Shelby Neiberger's roots run deep in the rugged landscapes of Northwest Colorado. Growing up on her family's ranch, she honed her skills in raising cattle and quarter horses from a young age. As an active member and leader in 4-H and FFA, Shelby's passion for livestock and agriculture blossomed early on.

Shelby went on to earn her bachelor's degree in Animal Science with a minor in Agriculture Business from Colorado State University, where she specialized in beef and sheep systems. With experience in cattle genetics, animal nutrition, and animal health, Shelby has built an impressive foundation in livestock management. For the past 5 years, she has applied her expertise as a Brand Inspector, further expanding her knowledge of livestock operations.

When she's not working, Shelby enjoys an active lifestyle, pursuing her interests in sports, hunting, and fishing alongside her husband, family, and friends. Shelby's lifelong commitment to agriculture and the outdoors has shaped her into a well-rounded professional ready to make an impact.

Adam VanValkenburg is a fourth-generation rancher based in Walden, Colorado, where he raises Simmental-Angus cattle on land his family has stewarded for generations. Deeply rooted in the traditions of North Park ranching, Adam served as president of the North Park Stockgrowers Association from 2019 to 2022, advocating for local producers and sustainable practices. Since 2020, he’s been at the forefront of addressing the region’s evolving wolf management challenges, balancing wildlife conservation with the realities of ranch life.

Courtney Vail is a wildlife biologist, social scientist, and seasoned strategist who has worked within the conservation and animal welfare field for over 30 years, spearheading domestic and international policies and campaigns to protect marine and terrestrial wildlife through leadership positions in the government, nonprofit and private sectors.

She is the Director of the Lightkeepers Foundation, a think tank dedicated to advancing compassionate solutions in the environmental and humanitarian sectors. She serves on the Board of Directors for several marine conservation organizations, and currently serves as Board Chair of the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project where she is helping to restore gray wolves to Colorado.

She believes that social tolerance for wolves and for each other will determine the future for wolves in Colorado, and she has focused her efforts on supporting western livelihoods through field work, conflict mitigation, community outreach, and fundraising. 

In 2024, Chip started Wild Ranch, a non-profit interdisciplinary effort to help connect the dots between quality of life in Colorado and privately held working wild landscape and to help bridge the urban/rural divide around predator conflicts.

When not volunteering his time for Wild Ranch, Chip is the Science and Creative Director at ECOS, a natural history interpretation and conservation communications design firm he co-founded with his wife Jill in 1991. A seasoned designer, writer, sculptor, photographer/film maker, educator, and biologist, Chip is responsible for the blend of art and science on most ECOS projects. Chip has worked in the field of conservation education for 35+ years, conducting projects for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, MacArthur Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, USDA, BLM, National Park Service, Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, along with many state and city natural resource agencies throughout Colorado and the West. A Colorado native, Chip received a MS from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a BS degree in ecology from from Lewis and Clark College.