John Simpson
John is the Executive Director of the Winous Point Marsh Conservancy in Port Clinton, OH where he oversees wetland and waterfowl research and conservation projects in southwest Lake Erie. John is originally from Barrie, Ontario, Canada and received both a undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology and graduate degree in Zoology at the University of Guelph, Ontario. Prior to Winous Point, John spent several years working with Ducks Unlimited in Ontario and the US Great Lakes on research projects looking at breeding ecology of Mallards in the Great Lakes region.
Brendan Shirkey
Brendan is the Research Coordinator for the Winous Point Marsh Conservancy responsible for overseeing a wide variety of research projects on site from aquatic vegetation sampling to king rail trapping and telemetry. Brendan originally hails from northwest Ohio and received his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and Master’s degree from Michigan State University both in Wildlife Management. Before joining the Winous staff, Brendan served as an aerial survey coordinator for Michigan State University and the Michigan DNR conducting and analyzing pelagic bird surveys on Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie.
CJ White
CJ is Assistant Manager for the Winous Point Marsh and primarily responsible for overseeing maintenance, marsh management, and fall hunting projects with the Winous Point Shooting Club. CJ grew up locally in the Oak Harbor and Port Clinton area where he attended Port Clinton High School. CJ has been a waterfowl punter at Winous Point Shooting Club for 20 years. Prior to Winous Point Marsh, CJ worked as a videographer and call-maker for Zink Calls/AvianX in Port Clinton. He is still involved in the hunting industry assisting with advertising photography part time.
Nate Stott
Nate is the Research Technician for Winous Point Marsh Conservancy where he is responsible for assisting permanent staff with ongoing research projects, manuscript preparation, and grant proposals. Originally from Minnesota, Nate received his bachelor’s degree in aquatic biology from Bemidji State University. From there, he spent some time in Oklahoma working for the Oklahoma Fish and Wildlife Cooperative unit until he made his way to Ohio for his graduate studies at Bowling Green State University. Nate completed both his M.S. and Ph.D. in biology at BGSU, where his research focused on how wind driven seiches impact Northern Pike year class strength in coastal Lake Erie marshes.