Alec Bekkers, Chair

Alec has lived in the Milwaukee area since his freshman year of college and over the years has quickly become an “adoptive” Wisconsinite. Spending much of his upbringing moving between Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and even a few countries in Europe, Alec has since grown roots in the Milwaukee area and immersed himself into the broader Wisconsin lifestyle. While growing up without any exposure to hunting and angling, Alec discovered his life’s passion for the outdoors during his adult life and has spent the past 7 years learning, exploring, and growing as an adult-onset hunter.

Beginning his Wisconsin life with college at Marquette University, and later a Master’s Degree, Alec has worked in a number of local positions within GE (General Electric) and now works with the GE Healthcare business unit. During work hours you can find Alec enthusiastically engaging with GE Healthcare teams all across the globe around his career passion of Operations & Supply Chain Management.

Outside of work, Alec is doing his best to convince his girlfriend and their 2 Labrador Retrievers to find any and every outdoor activity to engage in – whether it be hunting, fishing, bird dog training, hiking, camping, or the preferred pursuit of any “true outdoorsman”… downhill skiing (much to the chagrin of the Meateater Podcast). While continuing to build his acumen & expertise around Wisconsin-based hunting & angling, Alec has also expanded his pursuit to experience hunting cultures all across the US – elk in Utah, redfish in the Carolinas, sage grouse in Wyoming, elk & bear in Idaho… and many more to come.

As a new member to the board, Alec hopes to channel his passion for the outdoors into the Milwaukee area and drive engagement with urban & suburban BHA members to get out there and explore the beautiful public lands & waters that Wisconsin has to offer, and furthermore to aid in BHA’s mission of supporting, maintaining, conserving, and enabling public access to the natural spaces that we love and adore.

Brock Rosenkranz, Vice Chair  

Brock is a lifelong resident of Richland Center, settled in the heart of the Driftless Region. Growing up with a conservation driven biology teacher as a father, his appreciation for the outdoors and its beauty was fostered from a young age. Trout fishing was his first passion, as he learned to fish out of lunker structures in front of RCHS that were part of a project his dad initiated. Brock also had great mentors that introduced him to turkey, duck, and deer hunting in his youth, learning and creating memories that stick with him to this day.

Graduating from UW-Platteville with majors in Construction Management and Occupational Safety, he decided to become a carpenter himself. He is currently self-employed, building custom houses and post frame buildings with his lifelong friend and hunting buddy. Brock spends the majority of his free time outdoors, usually participating in whatever season is open, though trout fishing, turkey and deer hunting are his main passions. Recently he has also gotten bitten by the rabbit, squirrel and musky bugs. 

He has served on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress since 2016 as a delegate in Richland County, spending time on a number of sub-committees including the trout, turkey and upland game, and outreach committees. Serving on the congress has strengthened his love and passion to protect the outdoors. 

Recently, Brock has been able to assist in a number of different Learn to Hunt/Fish events and has fallen in love with sharing the majesty of the outdoors with new and returning outdoorsmen, women and children. Even though he was brought up in a fishing, outdoor loving family, he had several mentors and family friends that helped develop his love for all things outdoors. That is what has fueled his passion to retain, reactivate, and recruit folks of all ages.

 Dan McElroy, Treasurer 

Dan has been a fisherman since he was big enough to hold onto a Zebco. Ranging from small creeks and retention ponds of the suburbs where he grew up, to catching crabs on turkey necks at his grandparent’s home in Florida, or pursuing trout and salmon on the streams and rivers of the mountain west and Alaska, fishing has always been in his blood.  His college years were spent fishing Lake Michigan tributaries and obtaining a business degree and environmental studies minor at Valparaiso, and then on to an MBA at the University of Illinois. Dan works as an accounting manager at a marketing firm when he is not chasing walleye, trout, and bass in northern Wisconsin. 

As an “adult onset hunter”, Dan has spent the last 10+ years hunting whitetail in Wisconsin during both bow and gun seasons, and ventured west to chase mule deer for the first time this year with his wife Jen, and is looking forward to making a western trip an annual tradition.

In addition to hunting and fishing, Dan continues to enjoy a variety of other outdoor activities across our amazing public lands like hiking, camping, kayaking, and fat biking trails be they in Wisconsin or abroad.

Gary VandenLangenberg, Secretary 

Gary was born and raised in Green Bay, WI and resides there with his wife Jenny and children Lily, Robin, Forest, and Lake. Gary’s father took him hunting, fishing, and camping at a young age and instilled in him a love for the outdoors and wild places.

After high school Gary attended Fox Valley Tech College and earned an Associates Degree in Natural Resources. Difficulty finding work in his field of study led him to the construction industry where he worked as a carpenter for 14 years, followed by his current Project Management role for the past 12 years. However, passion for the outdoors has always remained a central focus in his pastimes. 

Gary enjoys building and hunting with his own homemade traditional archery equipment, crafting recurve and longbows, cedar arrows, and bowstrings in his small basement workshop. Nearly every year, you can count on him obsessively planning a public land hunting trip to the Western US. He also enjoys gun deer camp in Pembine WI, open water and ice fishing, as well as camping and traveling with his family. Waterfowl hunting is a new interest for him, sparked by his son’s drive to hunt and cook waterfowl and other wild game.

Gary is passionate about protecting hunting and fishing opportunities and access for all people. He believes that America’s greatest treasures are its public lands and waters, and enjoyment of these natural places should not be limited to a select few, but instead should be a right guaranteed to everyone.      

Paul Schecklman, Policy Committee Lead

Paul grew up in central Wisconsin where he spent much of his time outdoors with his family. Whenever there was free time, he would travel with his family to their northern Wisconsin cabin which is now his family’s home. Paul grew up working on a neighbor’s horse ranch, learning the importance of working the land. His family was extremely steadfast in conservation, never taking from the land without giving back to it and appreciating the vast natural resources of Wisconsin. Paul is an avid whitetail hunter but challenges himself by pursuing all wild game in wild places. You will find him fishing for anything that is biting on open water and frozen lakes. He enjoys managing land to create diverse and healthy wildlife habitats. 

Paul works as a fire-medic, having worked in La Crosse, Eau Claire, and Madison. One thing remained constant, accessible public land to explore and pursue wild game. Paul has a degree from UW Oshkosh and is completing his Masters at Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service. He and his wife Chelsea have two dogs and enjoy traveling with their camper van and mountain bikes. Paul is a passionate defender of Wisconsin’s public lands and hopes to bring more people into outdoor adventures while growing BHA’s involvement and causes throughout the state. He believes that humans belong in nature and deserve access to what our nation’s landscape has to offer.

Tony Cordero, R3 Committe Lead

Tom Olson, Stewardship Committee Lead

Tom is a lifelong resident of southern Wisconsin. He grew up in Oconomowoc and enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school.  After his enlistment, Tom bounced between colleges finally ending up at UW-Madison where he finished a degree in pharmacy.  He currently lives in Madison where he works as a pharmacy consultant for the state Medicaid program. 

Tom spends as much of his free time as possible hunting and fishing on public lands and waters around the state.  In addition to hunting and fishing, Tom enjoys backpacking, mountain biking, canoeing and camping.  His favorite public land adventures occur on his yearly ventures to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Quetico Provincial Park.  Tom is purchasing his first bird dog in the coming months and is looking forward to chasing upland birds in Wisconsin and beyond.  Tom is excited to join the Wisconsin BHA Board and hopes to encourage all people to enjoy and protect our public lands and waters.

Matthew Reel, Board of Directors

Matthew resides in South Central Wisconsin with his wife and two children.  Matthew grew up in South Central Wisconsin with a passion for the outdoors.  Matthew is an avid bowhunter, fisherman, and outdoor enthusiast.  He enjoys camping with his family throughout the state’s beautiful State Parks during the summer months. When fall arrives Matthew will be found chasing elk or deer with his bow, throughout the vast western public lands or paddling a canoe through the BWCA.

Matthew is a graduate of Winona State University (MN), where he attended on scholarship.  He was a recieved first-team all conference alloladates as a captain of the golf team as well as a BS degree in Business / Marketing.  He pursued his golf talents in California for a number of years before returning to work as a PGA Golf Professional back in his home state of Wisconsin.

Matthew works with a variety of organizations using his talents to teach, mentor, and fundraise for worthy causes.  Beyond his involvement with BHA, Matthew is actively involved in PGA, RMEF, NWTF, and his local conservation clubs youth programming.

Matthew is looking forward to serving the BHA Board of Directors, and helping bring new energy and excitement to the Events and Fundraising Committee.