Matt Lewis - Chapter Chair
Matt Lewis is a native Tennessean growing up in the Nashville area. As a teenager, Matt moved with his family to a small farm in Dickson County where he was introduced to hunting and fishing with his father and grandfather. Since then, he has been hooked and hunts hard every year for most all small and big game in the Tennessee area. Matt has picked up elk hunting in the recent year and is planning to make the trek out west every fall. Additionally, Matt was a competition archer throughout high school and college so bowhunting is a passion.
Finding so much opportunity to hunt and fish in and around the Lebanon, TN area where he lives, Matt has gained a strong desire to find ways to provide more access to our public lands and conserve the ones we have. Knowing the great work that BHA does to achieve these goals, Matt was naturally drawn to the organization and a desire to serve on the board as the Executive Chairman.
Peyton Haley - Vice Chair
Peyton is a native of Nashville and grew up hunting and fishing across Middle Tennessee. He grew up fishing on the lakes and rivers around the region and wading the local creeks. In high school, he started hunting more and started with whitetail deer and turkey. While in college at the University of Tennessee, he was on the Bass Fishing team. Recently, he has started going west to archery elk hunt every few years as well.
Peyton joined BHA in 2022 after hearing about the great work that the organization does. He believes that as anglers and hunters, it is our responsibility to support public land access.
Matt Sturdivant - Treasurer
Matt enjoys hunting whitetails with his bow and hunting geese from his layout blind. He started hunting small game when he was a teenager and picked up hunting waterfowl and deer in his mid-twenties. He recently started elk hunting out west, and it’s now one of his favorite pursuits. He relies heavily on public land for his hunting opportunities and would likely be sinking money into golf if not for access to public lands and waters. He believes it’s his responsibility as a hunter to help preserve those public lands and the wildlife that calls them home.
Courtney Grantham - Secretary
Courtney Grantham is an East Tennessee native growing up in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. The proximity to protected federal lands has had a big impact on Courtney’s life as she grew up hiking and backpacking on public lands. She took an interest in hunting and fishing at an early age which ultimately inspired her to pursue a degree at the University of Tennessee Knoxville graduating with a B.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Management and a minor in Forestry. This lead to Courtney pursuing a career as a Wildlife biologist traveling over the US working in the Federal, State and currently in the private sector. Courtney’s passion for conservation led her to BHA where she can serve in hopes to protect all the wild places and its inhabitants.
Kurt Holmes, State Captain
I grew up hunting, fishing and exploring our public lands and waters in West TN. It is that time that nurtured my deep appreciation and love for the natural world. I joined BHA because I wanted to be involved with an organization that would work to protect our wild places.
Mitchell Pigue – Policy Chair
Texas born, Tennessee Raised. Mitchell has been hunting, trapping, and fishing the public lands of the volunteer state for three decades. He holds a Master of Science in Natural Resources Management from The University of Tennessee. Scholarly interests include carbon sequestration potential of winter cover crops and restoration of early successional habitat. Mitchell advocates for the wise stewardship of the lands and waters held in the public trust as well as the rights of public land owners to enjoy those resources.
Chris Lennon - Eastern TN Rep
Chris Lennon lives in Unicoi Co in northeast Tennessee with his wife Michelle and his son Solomon. Public Lands have had a profound impact on Chris’s life since 1995 when he moved to Haywood Co NC and began studying wildlife management. During that time he became a river guide. Guiding boats down rivers lead him to Tennessee, West Virginia, Colorado and Idaho. He has worked as a whitewater guide on the Nolichucky River, the Payette River system, the New River and the Gauley River. He has also done some fish guiding on the Nolichucky Gorge and Watauga Rivers. Moving back to Tennessee in the early 2000s he cont. to guide full and part time, as well as start a career in Search and Rescue and EMS. Chris has served as a paramedic since 2006. He grew up in eastern North Carolina hunting squirrels and whitetail on family land. Over the last 20+ years he has continued this tradition on public lands as a bowhunter and bird chaser. Chris is very passionate about his public lands, conservation and the outdoor. hunting and fishing traditions, to say the least Chris is happy to serve Tennessee BHA.
Charlie Christopherson - Director of Events, Middle TN
Charlie possesses a deep-seated passion for all aspects of the outdoors. Having been raised in Minnesota, he spent four decades immersing himself in activities such as fishing, hunting, camping, and hiking. Charlie appreciated the extensive availability of public lands in Minnesota. Since relocating to Tennessee in 2020, he has developed a profound appreciation for the state's natural environment and is dedicated to contributing to its preservation. He holds in high regard the mission of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) to maintain public lands and its emphasis on promoting ethical hunting and fishing practices.