YELLOWSTONE WILDLIFE PROFILES - Key Persons
Angela Tempo is a naturalist and photographer who specializes in the GYE (Yellowstone National Park, Grand Tetons National Park, and surrounding public lands) and night sky photography. She graduated from Boston University with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Social Communications, a master's in Photojournalism from the same institution, and a master's in Public Relations from Kent State University. Before moving to Yellowstone, she worked at Georgetown University in Washington DC. She also works as a First Responder with FEMA and deploys in Natural Disasters globally. In her free time, Angela likes to raft, paint, and hike with her dog. She currently lives in Gardiner, MT allowing her to immerse in this area year round.
Brad has been guiding in Yellowstone for over 18 years and is co-owner of Yellowstone Wildlife Profiles. A trained wildlife biologist, he has also written "The Grand Lady of Yellowstone and Other Yellowstone Wolf Stories" and has had several wildlife videos broadcast on national television. Brad has conducted many wildlife presentations throughout the country, and he is a certified trainer of interpretive guides through the National Association for Interpretation, which he enjoys as a way of passing on his experience as a Yellowstone guide. Brad loves to entertain as well as educate people in this fantastic park he now calls home.
Carolyn is a naturalist guide, educator, and co-owner of Yellowstone Wildlife Profiles LLC. She holds a bachelor's degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership and Management with emphases in ecology and cultural anthropology from Northern Michigan University. Carolyn has been living in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem for 15 years, guiding and teaching in Yellowstone for over 10 years. Her specialties include multi-day seminars on wolf research and management, day hiking and backpacking courses, and single-day private tours catered to the interests of each group. As a certified trainer of interpretive guides through the National Association of Interpretation, she also teaches in-depth classes that share the art and skill of naturalist guiding. Carolyn's volunteer experience in Yellowstone includes snow tracking surveys for the Yellowstone Cougar Project, carcass surveys with the grizzly bear research team, and assisting with trapping ravens and fitting them with GPS harnesses for research. During her free time, Carolyn enjoys exploring the GYE with her husband and two small children.
Cooper fell in love with Yellowstone during his first visit in 2014 and has spent time exploring the park every year since. His insatiable curiosity regarding the natural world drove him to Texas A&M University where he earned bachelor's degrees in biology and environmental geoscience, minors in geology and oceanography, and research scholar honors for his published work in the field of evolutionary geobiology. Over the last seven years, he visited every National Park in the Western US, but the wonders and excitement of Yellowstone drew him back time and again. After becoming a Certified Interpretive Guide, Cooper began guiding in the park. He is excited for any opportunity to enable guests to be inspired and awed by the wildlife and beauty of Yellowstone.
Josh Welter, coming from the southeast, hails from South Carolina though he made his way to Montana and Wyoming via the Mountains of southern California. After earning a degree in Parks and Protected Area Management focused on natural and historical resource interpretation, he worked in many different regions across the United States before landing in Yellowstone in 2012. Finding a naturalist haven, he chose to stick around and teach. In his free time he can be found (or not) delving deep into the backcountry…or lounging away reading a good book in a recliner by the fire.
Shauna saw her first wild wolf while volunteering for the Yellowstone Wolf Project in 1996 and has been working to protect wolves and wild places ever since. For over 25 years, she has focused her career on outdoor education and wildlife conservation, including work as a biologist for the USFWS Red Wolf Recovery Program in North Carolina, forest carnivore researcher for the University of Vermont, and volunteer at Colorado-based Mission:Wolf. Shauna has a Bachelor's in Biology and a Master's in Science Education. She is a published author, and her educational speciality is developing nature therapy programs for disabled veterans, inner-city youth, and autistic groups. Recently, she was the editor for the Yellowstone Wolf Charts and Genealogy publications as well as launching Yellowstone Trip Planning, an online venue for visitors wanting to make the most of their time vacationing in Yellowstone. When Shauna isn't in the field guiding or helping others plan their trips, she can be found with a scope to her eye or a book on her lap.
Virginia comes to Yellowstone from a long history in outdoor education and the Girl Scouts. She first worked in the park in 2012, thinking it would be just a fun one- summer job. But after falling in love with the animals, the thermals, and even the lodgepole pines, she never left! Virginia works with families, teachers, school groups and everyone in between. She has worked as a Girl Scout summer camp counselor and Leadership Director, and as an international volunteer and Leadership Seminar facilitator. Virginia is a Certified Interpretive Guide, a Leave No Trace Trainer, and a Wilderness First Responder. After the initial shock of her first -30° Yellowstone winter days, this California girl now thrives in the winter and lives for summer hikes and paddle trips. She uses her degree in theater to make science and the outdoors come alive for students of all ages!