively wired, and all are involved in the outdoors and exploring the world.
John has always been interested in physical activity and spending time outdoors. He spent the winters of his youth playing ice hockey on the frigid lakes of Madison, Wisconsin while playing tennis in the summers. He eventually transitioned to swimming and diving, with swimming becoming his main passion through high school and then college where he swam for the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Following his interests in athletics and performance, John majored in exercise physiology as an undergraduate, and later furthered his education with a master’s degree in Exercise and Sports Sciences from the University of Arizona. He then returned to Madison to work as an exercise physiologist at the University of Wisconsin’s Sports Medicine Clinic for a few years before attending medical school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. This was followed by residency training in anesthesia at in the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago.
As an avid road cyclist, John has spent many years cycling the imposing hills around Madison, and also enjoys watching the cycling tours on TV whenever he has the chance. His other hobbies include hiking and camping with his family during the summer months, and cross-country skiing in the winter. John and his family have also travelled extensively, spending time the UK, Europe, and South America.
John is an Associated Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics where he specialises in outpatient anaesthesiology. He is married with two children, both of whom follow his love of activity by spending time cross-country skiing and mountain biking.
Joe has dedicated his talents to two of the foundation’s core tenants: conservation and education. From an early age, he knew that he loved nature and that he enjoyed teaching others about nature. He studied zoology as an undergraduate, and eventually received a PhD in ecology for his discoveries about the social behavior of blackbirds. Joe is a Professor of Biology at Catawba College, where he has been teaching students about nature since 2000. His current research focuses on conservation of birds and other animals.
Joe is extremely proud his two sons and two daughters, who have had every creature under the sun as pets over the years. In his free time, Joe loves to photograph nature and has participated in public exhibits of his work.
David Richardson has always known he was meant to spend time working outside away from a desk. He is a public servant in many capacities. David has worked for the City of Kirkwood, Missouri, since the age of 14, where he is currently employed by the Parks Department. He dedicates much of his free time as a volunteer for the Missouri Master Naturalists, an organization now recognized across the United States for its work related to the beneficial management of natural resources and areas in local communities. As a Master Naturalist, some of David’s activities include assisting with plant and animal identification, invasive species removal, native planting, and river and stream clean up. He also serves his community as a volunteer trained in fire suppression and prescribed burns, and is a certified playground inspector and has been for 20+ years.
When not serving the public or the environment, David enjoys getting outside and enjoying nature, and especially enjoys dirt biking in Colorado.
David’s extensive hands-on experience in environmental work and his love for the outdoors provide a breadth of experience and passion to the foundation.
Erin Spillane is a freelance editor, writer and grant writer based in County Clare in Ireland and Telluride, Colorado. In addition to grant writing for Telluride non-profits and programs, she writes for Colorado-based publications with a focus on issues important to Telluride’s non-profit sector and to its Latino community. For many years she taught English as a Second Language and served as director of the Telluride Adult English Language Classes program.
This background has given Erin insight into rural, underserved communities and sparked an interest in connecting people to resources in order that they can achieve their potential, professionally and-or personally.
If Erin, her husband, Feargal, and their two sons, Chris and Aidan, are in Telluride, skiing and hiking are tops on their outdoor to-do list. In Ireland, weather permitting, it’s a mix of golf, swimming and walking.
Jeff Thomas has spent more than 25 years working on Wall Street as a highly respected financial advisor. In 2017 Jeff founded Archetype Wealth Partners in order to provide a platform to help families connect their money with their purpose. Jeff is also an accomplished author having written Trading Up: Moving From Success to Significance on Wall Street. In Trading Up, Jeff illustrates how he found a higher purpose in his career and life. Jeff brings this unique approach along with his extensive experience to the DuBose Foundation’s Advisory Board.
Jeff lives in Houston, Texas with his wife Dolly. Jeff and Dolly have two daughters and one grandson. Jeff stays busy playing golf and tennis and serving on many non-profit boards, including chairing Lee Strobel Ministries.
Jeff is all about bringing out the best in others. He teaches professional presence and civic engagement at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the College of Business. He has been a career/leadership coach in the Higher Education environment, in some capacity, for most of his adult life.
The Boy Scouts ignited Jeff’s passion for the outdoors. An Eagle Scout, he attributes his love of hiking, paddling, exploring, birding, and fishing, to the amazing leaders he had in BSA Troop 360 in Glendale, Missouri. His bucket list includes a desire to experience every US National Park.
Jeff loves open water swimming and cycling. He also runs occasionally so that he can compete in triathlons. He completed Ironman Wisconsin in 2015 and the Mighty Mac (Straits of Mackinaw) Swim in 2019.
Jeff and his wife Joanne celebrated their Silver Anniversary in 2021. They have two grown children – Jay & Jessica.
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