Our Story
The Idea
Putting Experience to work for conservation
Across the country, experienced natural resource professionals have spent decades learning how to restore habitat, manage working lands, navigate conservation programs, build partnerships, and solve problems on the ground.
At the same time, landowners, agencies, organizations, and communities continue to need that expertise.
Conservation Coach was created to help bridge that gap.
Our Approach
From Experience to Action
Conservation Coach brings together the people who can help plan and guide conservation with those who can help build and implement it.
Plan
Conservation Coaches brings professional knowledge, perspective, and experience to conservation challenges and opportunities.
Connect
The network helps connect landowners, agencies, organizations, and others with expertise suited to their needs.
Implement
Conservation Contractors provide the services, equipment, and capacity needed to help move projects from plans to results.
Our People
The People Behind the Vision
Conservation Coach grew from a shared belief: decades of hard-earned conservation experience are too valuable to lose.
What began as conversations among experienced professionals became a vision for keeping that knowledge connected to the people, projects, and places that need it most.
John Morgan
Founding Member | Executive Manager
John Morgan
Founding Member | Executive Manager
A wildlife biologist and conservation leader, John has spent much of his career working with state fish and wildlife agencies to connect habitat conservation with practical land management.
He has led conservation teams and partnerships from local to national scales and brings an entrepreneurial approach to strengthening public-private conservation efforts.
Breck Carmichael
Founding Member | Wildlife Biologist
Breck Carmichael
Founding Member | Wildlife Biologist
Breck brings more than 40 years of experience in wildlife management and conservation planning, including 37 years with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
A Certified Wildlife Biologist, he helped found the Southeast Quail Study Group and served as the first Coordinator of the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative.
Chuck Hunter
Founding Member | Wildlife Biologist
Chuck Hunter
Founding Member | Wildlife Biologist
Chuck brings decades of experience in strategic conservation planning, wildlife ecology, and partnership-based conservation.
Before joining the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, he spent more than 35 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ultimately leading strategic resource management and biological planning for the National Wildlife Refuge System across the Southeast.
Cody Lawhorn
Founding Member | Communications
Cody Lawhorn
Founding Member | Communications
Cody brings years of experience in strategic communications, public engagement, and environmental education to conservation.
His work focuses on connecting people with conservation through clear, actionable communication and building strategies that turn awareness into action. He is also a Virginia Master Naturalist and certified Project WILD, Project WET, and Project Learning Tree educator.
Marc Puckett
Founding Member | Wildlife Biologist
Marc Puckett
Founding Member | Wildlife Biologist
Marc brings nearly 30 years of experience with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, including 16 years leading small game and private lands efforts.
He has worked with bobwhite quail since 1992 and served six years on the National Bobwhite Technical Committee Steering Committee, including two years as chair.