Arden Bucklin-Sporer
Chair - San Francisco, CA
Arden joined the Teller board in December 2016. She is strategic advisor and former CEO of the San Francisco non-profit Education Outside. Arden has worked with San Francisco Unified School District’s green schoolyards for over 15 years. She is a regular presenter at national green schoolyards conferences and is fluent in French, Italian and Spanish. She and her husband, Karl Sporer, have been friends and supporters of Teller for decades and they enjoy spending time in the Bitterroot annually.
John Talia
Treasurer/Secretary – Hamilton, MT
John joined the Teller board as Treasurer in 2002, and is presently its Vice Chairman and Treasurer. He is a licensed Montana and California CPA with a tax practice in Corvallis, Montana, and is also a licensed Montana fly fishing outfitter. He moved to the Bitterroot Valley in 1990 from the San Francisco area after enjoying the outdoor activities in the area for many years prior. John is active in assisting other charitable organizations, both in a governance role and advisor. He believes that Teller’s mission statement says it best by inspiring and educating the conservationist in all of us.
Nina Bonnie
Prospect, KY | Hamilton, MT
Nina joined the Teller board in October of 2011. Nina presently serves on the Kentucky PACE Board, a state commission which receives and monitors agricultural easements. In her home state, she also is a board member of Oldham Ahead, a local organization which monitors county development. In Montana, she serves on the Greater Ravalli Foundation and the Stock Farm Homeowners board. Her honors include the United States Equestrian Federation Lifetime Achievement Award, and she was named a Louisville Woman of Distinction in 2002. In 2012, Nina and late husband, Ned, placed a conservation easement on their 525-acre farm in Kentucky.
Bill Dagley
San Rafael, CA/Corvallis, MT
Bill joined the Teller board in January 2017. He is president of Private Wealth Partners, LLC, with a corporate office in Larkspur, CA. Bill enjoys being an active member of the Bay Area & Bitterroot Valley communities. His hobbies and interests include tennis, golf, fishing, backgammon, travel and wine tasting. He and his wife, Edie, have a home in Corvallis and look forward to spending time in the Bitterroot Valley as often as possible. They have been avid supporters of Teller for nearly two decades.
Lucy Tompkins
Portola Valley, CA/Hamilton, MT
Lucy joined the Teller board in 1994, and served as its Chair from 2005-2010. She is a professor of medicine in infectious diseases at Stanford University Medical School, and is the hospital epidemiologist for Stanford Hospital and Clinics. She is a musician and patron of the San Francisco Opera and the Stanford arts program. She and her late husband, Stan Falkow, have spent summers in the Bitterroot since 1983, and have a home on the river near Hamilton. She is an avid fly fisher and loves horse packing in the Bob Marshall wilderness. One of her major goals is for Teller Wildlife Refuge to serve as a national model of conservation education.
Chad Bishop
Board Emeritus
Missoula, MT
Chad Bishop joined the Teller board in December, 2019. He currently serves as the Director of the Wildlife Biology Program and as an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences at the University of Montana. Dr. Bishop attended Montana State University majoring in Wildlife Ecology and went on to receive his Master of Science from University of Idaho and a PhD from Colorado State University in Wildlife Biology. Prior to his position at UM, Chad was the Assistant Director for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. He has a well-rounded background in wildlife conservation and research as well as administration. He is very interested in many possible collaborative opportunities between Teller and the University of Montana. Chad lives in Missoula with his wife, Laura, and their children, Jacob and Clara.
Keith Johnson | San Diego, CA/Darby, MT
Grant Parker | Missoula, MT
Paul Thomas | Rancho Santa Fe, CA/Hamilton, MT