Matt Lowe – Chair and Policy Director

Matt Lowe was born in Helena, Montana, and moved to metro Atlanta at the age of 7. His deep connection to public lands began early, thanks to his grandparents, who took him camping and trout fishing across the country, from the creeks of Georgia to the peaks of Colorado. By the age of 10, Matt was hunting deer, and his passion for the outdoors has only grown since.

Now a devoted husband and father of seven, Matt is committed to passing on the traditions of hunting and fishing to his children. Summers are spent exploring north Georgia’s trout streams, and the fall finds his family ranging from Georgia to Idaho in pursuit of game and adventure.

Professionally, Matt serves as the Senior Engineering Manager for Eric’sons Inc., a company specializing in drainage systems. With a background in Lean/Six Sigma and leadership, he excels in process optimization, team management, and large-scale project execution. His professional expertise complements his role within BHA, where he brings strategic thinking and problem-solving skills to his advocacy efforts.

Matt’s journey with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers began after a conversation with Randy Newberg sparked a search for a local sportsman’s group that shared his values. He joined the Southeast Chapter and quickly became a dedicated volunteer. When the Georgia Chapter was established, Matt eagerly stepped up to help and now serves as Chair and Policy Director.

In these roles, Matt leverages his leadership and advocacy skills to protect public lands, waters, and wildlife in Georgia. Whether coordinating policy efforts, engaging with fellow sportsmen and women, or advocating for conservation, he is driven by a desire to ensure future generations can enjoy the same access and opportunities he has cherished throughout his life.

Marc Thompson –  Vice Chair and Events Coordinator

Marc Thompson grew up in the outdoors fishing with his grandfather and playing in every creek and patch of woods he could find. As a result, wildlife and wildlife habitats have been a a passion of his for since childhood. Hunting came along in his twenties and only increased his drive to be in the wild. Upon finding BHA, Marc immediately knew that he wanted to be actively involved in a leadership role. As the events coordinator for the Georgia Chapter, Marc spearheads film festivals, pint nights, and other events for the chapter.

Scott Jones – Treasurer

Public lands have taught Scott Jones more life lessons than he could ever have learned from any professor, teacher, or mentor. His aim is to preserve and expand this fertile training ground for all that are daring and open enough to learn from it.

Tom Adrien - Secretary

Though he grew up hunting large tracts of private land, Tom Adrien is an adult onset hunter as far as public lands are concerned. He eventually purchased a cabin in the adjacent to a patch of national forest with the goal bicycling the mountain gaps. But in addition to some great cycling, he also found an abundance of game while hiking and biking. That’s when he learned of the great hunting opportunities offered on public lands in Georgia. Tom joined BHA as soon as he heard of the organization because of BHA’s goals and missions align directly with his own values. He’s eager to be a part of local and national efforts to protect public lands for present and future generations.

Chris Jenkins – At Large and North American Board of Directors

Dr. Jenkins is the founding Chief Executive Officer of The Orianne Society. He is also the founding chairman of the Georgia Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers where he has played important roles in passing policies at state and federal levels. In these roles, he has helped increase the amount of public land in Georgia, adding multiple Wildlife Management Areas. These projects have been unique as they have the dual purpose of conserving the Gopher Tortoise, a candidate for ESA listing, and adding recreational hunting and fishing opportunities. Dr. Jenkins received a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Massachusetts in wildlife biology. He received his Ph.D. in biological sciences from Idaho State University where he studied the impacts of grazing and changing fire regimes on Great Basin Rattlesnakes. Dr. Jenkins also founded the IUCN Viper Specialist Group and served in leadership roles in Partners for Reptiles and Amphibian Conservation and Gopher Tortoise Council. Before founding the Orianne Society, he worked with Wildlife Conservation Society, USFS, USFWS, University of Massachusetts, University of British Columbia, and National Geographic. Over his career, Dr. Jenkins has contributed to many scientific publications, books, and popular media publications and hosts the Snake Talk podcast.

Spencer Thomas - Membership Coordinator

Spencer is an adult-onset angler expanding his outdoor pursuits into the hunting arena. He grew up in the city with very little concept of public lands and the bounty they can provide for sportsmen. However, having taken advantage of numerous public waters as a fly angler since reaching his thirties, he began looking for ways to give back and ultimately found BHA. He is thrilled to be joining the board in 2025 and looks forward to the opportunity to engage with hunters and anglers throughout the state. 

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Spencer currently lives in Marietta, Georgia, with his wife and two children. He works as an attorney in addition to serving as a full-time high school football coach in Cobb County.  

Gunner Hall – At Large

Gunner is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast. His passion for wild places started with “camping” in his parents’ backyard as a child and backpacking in the Colorado Rockies as a teenager. His love of the outdoors remains today only now he’s either out chasing birds with a gun dog named Betty or hunting big game in the woods and swamps of Georgia’s Low Country. When he isn’t hunting, you can find Gunner kayaking and fishing Georgia’s coastal waterways. He’s a strong advocate for conservation and is committed to helping preserve public lands for future generations to enjoy.

Steven Goodwin - At Large

Steven Goodwin is originally from Oak Harbor, Washington, but moved to Georgia as a child. He spent over 15 years working in restaurants in Atlanta, GA, and Charleston, SC. Those experiences led to a passion for wild food harvested from wild places. He spends as much time hunting, fishing, foraging, kayaking, or backpacking on public lands as possible. Steven joined BHA to help promote and protect the places he loves.

Kylan Hoover - At Large

Kylan Hoover was born and raised in Northern California. Since then he has had the good fortune to have spent much of his life working with livestock and land management across the US. He now resides near the lower Chattahoochee River in Southwest Georgia. Kylan’s passion for public lands and waters began while fishing with his cousins as a boy and matured in pursuit of blacktail deer in the Russian and Marble Mountain Wildernesses in California’s far north. Of late, Kylan works to spend as much time as possible chasing the grand Southern Fox Squirrel and fat river catfish wherever they are to be found. 

Gator Fouche - At Large

I have always been drawn to the outdoors. I grew up fishing with my Paw Paw. He found the local BASS chapter in Dalton GA. We would fish for bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish from Dalton to Macrae GA. We would go to Steinhatchee FL and chase reds and sea trout every winter. In Highschool and college golf was a main focus but would typically end golf practice by fishing for bass or bluegill until dark. My first duck hunt in Oxford MS transformed from a tagalong hunt into an addiction in about 5 minutes. Since then I have bagged many waterfowl species and am pursuing the life long struggle of never being satisfied. Be them far or near I am familiar with most public mud puddles across the state. I also engage in harvesting many species available in GA deer, bear, hogs, squirrel, dove etc. I suppose myself as a wild game connoisseur who loves to convert skeptics of wild meat into born again devotees. I have found that wilderness and the pursuit of wild game is a necessity in my life. We need wilderness to keep things wild and I am all about making that happen. 

Nathan Henderson – At Large

Nathan grew up in central Florida hunting and fishing with his father from an early age. The majority of those experiences happened on public land. Fishing the flats of southwest Florida, exploring the multitude of lakes surrounding his home town, and roam the vast Green Swamp kindled a flame that grew into a passion for the outdoors that cannot be quenched. As Nathan grew older, he started to understand the value of the public land we have in America and how vital that resource is to the fabric of the country. It was this realization that brough Nathan to BHA as a member and eventually as a leader. Nathan lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and works in the IT industry.