Chris Slaughter - Assistant Regional Director
Chris was born in Columbus, Georgia, but raised outside of Dothan, Alabama. “I grew up on a family peanut farm,” he explained. “I spent a large part of my time as a child fishing for catfish and hunting squirrels. I’ve been hunting and angling much of my life.”
“My first hunting memories were as a young boy harvesting squirrels with my father,” he added. “As I got older my father sat with me in tree stands looking for whitetail deer. He was my earliest hunting mentor. My first memories fishing was with my Great Grandfather. We would cane pole for catfish and host fish fries for our family.” Today, Chris has several hunting and angling peers that encourage and educate him on something new each year.
Chris says fishing has been a mainstay during his adult life. “I love to travel to fish. I’ve fished most of the western states for trout and I’ve spent three months in Alaska fishing trout and salmon. I also enjoy offshore fishing and flats fishing in the panhandle.” Although Chris hunts with a rifle, shotgun and bow, his current hunting passion is bow elk hunting. “I spend 15+ days each September in the elk woods. Mainly, I hunt Colorado in Summit, Grand and Clear Creek Counties.”
A graduate of Auburn University in Alabama, Chris has a bachelor’s degree in Business. “I have over 15 years of experience working in the technology/software industry,” he explained. “I’ve spent time in consulting, management and now sales. My most memorable experiences have been creating and interacting with high performing teams.”
Chris joined Backcountry Hunters & Anglers during 2018. “BHA looked to be an active organization with motivated members,” he said. “I am extremely excited to work with BHA members and local, regional and statewide resources to ensure hunting, angling and conservation is well represented in the Central Mountains region of Colorado.”
“We are lucky to have a hunter-angler-conservationist like Chris join the Colorado BHA Chapter Leadership Team,” chapter co-chair David Lien said. “His passion for boots on the ground conservation work and activism will greatly enhance our efforts and effectiveness in the Central Rockies region.”
David Brown - Assistant Regional Director
David was born and raised in the Scottish Highlands, in a valley called GlenShee. “I grew up on a 2000 acre sheep farm 20 miles from the nearest town,” he explained. “My maternal grandfather came from a long line of hunters (and poachers) that were famous in our part of the country going back 6 generations.”
“In fact, there was a book, The Romance Of Poaching In The Highlands, written about one of their exploits in the 1800s,” he added. “So, my grandfather had me hunting small game from the time I was 5 or 6. My dad was a passionate backcountry angler and had me fly fishing in loch’s for trout and char from as far back as I can remember.” David has a background in IT along with a bachelors and post grad degree in Economics and Information Systems. He currently works as a consultant in the IT field.
David primarily hunts big game and fishes for trout. “Meat is my priority,” he said. “I’m also passionate about teaching adaptive sports. I’ve taught skiing and some other outdoor sports my whole life and have been teaching for the national sports center for the disabled (one of the world’s biggest adaptive programs and Denver based) for 17 years and I hope to get BHA involved in some of our outdoor work with Wounded Warriors or other adaptive groups.”
Growing up in Scotland, where there is a guaranteed right to public land access, David is passionate about public land access and followed BHA for years before joining in 2022. He currently splits his time between Heeney on Green Mountain Reservoir and in Silverthorne. “I’ve known DB for several years,” Central Mountains Group Regional Director Chris Slaughter said. “He is very passionate about shooting sports, getting kids involved in hunting and fishing, and volunteering for adaptive sports programs. He will be a great addition to the leadership team. Plus, he has a funny accent.”
Jerod Swanson - Assistant Regional Director
Jerod was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, but his family eventually moved to Minnesota and he grew up in the Twin Cities (i.e., Minneapolis-St. Paul) northern suburbs. “I started hunting and fishing at a young age,” he explained. “My father first taught my brothers and me, but later I found friends in high school and college to hunt, fish, and learn with.”
He hunts elk, turkey, deer, antelope, and small game mostly in Colorado. “I have also shot a pig with my bow in Hawaii and plan on going back to hunt there more,” Jerod said. “I did a lot of walleye and northern pike fishing in Minnesota, but now mostly fish for trout in Colorado.” “My main passion is with a compound bow, but I also rifle hunt, and have done a little muzzleloader hunting as well,” he added. “I just like to be out in the woods!”
Jerod has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA, both from the University of Minnesota. He served as a Nuclear Engineering officer in the U.S. Navy for five years. Jerod lives in Frisco, Colorado, and originally heard about BHA on the MeatEater Podcast.