WEST - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Enterprise Technology Director
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors / Chief Services Officer
- Chief Services Officer
Clayton Derby serves as the Chief Services Officer for WEST. Clayton emphasizes teamwork in living WEST's Mission Statement and Core Principles through ensuring the quality of the company's products and services, customer loyalty, satisfaction and retention; and the development of new business. Clayton received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Moorhead State University and a Master of Science in Zoology and Physiology from the University of Wyoming. Clayton has worked for WEST as a wildlife biologist since 1995, moving into project and personnel management as his career advanced. In his technical role, Clayton has been a project manager for several large natural gas pipeline development projects in the midwestern and western US and wind energy development projects throughout the country. As a project manager, Clayton has ensured that the wildlife, vegetation, and state- and federally listed species resource surveys and reviews are completed on time, within budget, and to the client's and resource agencies' high demands. As the Chief Services Officer at WEST, he works extensively with the Executive Team, Service Directors, Business Development, Senior Managers, and WEST's branch offices throughout the country, in developing and implementing strategies to successfully lead WEST in the implementation of client projects and internal WEST initiatives. .
In 2005, Clayton opened a branch office of WEST in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he continues to live and work.
Job Titles:
- President
- Board of Directors / Founder / Principal Ecologist
- Founder / Ecologist
- Founder / Principal Ecologist
- Member of the Ecological Society of America
Dale Strickland is President and a senior ecologist with WEST. Dale received both a B.S. in Zoology in 1969 and a M.S. in Wildlife Management in 1972 from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Wyoming in 1975. Prior to his employment with WEST, he served as a scientist and administrator with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and on the faculty of the Department of Statistics at the University of Wyoming. Dale also taught courses in wildlife management and statistics as a visiting instructor at the University of Wyoming.
Dale has over forty years of experience in ecological research and wildlife management. His specialties include the design, conduct, and analysis of field studies of terrestrial and avian wildlife; threatened and endangered species; wildlife management; impact, risk, and injury assessment studies; and resolution of conflicts over natural resources. Dale is author of more than 150 papers and technical reports in the scientific and popular literature on wildlife research and natural resource conservation and management. He is the lead author of a chapter on harvest management in the 5th edition of the Wildlife Techniques Manual and co-author of the text "Wildlife Study Design" published in 2001 and "Wildlife Study Deign, 2nd Edition" published in 2007. Dale contributed to documents for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the quantification of injury due to oil spills in Type B Natural Resource Damage Assessments and authored a chapter in a guidance document on the conduct of research on avian wind power interactions for the National Wind Coordinating Committee. He is also lead author of the "Comprehensive Guide to Studying Wind Energy/Wildlife Interactions" published in 2011 by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory for the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative. Dale is currently the leader of the Third Party Contractor team for the Army Corps of Engineers for an Environmental Impact Statement regarding the expansion of two reservoirs in Colorado and has lead the development of numerous other National Environmental Policy Act documents. He worked on numerous Natural Resource Damage Assessments, including the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska, the Clark Fork River in Montana, and Coeur d'Alene in Idaho.
While with the State of Wyoming, Dale served on many regional and national boards and committees, including the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee for 10 years, the Central Flyway Council, and as a charter member of the Black-footed Ferret Advisory Committee. As an employee at WEST, he served as the executive director of the Platte River Endangered Species Partnership and Platte River Recovery Implementation Program (Program) from 1998 through June 30, 2007. Dale and his staff provided scientific and administrative support for the Governance Committee, which oversees the Program. Dale has served as a peer reviewer for several scientific journals, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the California Energy Commission and two years as an associate editor for the Journal of Wildlife Management. He is a member of the National Wind Coordinating Committee's Wildlife Working Group and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Communications Tower Working Group. Dale also served on The National Academies, National Research Council, Committee on Environmental Impact of Wind Energy Projects, and The Wildlife Society's Committee reviewing the wildlife impacts from wind power development and is currently a member of the Council's Committee on the Evaluation of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. He served as a technical advisor to the Federal Advisory Committee developing recommendations for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to consider as they revised wind energy development guidelines. Dale is currently on the Advisory Board of the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, a science advisor to the American Wind Wildlife Institute, and on the Board of Professional Certification for the Ecological Society of America.
Dale is a member of the Ecological Society of America, Certified Senior Ecologist; The Wildlife Society, Certified Wildlife Biologist; the American Statistical Association; and the Wyoming Chapter, The Wildlife Society, Past President.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Board of Directors / Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Executive Officer for WEST. Working With the Board of Directors
David Young serves as the Chief Executive Officer for WEST. Working with the Board of Directors, the Executive Team, Directors and senior management, David is charged with delivering on WEST's long-term vision and goal to provide excellent environmental consulting services to clients while maintaining the highest scientific standards. His leadership reflects the core values of WEST, providing clients with top-level scientifically defensible solutions, technical expertise, and high-quality services to address client needs and difficult natural resource issues. David is also charged with upholding internal company core values, creating a company that provides satisfying careers, personal and professional growth opportunities, and a collaborative team approach all under a respectful, diverse, and inclusive atmosphere.
David has been with WEST since 1992. His career progression at WEST has included field biologist and field coordinator, project manager, senior manager, Chief Operating Officer, and currently Chief Executive Officer. David's background and education are in wildlife biology, specifically ornithology and chiropterology. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Earlham College in 1986 and a Master of Science in Zoology from the University of Georgia in 1988. David's specialty areas include threatened and endangered species, Endangered Species Act compliance, and wind power impact assessment, monitoring and research. Over his career, David has received formal training in Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation and Habitat Conservation Plans and has worked with numerous clients to address protected species issues and compliance with the Endangered Species Act. He has experience working with a wide variety of listed species throughout the US as well as internationally. David's wind power work includes over 25 years of experience conducting avian and bat research at wind projects throughout the US, Canada, and Latin America. He has been an invited speaker at national and international conferences, has conducted workshops for wind-wildlife interactions and research, and has served on technical advisory committees charged with oversight of wind power and wildlife impacts, minimization and mitigation measures.
David has been with WEST since 1992. His career progression at WEST has included field biologist and team leader, project manager, senior manager, Chief Operating Officer, and currently Chief Executive Officer. David's background and education are in wildlife biology, specifically ornithology and chiropterology. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Earlham College in 1986 and a Master of Science in Zoology from the University of Georgia in 1988. David's specialty areas include threatened and endangered species, Endangered Species Act compliance, and wind power research. Over his career, David has received formal training in Endangered Species Act Section 7 Consultation and Habitat Conservation Plans and has worked with numerous clients to address protected species issues and compliance with the Endangered Species Act. He has experience working with a wide variety of listed species throughout the US as well as internationally. David's wind power work includes over 25 years of experience conducting avian and bat research at wind projects throughout the US, Canada, and Latin America. He has been an invited speaker and conducted workshops for wind-wildlife interactions and research and has presented wind power wildlife research at national and international meetings.
Deby Forry serves as WEST's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) working with the finance, legal and contracts teams. Deby has over 35 years of experience in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, environmental consulting, risk management, strategic planning, government contracting, compliance and human resources. Deby is a leader who prides herself in mentoring women and business professionals. Born and raised in Wyoming, she attended the University of Wyoming on an athletic scholarship. She earned her Bachelors, Masters and a Juris Doctorate while competing for the University of Wyoming women's track and field team. She has held the outdoor 800 meter record for just over 28 years, one her daughter hopes to break in the near future.
Before graduating from UW's Law School, she served on the Law Review and published one of the first articles on LLC treatment in Wyoming. She clerked for the Wyoming Supreme Court right out of law school, then served almost 20 years as the CFO, General Counsel, Board of Director and Senior Officer for about 20 years at one of the largest environmental engineering firms in Wyoming. Before joining WEST she was the CFO and Legal Counsel for a federal construction contractor who constructed military installations in the middle of the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Deby has been instrumental in company growth, business process and leadership during her career. In 2018, she received the Wyoming Woman of Influence for Energy and Utilities . Outside of work she serves as a resource for many organizations and panels addressing business issues and leadership topics. Recently she served on a National Women of Influence panel addressing issues surrounding women leaders in male dominated industries. She spends her free time with her family, watching her daughter run track and play high school basketball, camping and traveling.
J.R. Boehrs serves as the Chief Operating Officer at WEST. J.R. is responsible for managing and continuously improving WEST's day-to-day business operations, with a focus on strategic short- and long-term operations management. He collaborates with the management team to develop and implement plans for the operational infrastructure of systems, processes, and personnel designed to accommodate WEST's operational and growth objectives. J.R. is responsible for the design, operation, and improvement of systems and processes that create and deliver WEST's products and services and supports the core operations. He coordinates, maintains, and improves business operations to increase departmental and organizational productivity, efficiency, and performance. J.R. maintains ongoing knowledge, control and inventory of WEST's health & safety, information technology, purchasing & inventory departments as well as, administrative support and company infrastructure.
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors / Service Director / Senior Scientist
Kimberly Bay has worked with WEST since 2001, first as a Data Technician, then a Biometrician/Data and Report Manager, and currently as a Project Manager and Senior Manager. She received her B.S. in Mathematics/Statistics in 2000 and her M.S. in Statistics in 2003 from the University of Wyoming.
As Data and Report Manager, Ms. Bay developed and managed several large cumulative databases, which include data from over 200 wind-related reports. These databases enable WEST to utilize data regarding wind-wildlife interactions from over 20 years of research across the U.S. to assess potential risk or impact to wildlife from wind-energy development. She, along with others at WEST, have used these databases to develop and publish several cumulative impact manuscripts to further help industry and agencies better understand the overall effects on wildlife. In her current role as Project Manager and in previous roles, Ms. Bay participated in numerous assessment and monitoring projects related to understanding and assessing the effects of wind turbines on birds and bats, and in avian and bat risk reduction studies. In addition, she is an author/co-author on several professional journal articles and has presented papers/posters at numerous national/regional meetings.
Job Titles:
- Founder / Biometrician
- Founder / Statistician
- Founder, Retired
Lyman McDonald, biometrician/statistician, was co-founder of WEST in 1990 after working for Kansas State University and University of Wyoming for 20 years. He continued working with WEST for thirty years, retiring in 2020. Lyman's specialties included sampling and monitoring of biological communities, calibration of biased sampling procedures, and modeling resource selection by animals.
Lyman is the author or co-author of more than 100 papers in scientific literature and is joint author of the second edition of the book Resource Selection by Animals: Statistical Design and Analysis for Field Studies. His responsibilities on projects included design and analysis for Natural Resource Damage Assessments, wildlife surveys, study of habitat selection by wildlife populations, and monitoring abundance of wildlife populations. Lyman continues to have contact with WEST employees and enjoys discussing issues in ongoing projects.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- President of Board / Service Director
Shay is a recognized leader at WEST, currently serving as a Service Director and the President of the Board of Directors. For over 20 years Shay has designed client-focused technical solutions in the subject areas of statistics and data science for complex ecological challenges. While serving in the role of Quality Program Manager, Shay was able to work with WEST project managers to improve deliverables and client experience through a focus on continual improvement. Shay has led mentoring and team-building efforts within WEST to ensure our employees have the skills to manage projects and excel above client expectations. Shay holds a Master's degree in Statistics from Oregon State University and a Bachelor's degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Pennsylvania State University.
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors / HR Manager
- Human Resources
- in 2015 As the Human Resources Generalist
Tiffany joined WEST in 2015 as the Human Resources Generalist and now serves as the Human Resources Manager. Tiffany has over 21 years of experience in the field of human resources with a wide variety of HR knowledge in the areas of policy, compensation, recruitment and retention, benefits, labor and leave laws, employee relations and training and development. She earned her Professional in Human Resources certification in 2014, SHRM-CP certification in 2015 and is currently an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management. Most recently, Tiffany has become involved with assisting in developing and implementing initiatives outlined in WEST's strategic plan to include the ongoing development of career pathways for staff development and career advancement, development of a Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility plan, and oversight of the company's diversity, equity and inclusion committee.
Prior to working for WEST, Tiffany was part of a start-up company in Nebraska for 8 years and was primarily responsible for the development and implementation of all HR and administrative policies and protocol. In January 2009, Tiffany expanded her employment law knowledge as she began working for a large, national child support enforcement company as the Regional HR Manager of their Wyoming and Colorado divisions.
Tiffany joined WEST in 2015 as the Human Resources Generalist and now serves as the Human Resources Manager. Tiffany has over 21 years of experience in the field of human resources with a wide variety of HR knowledge in the areas of policy, compensation, recruitment and retention, benefits, labor and leave laws, employee relations and training and development. She earned her Professional in Human Resources certification in 2014, SHRM-CP certification in 2015 and is currently an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management on both the national and local chapter levels. Most recently, Tiffany has become involved with assisting in developing and implementing initiatives outlined in WEST's strategic plan to include the development of career pathways for staff development and career advancement, development of a Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility plan, and oversight of the company's diversity, equity and inclusion committee.
Job Titles:
- Board of Directors / Service Director / Principal Ecologist
- Ecologist
Todd is a Board Director, Service Director, and Principal Ecologist at WEST where he is responsible for strategic initiatives, business diversification, and overseeing teams of natural resource specialists in both the US and Canada. He has particular expertise in conservation planning and managing environmental regulatory compliance issues for major energy development and/or land management projects, particularly those requiring compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Todd has led environmental planning, permitting, and compliance efforts on renewable energy and other development projects. As part of his duties, he routinely advises clients on environmental permitting strategy and risks.
Prior to joining WEST, Todd was a director of environmental affairs at Element Power, where he was responsible for leading environmental permitting and compliance efforts for Element Power's wind and solar energy development projects throughout the US, Prior to Element Power, Todd was also a vice president and wind energy program manager at HDR Engineering, Inc.