Nick Kaufman - Chapter Chair

Nick was born and raised in Northern Indiana. His love of the outdoors began while developing friendships at a young age exploring the woods a

nd fishing in the lakes and rivers. It deepened over time as his friend’s father developed into an outdoor mentor. Nick is now an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking, kayaking, and foraging for wild edibles.

He has traveled to Canada on several occasions for fishing, as well as grouse and bear hunting. Nick has also traveled and plans to travel more, to states out west for additional hunting and fishing opportunities. He is a full-time Firefighter/Paramedic and relies heavily on finding solace in the outdoors.

When Nick is not in Indiana, he enjoys extended stays at his cabin in Northwest Michigan exploring all that the Manistee National Forest has to offer. One of Nick’s greatest adventure achievements is hiking the Grand Canyon from Rim to Rim in 2019 and 2021.

Nick is well versed in conservation and always stives to teach others about the responsible harvest of natural resources.  He is dedicated to increasing access to the outdoors and public lands for all those who wish to enjoy its benefit.

Will Judson - Vice Chair

Will resides in Indianapolis, IN with his wife where he works as a manufacturing engineer for Yamaha Marine Precision Propeller. Graduating from Purdue University in 2012 and moving to Indianapolis in 2015, his passion for the outdoors really grew as his friends introduced him to backpacking and hunting. From there it grew into an obsession with spending as much time outdoors and being involved with all activities revolved around that. Conservation had grown in his mind as protecting lands, water, and wildlife would be essential to keeping that lifestyle.

After discovering Backcountry Hunters and Anglers he quickly joined to give back to what had given him such value in life. He enjoys helping the organization do grassroots work such as cleaning up public lands, removing invasive plants, and installing duck house nests. He hopes to spread this interest to those who enjoy their time on public lands and preaches conservation as a means for future generations to experience the same.

Today, Will travels west annually to either backpack or hunt big game on public land. When he isn’t recreating outdoors in Indiana, he spends time working on a family property in Sullivan, IN to improve wildlife habitat. Will is also a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and National Wild Turkey Federation.

John D. King - Secretary 

As a lifelong Hoosier, outdoorsman, hunter and angler, the opportunity to champion for wild public lands, waters, and animals is a very exciting opportunity for him.  He grew up in a small town around large farm tracts, but with very little private land access to hunt on. From an early age his father would take his brother and himself out to different Fish & Wildlife Areas, State Recreational Areas, and State Parks for hunting, or other outdoor adventures.  One of his fondest memories is birthday “parties” when he was growing up, and his father would take a couple of John’s good friends and John on squirrel hunting and camping weekends at Jasper-Pulaski FWA.  John was also brought up in Scouting and that has driven his continued desire for public service and giving back.

John attended Purdue University for engineering and now works for Cummins Inc. as a Service Engineering Manager for one of their largest accounts.  He is proud of his company’s stance on giving back to each community and their commitment to a cleaner healthier environment.

Johns personal experience and the immense opportunities he has experienced on public land, i.e. turkey, squirrel, deer in Indiana, Wyoming Antelope, and Utah Elk have inspired him to seek out an organization that will defend and improve those public lands so that others have the opportunity to experience the amazing land we all own.

Ben Stout, Treasurer

Ben was raised in Northeast Indiana and was fortunate to be introduced to the outdoors by his father at an early age through hunting, fishing, camping, and mushroom hunting. Most of these memories were made on public lands without any second thought toward how or why we could use them.

Now as an adult, and with a few Western hunts under his belt, he has a deeper understanding and appreciation of public lands and desires to help maintain and expand them for continued opportunities. This, along with meeting other like-minded people, led him to join Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and help start the proposed Indiana chapter.

Ben currently resides in Fort Wayne and works in Huntington as a Manufacturing Engineer, leading many continuous improvement projects. He also is a Certified Energy Manager and leads energy reduction projects as an extracurricular role at his work. Ben is a founding Board Member of the Indiana BHA chapter and also a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and Association of Energy Engineers.

Dr. Brian Stone

Brian lives in Terre Haute, IN, where he teaches writing and a course on conservation literature at Indiana State University. Brian grew up in northern Illinois fishing the rivers and lakes of Illinois and Wisconsin. He has had a lifelong love of the outdoors and public lands, fishing, backpacking, and canoeing all over the country from a young age. After moving to Carbondale, ILL for college, the Shawnee National Forest inspired an interest in hunting, and it was at this point he got involved in conservation efforts, volunteering for a number of non-governmental organizations. 

Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is the organization that best represents Brian's diverse outdoors interests and passion for hunting and conservation, and he has been a member for several years. Brian was a co-founder of the Indiana State University BHA Collegiate Club, the first in the state, and it is in this capacity, and in his work the IN BHA State Chapter, that he hopes to inspire the next generation of conservation-minded hunters and anglers. 

Brian is an outdoors writer whose work has appeared in Backcountry Journal. When not busy writing, grading papers, or spending time with his girlfriend, he can be found exploring Indiana's beautiful public lands and waters with his Labrador Retriever, Alvy. 

Kyle Schmedake

Kyle is a natural fisherman having developed a love for water and adventure at a young age. He spent his youth swimming competitively, lifeguarding, scubadiving, and running wild outside. Kyle’s a self taught fly caster that immediately connected with the hobby of fly fishing and turned it into a profession. He’s leveled up his talents over the years spending his summers guiding for a multitude of fish species in Alaska since 2015, guiding for smallmouth bass right here in central Indiana since 2018, and obtaining a Coast Guard Master Captain’s license. Kyle’s favorite fish is the smallmouth bass due to the subtle whelm that occurs as it confidently eats a topwater bug. You can find him quoting every line of Big Lebowski, hunting upland birds his Pudelpointer Nellie, or tying flies.

Stone Miller

A native hoosier and avid outdoorsman, Stone resides in Indianapolis with his wife Libby and their beagle-basset Bear. Stone grew up chasing smallmouth on backcountry creeks, and was raised in the fly fishing industry, as his dad operated a fly shop throughout his youth and a guiding business still today. 

While not raised a hunter, Stone was exposed to the hunting industry via his family's butchering business. This fostered a desire to pursue game as an ethical meat source, and scratched a greater itch for more immersive wild experiences.

Stone has pursued his passions professionally, having guided fishing trips locally, and in Montana on the Beaverhead, Big Hole, and Jefferson Rivers. These experiences greatly fueled his desire to protect wild places and advocate for public lands, and traditional use practices. Currently, Stone works as a sales professional.

Steve Heitz

Steve is a lifelong Hunter, Fisherman, and resident of Floyd County Indiana. He started hunting small game, deer, and Turkey at an early age with his dad, and would rather be in the woods or on the water than just about anywhere else. He is passionate about sharing his love of the outdoors with his family and helping others.

Steve began hunting the western states in 2017 after a life of dreaming about someday getting that opportunity. That first trip was the start of an addiction and sparked a desire to learn as much as possible about all the opportunities there were across the country. His thirst for knowledge of all things hunting led him to the opportunities public lands and waters offered him and the importance of maintaining, increasing, and accessing them. Steve Joined BHA in 2021 and has enjoyed the camaraderie and purpose he found in the organization.

Toni Bresson 

Toni grew up in Southern Illinois, lived a few years outside of St. Louis before relocating to Grant County, Indiana. While she did not grow up in a hunting family, she somehow convinced her mom to let her take a hunter safety course in 1997 but did not start hunting until 20 years later. Since her first pheasant hunt, Toni realized hunting/conservation would become a huge part of her life, spending seasons in Wyoming chasing antelope, fishing for Walleye in ND, and everything in between.

Her passion for conservation and wanting to give back lead her to find BHA, she quickly joined the IL Chapter and began to volunteer with other groups such as Ducks Unlimited, Wyoming Wildlife Federation, and TNMAPs.

After relocating to Indiana in 2023, she wanted to become more directly involved, which lead her to volunteering with the IN Chapter. Since joining, she took over as the chapter’s social media contact as well as a part of the events committee. In her spare time, Toni enjoys spending time with her son Cory, and fishing, camping, kayaking, exploring state parks and trails with her bird dog, Kash.