Board of Directors

Edgar Spalding - President

Edgar teaches and researches plant physiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nature as a hobby developed in childhood, literally in his father’s footsteps. Dragonflies and damselflies have become an obsession. He searches for them in ponds, streams, and ditches around his Middleton home. He sometimes worries that if he had discovered bluets earlier in life, his son might be named Enallagma instead of Henry.

Emily Hjalmarson - Vice President

Originally from New Mexico and an avid naturalist with a passion for “things with wings.” She fell in love with birds at Lawrence University and discovered Odonata soon after during her graduate work at the University of Oklahoma. She and her husband, Brett Roberts, now live in Madison and enjoy exploring biodiversity across the state.

Jeff Fischer - Secretary

Wisconsin Master Naturalist Volunteer, Minnesota Master Naturalist Volunteer, dragonfly enthusiast and nature photographer. Past WDS President

Dan Jackson - Treasurer

Native of the Coulee Region of Western Wisconsin with a lifelong passion for nature. Avid birder and nature photographer. Past President of the WDS. Treasurer and past President (10 years) of the Coulee Region Audubon Society in La Crosse.

Ryan Chrouser - Board Member

A native of Wisconsin, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Zoology. Past President of the WDS.

Maggie Steinhauer - Board Member

Maggie graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2016 with a degree in Environmental Science and Biology, and is now the Research and Community Science Coordinator with the Urban Ecology Center in Milwaukee, WI. Her passion for odonates began with her internship at the UEC in 2018 under Jenn Callaghan (previous WDS board member), and has continued to grow ever since.

Jessie Seiders - Board Member

Jessie is a graduate of UW-Whitewater and owner of Seiders Manufacturing. Jessie has a love of all living things and a passion for continual learning. She is an amateur nature photographer who enjoys the hunt. She will happily hike miles, slog through swamps, and get chewed up by bugs, for a chance to see and photograph something new or interesting.

Kurt Huebener - Board Member

Born in Manitowoc where he recalls his first odonate encounter at a young age. Developed a deep love of nature while living in central LP of Michigan in his teen years. Retired USAF. Graduate degree plus in Clinical Laboratory Science. Retired college Life Science educator (Microbiology and Anatomy and Physiology). Longtime ardent close-up/macro nature photographer. He spends hours weekly pursuing, observing, and imaging odonates from April through October in Waukesha county where he lives and throughout Wisconsin.

Jamie Schiesel - Board Member

A graduate of UW Whitewater with a degree in Environmental Science now working as the Ecological Education Manager at Mequon Nature Preserve, WI. Became fascinated with odonates as a kid from an experience with a Hagenius brevistylus (still his favorite). He has since rekindled that passion as an adult into surveying for new species to check off his list and continuing to learn more and more about these fantastic animals however he can.

Jason Nickels - Board Member

Originally from Manitowoc. Studied Bachelor of Science in Education, Major in Life Sciences, at Martin Luther College and Masters of Science in Education, with a focus in Environmental Education at Concordia University Wisconsin. Jason has been a Nature Director, Summer Camp Director at Camp Tapawingo, a Life Science teacher at Lakeside Lutheran High School, Director of Education and Research at Mequon Nature Preserve and currently teaches high school science at Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Ann Graf - Board Member

Ann is a recently retired professor of Information science and a lifelong resident of Wisconsin who has always been fascinated by the natural world. She began her love of dragonflies by volunteering with the citizen science team doing odonate species counts in Milwaukee with the Urban Ecology Center about a decade ago

Joseph Sommerfeld - Board Member

Joe has been a volunteer with the Wisconsin Odonata Survey and a member of the Wisconsin Dragonfly Society since 2016. He is passionate about dragonflies