Kristen Gunther is an ecologist, communicator, and advocate in Lander, Wyoming. She grew up with a passion for public lands and wildlife and learned to fish at an early age, but didn’t start hunting until she was an adult and the lure of backcountry big game hunts combined with the promise of meat in the freezer proved irresistible. As someone who sees learning as a lifelong pursuit, she’s thrilled by the constant challenges and personal growth that hunting requires, and she hopes to create many opportunities for her fellow sportswomen to share their experiences, knowledge, and passion with each other — and to leverage those connections into powerful advocacy for the ecosystems that sustain us. Kristen has an MFA in creative writing and a PhD in ecology, both from the University of Wyoming, and she works as a conservation advocate for the Wyoming Outdoor Council. She lives with her husband Rusty and their two melodramatic bird dogs, Gus and Zelda; when she’s not working she likes to volunteer for local nonprofits, read a book in the fleeting sunshine of Wyoming summer, explore the desert and the mountains, and/or try to learn new plant names.