Steff Kessler

Steff Kessler

Program Director

stephanie@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

307.332.7031 ext. 210

Steff’s passion for the West brought her to Wyoming in the 70s when she started working for the National Outdoor Leadership School as a backcountry wilderness instructor. She later obtained a Masters of Education in Planning and Policy from Harvard University, which led to administrative jobs at NOLS and as executive director of the Alaska Center for the Environment based in Anchorage. She returned to Wyoming to serve as executive director of the Wyoming Outdoor Council from 1990-94, stepping down from full-time work as her family grew. Steff kept engaged with Wyoming conservation through part-time work, consulting and serving on several boards. In 2004 and 2005 she managed the successful legislative campaign creating the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust. Steff later opened and staffed The Wilderness Society’s Wyoming office for seven years, working in partnership with the Wyoming Outdoor Council and many others to secure passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act and protection of the Upper Hoback. During this time, she also served on the state’s Ozone Task Force and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Interior to the Pinedale Anticline Working Group. Aside from state legislative and congressional experience, Steff also understands local government concerns, having served on the Lander School Board and as a Fremont County Commissioner. She resides outside of Lander on the border of the Wind River Indian Reservation with her husband John Gans and three children.