Phillip Widener, Chairman
Phillip was born in Eastern North Carolina, but his outdoor experience began when he moved to Northern Florida. From catching bream with his grandfather, largemouths with highschool buddies, or attempts at redfish with his now brother-in-law, Phillip’s outdoor awakening happened on the water.
When he got out of the military, he moved to Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife. There, a friend told him about squirrel hunting, and he decided to try it out for himself. Squirrels, as it turns out, were the gateway to a much larger quarry. While he loves hunting most things in North Carolina, nothing fills the freezer the same way as a few white-tailed deer .
Hunting, though, forced him to reckon with the deeply ingrained sense of loss he felt for our lands and waters. Since he was a child, he was aware of the effects people had on the world around them, but always thought “What can I do?” Finding BHA turned out to be the answer to that question. BHA has given not only him, but also many others, a say in the course of conservation history. He feels incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to contribute in some small way.
Jordan Linger, Vice Chairman
Jordan was born in Maryland and raised in North Carolina. He grew up fishing rivers, creeks, and streams with his dad from North Carolina up to Maryland whenever he wasn’t in school. His family then moved to Ohio during his sophomore year of high school, which is where he really got into hunting for small game and deer. Jordan moved back to the great state of North Carolina in 2010 and now shares his love of all things outdoors with his three children (Claire, Nora, and Nolan), his wife, Beth, and their two English Setters, Cal and Remi. He joined the BHA shortly after moving to Winston-Salem where he resides now. Preaching his love of the outdoors, public land and animals that reside there to anyone who will lend an ear. He learned a lot from his Dad and Grandpa who shared classic writings from likes of Theodore Roosevelt, Aldo Leopold and Fred Bear. He loves old school ways of hunting. From traditional archery and muzzleloading while simply just sitting on the ground or still hunting just listening to the woods. While enjoying the classic styles and views of bird hunting with his two English Setters.
Ryan Frenia , Treasurer
Ryan is a native of Morehead City, NC, where he grew up stalking the Croatan National Forest, surfing the coastal waves, and angling at the local piers. Some of his fondest memories involve summer escapes to the North Carolina mountains, where he and his father would spend the days fishing for trout.
He is now settled near Greensboro with his wife and daughter who share his passion for the outdoors. By profession, he's an IT Auditor specializing in data analytics, drawing from his background in operations and his adept coding skills.
Despite his tech-savvy career, Ryan relishes escaping the digital world whenever possible. You might spot him trekking the Appalachian Trail with family and friends, bird watching at the coast, or chasing anything from white-tail to bushy tails throughout NC public lands.
Kirk Port, Secretary/Piedmont Policy and Conservation Coordinator
Kirk Port was born at the edge of Catskill Mountains Park in New York’s mid-Hudson River Valley. Many after-school hours were spent traipsing through hills right outside his front. With his Boy Scout troop, he backpacked and canoed his way through the Catskills, Adirondacks, and the interconnected lakes of Maine. His love of the outdoors and exploring has never faded. In the last seven years, he has backpacked a section of the John Muir Trail, ascended the summit of Mount Whitney, explored the Sawtooth Wilderness, and trekked through Switzerland and Bhutan. A family move brought Kirk to Raleigh at the start of high school. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he has had a long career in finance in the clinical research industry. He is an avid mountain biker and was a competitive amateur road cyclist for 30 years. Kirk considers himself an adult onset hunter. Having never fired a shotgun until a friend asked if his chocolate Labrador retriever puppy was gun shy, he soon acquired his first shotgun, took the North Carolina hunting safety course, and at age 40 purchased his first hunting license. Not too long after, a Gordon Setter joined the party. Without access to private lands, he quickly learned how important public lands are to spending days afield. He is now planning his first elk hunting trip on public lands in the Gunnison basin with his Colorado cousins. Kirk discovered BHA several years ago and found its ethos congruent with his long-held environmental and conservation values. He wants to do everything in his power to make sure that current and future generations of Americans continue to have access to public lands. As Woody Guthrie sang, “This land was made for you and me.”
Zach Brady, Mountain and Piedmont Regional Coordinator
Zach Brady grew up in the small town of Buttonwillow, located in California’s Central Valley. As a child, Zach developed a love for hunting and fishing, thanks to both his father and grandfather. Whether he was sitting in a Jon boat catching catfish or chasing quail in the foothills of the San Joaquin Valley, Zach routinely saw the beauty of America’s public lands firsthand.
This joy for the outdoors is now being passed down to his own children, in hopes that they too discover the blessing it is to call America home. Zach currently lives in Indian Trail, NC with his wife (Holly), two kids (Jack and Hattie), and black Lab (Gus).
Matthew Berrian, Coastal and Piedmont Regional CoordinatorMatthew was born in the Hudson Valley region of upstate New York. He went to college in Philadelphia and finished with a degree in graphic design. Matt moved to North Carolina in 2014 and resides in Raleigh. He loves public land and sharing his passion for archery with his daughter Madeline, and that passion has transitioned to her. He's about as diehard as they come when it comes to bowhunting. Whether it is teaching youth, setting up 3D shoots around the state, or chasing after big whitetails in the Midwest, archery is life for him! In addition to his work with NC BHA as our Social Media & Marketing Manager, Matt also serves on the board of the North Carolina Bowhunters Association as Membership Chairman. Matthew is enthusiastic about fostering cooperation between the two organizations whenever conservation and preserving the rights of hunters is the topic of discussion.
Hunter Owen, Coastal Policy and Conservation Coordinator Hunter lives outside of Sanford, NC with his wife and boys. He works for the military on Fort Liberty. Hunter was born in Wilmington North Carolina, but spent most of his childhood in Florida. His outdoor experience began at a young age fishing the coast of NC with his grandfather and once in Florida fishing daily on the Gulf of Mexico. In 2006 Hunter joined the Army and spent the bulk of his career at Fort Liberty, NC. After being medically retired and spending a short time living and working in Washington D.C., Hunter packed up his family, and moved back to the land of bright leaf hotdogs. Hunter began Hunting in 2020 after a deployment to Iraq and attending a NCWRC Learn to hunt. He and his family now hunts or has plans to hunt any legal game in the state of North Carolina. Through hunting he became aware of our public lands and the need to conserve these lands through hunting and angling, and has made this his mission since.
James Cameron, Mountain Policy and Conservation Coordinator
Jamie Cameron is a native New Englander, growing up in the suburbs of Boston during the 1970s and 80s. He has been a lifelong birdwatcher and angler, thanks in large part to his father’s influence, and took up his obsession with hunting at age 31 after moving to eastern North Carolina with his wife, Sue. He studied zoology at Ohio Wesleyan University and spent several years following graduation as a field technician on a variety of bird studies across the United States and abroad. After settling in North Carolina with Sue back in 2000, he worked in newspapers as a journalist and assistant managing editor. He has written outdoors-themed articles for a variety of periodicals, including North Carolina Wildlife magazine, Bayed Solid magazine and our own Backcountry Journal. Today, Jamie is a 13-year veteran state park ranger based near Asheville, NC, close to where he and his wife live in Black Mountain. Jamie is a certified burn boss and serves as the natural resources management officer for 1,800 acres at his current duty station in the shadow of Mount Pisgah and Pisgah National Forest. He is a lifetime BHA member and enjoys foraging wildfoods in addition to his pursuit of all foods furred, feathered and finned.
Ben Peters, AFI Coordinator
Ben currently lives in Southern Pines, NC with his wife and daughters. Growing up, he split his time between the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and the Great Plains of Central Kansas. Ben has spent the last 26 years in the U.S Army, six of which he spent in the Infantry with the 10th Mountain Division and 20 years in Special Forces with 1st Special Forces Group (A) and the United States Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Ben graduated Summa Cum Laude from Norwich University with a Bachelor of Science in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis degree. Ben is an avid bow hunter and fly fisherman, enjoys spending his time outdoors, and especially enjoys traveling for hunting, camping, hiking, and fishing trips. He hunted whitetail, turkeys, duck, geese, and small game and fished for salmon, trout, catfish, steelhead, and smallmouth bass during his time in New York. He hunted whitetail, mule deer, duck, pheasant, and fished for catfish, largemouth bass while living in Kansas. While living in Washington state, he hunted blacktail, elk, grouse, duck, and geese and fished for trout, surf perch, steelhead, and lingcod. Now, you can find Ben in the North Carolina backcountry and along the coast hunting whitetail, duck, geese, and turkey and fishing for trout, smallmouth bass, grouper, sheepshead, red drum, and striped bass. Ben also enjoys kayaking the Intracoastal Waterway, backpacking and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and is currently getting his PADI Master Scuba Diver certification.
Jacob Lishen, At-large
Based in Raleigh, NC, Jacob lives to be in the outdoors. Born and raised across the south, he’s rooted in everything from whitetail hunting to bass fishing and takes conservation, public land opportunities, and game management to heart. A past fishing, hunting, and adventure guide, he’s traveled the country pulling the best of the world back here to NC with him as he’s transitioned his love of the outdoors into the creative space as a founding member of Land Limited; an outdoor adventure media house that supports organizations in the greater outdoor community.When he’s not working on marketing or creative projects, you can find him hunting or scouting any of central NC’s public lands, working on active conservation or land management projects with local non-profits, and occasionally making trips to the coast to chase redfish and flounder. With a goal of opening up more public land opportunities and fighting for the ethical pursuit of the opportunities, animals, and adventures we all love, Jacob is proud to represent NC BHA.