FFI Welcomes 2021 Elected Directors
Learn more about the elected directors
FFI welcomed 5 newly-elected board members and 4 returning board members at the Board of Directors meeting held on November 29, 2021. Members of the board were elected by the membership. We thank all the members who participated in the election and look forward to working with all board members in the coming year.
Dutch Baughman - Southlake, Texas
Dutch is beginning the eighth year of service to the FFI Board of Directors. During those eight years, Dutch has been Chair of the Education Committee and led the development of the FFI Learning Center. He serves on the Executive Committee and many Board sub-committees. Dutch is a Board appointee to the Casting Board of Governors and the Fly Tying Group Board of Governors. Dutch received the 2019 FFI Fly Fisher of the Year Award and a President’s Medal. He received the 2020 Darwin Atkins Fly Tying Achievement Award.
Dutch has also served for 10 years on the FFI Texas Council Board of Directors. He is a long-time member of the Fort Worth Fly Fishers Club and the Dallas Fly Fishers Club. Dutch serves as an Area Chief for the Texas Parks and Wildlife and is a certified Angler Education Instructor. For many years, Dutch has taught two fly fishing classes at a local College, as well as personal instruction for fly tying, fly fishing, and two-hand casting. Dutch has been a demonstration Fly Tyers at many national fly fishing and fly tying shows to include the FFI Expo, the Sow Bug Rendezvous, Fly Fest, Trout Fest, and is a 25 year member of the Roadkill Roundtable Fly Tyers, established in 1972.
Dutch resides in Southlake, Texas with Jacque Baughman, after 50 years of marriage. They have two children and 2 grandchildren.
Kastine Coleman - Corner Brook, NL Canada
Kastine is a conservation-minded angler and teacher. Her goal is to inspire a new generation of female anglers. Kastine is an FFI casting instructor, 2x IGFA world record holder for Atlantic Salmon, fly fishing guide, and co-owner of "Tight Loops Tight Lines” with her partner Terry Byrne. This business incorporates Newfoundland & Labrador’s only fly casting school, experience based guided fly fishing packages, hosted trips, and a fly fishing television show which will air in January 2022.
Kastine is a director with the Atlantic Salmon Conservation Foundation, SPAWN board member, and freelance writer. Her work is being published in the Atlantic Salmon Journal, Saltscapes, and Fishing & Travel/VDP magazine. She presented in the “Celebrating Women in Fly Fishing” virtual event in 2020 and is an instructor for the upcoming FFI Virtual Expo being held in November 2021.
Kastine resides in Corner Brook, NL Canada with her 3 children and can be reached at NLFlyFishing@gmail.com.
Follow Kastine at:
Website: https://www.TightLoopsTightLines.com
Instagram: @kastine_c & @TightLoopsTightLines
Facebook: https://facebook.com/kastinecoleman, https://facebook.com/tightloopstightlines
Tom Dempsey - Mobile, Alabama
Tom is an orthopedic surgeon by training, fly fisherman by passion. He has lived in Mobile for the last 40 years and has fly fished all these years. He was the first Casting Chairman when the Gulf Coast Council was formed. In 2005 along with two other certified casting instructors, he founded the Gulf Coast Fly Fishing School, which has affiliated guides in New Orleans, Nashville, Atlanta, and Pensacola.
Presently, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Gulf Coast Council, is the casting co-chairman, the GCC’s representative to the FFI Membership Committee, an FFI Certified Casting Instructor, and a fishing guide. Tom enjoys teaching and currently is mentoring three casters seeking FFI certification as Certified Casting Instructors.
Tom has fished throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, the Bahamas, Italy, Mongolia, Alaska, Greece, Turkey, and many other countries. His Zen is sight casting for redfish along the Gulf Coast. His goal is to promote the sport we love while conserving our natural resources for future fly fishermen.
Shalon Hastings - Helena, Montana
Shalon Hastings resides in Helena, MT where she works as a fly fishing instructor, fly fishing guide and remotely as the Director of Operations for onWater App.
Shalon’s passions lie in making fly fishing approachable for the beginner to intermediate fly fisher through her business, Fly Fisher Adventures. She relishes exploring new waters and the fish that they hold. She is the founder of Last Chance Fly Gals, a social connection group for local women fly fishers. She currently volunteers her time serving as the president of the Pat Barnes Chapter of Trout Unlimited and as a board member on Mending Waters Montana; a nonprofit committed to getting veterans, both active and retired, onto the water to experience therapy through fly fishing.
Shalon has extensive experience in owning and operating 2 successful restaurants in downtown Helena: starting one in 2004, buying one in 2013, and selling both in 2019.
Follow Shalon at:
Website: http://www.flyfisheradventures.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shalonhastings/
Tom Logan - Tallahassee, Florida
Tom has served on the FFI Board of Directors for 5 years, three of those as Chairman, and he wishes to serve another term. He wants to continue assisting the Chairman and other Directors maintain the momentum in development of new programs, member opportunities and benefits, and build upon those to expand the relevance of FFI within the fly fishing community and to other organizations dedicated to outdoor recreation and conservation. He especially desires to continue development of FFI's conservation programs and relevance.
Tom is a retired Certified Wildlife Biologist that spent most of his professional career in wildlife research, management, and recovery of threatened and endangered wildlife species. The past three decades prior to his retirement in 2013 were in program administration. He is budget, purpose, goal and plan oriented, whether in research, administration, or his activities and responsibilities with FFI.
Tom became a member of FFI 20+ years ago, is a life member, a member of the President’s Club, and a Certified Casting Instructor. Tom has served in several leadership roles including the chair of the Conservation Committee, Chair of the Fly Tying Group. He ultimately rose to the top position of FFI as Chairman of the Board in 2016. He served in that position for 3 1/2 years. FFI accomplished many goals while Tom was Chair, including hiring a full-time professional President and CEO. Since stepping down from the Chair position in 2020, he has continued to serve as the Chair of the Conservation Committee and as a Senior Conservation Advisor to the Board of Directors. He also remains active in his home state with the Florida Council of FFI.
James 'Jim' Maus - Lakewood, Washington
Jim is hoping to continue his service to the FFI Board of Directors for several more years. He joined the FFI’s Board of Directors as Treasurer in 2016. He is interested in using his experiences, education, and talents to help Fly Fishers International (FFI) develop and achieve its strategic goals, objectives, and commitments. He wants to be part of the amazing transformation that is occurring at FFI and help lay the groundwork for its success in the future.
Jim joined Fly Fishers International in 1995. He is a life member, a member of the President’s Club and 1000 Stewards, and a Life member of the Fly Tying Group.
Jim hopes to be actively involved and engaged in helping FFI to achieve its missions of supporting, enhancing, and preserving fly fishing opportunities; growing and expanding its relevance as the definitive voice for fly fishers of all fish in all waters around the world; supporting and growing FFI's commitment to conservation and fishing access; and providing world class educational materials and programs to support the fly fishing community.
Jim has a long history of supporting FFI. He has been actively involved with FFI for over 30 years, including holding leadership positions at the Club, Council, and National levels. Prior to retirement, he was a manager in the Controller organization of a major US Aerospace company. He has a proven history of outstanding leadership skills and exemplary performance. He has
Jim and his wife, Laurie, live in Lakewood, WA. They have three daughters, and two granddaughters.
Dave Peterson - Pentwater, Michigan
Dave is currently Chairman of the Board of Fly Fishers International. Prior to being elected as Chairman of the Board he served as Chair of the FFI Conservation Committee. He was honored to receive FFI’s Conservation Award for extraordinary contributions to the conservation of our fisheries resources in 2019. Dave is a Life Member of FFI. He resides in Pentwater, MI and is Conservation Vice President for the Great Lakes Council of FFI and a dedicated member of the West Michigan Hacklers, his local FFI charter club.
Dave’s priorities will include continuing to professionalize FFI under the leadership of our President and CEO and completing a new and comprehensive Strategic Plan for FFI. He will also focus on diversifying membership on the Board, planning for leadership succession, and increasing FFI’s capacity for membership growth and fundraising.
Andrew Reichardt - Washington DC
Since graduating college, Andrew has served in multiple leadership roles for FFI: as the Conservation Chair of the Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders, the VP of Communications of the Chesapeake Council, and as a member of the President's Marketing & Communications Advisory Committee. In addition to his formal volunteer roles with FFI, Andrew has advocated on behalf of the organization with conservation and corporate partners such as Trout Unlimited and Orvis.
Outside of his efforts with FFI, Andrew became one of the youngest TU chapter presidents in history, leading the National Capital Chapter of Trout Unlimited for four years, with the chapter nearly doubling in membership and seeing over a five hundred percent increase in both volunteer participation and fundraising. He is particularly proud of the chapter's ability to bring together multiple generations of members and leaders, the subject of the upcoming film “TUrnaround”.
Beyond his local and regional volunteer activities, Andrew has advocated in Washington on matters of national fisheries conservation such as the preservation of Bristol Bay and the management of Striped Bass on the East Coast.
Andrew is very passionate and excited about the future of FFI and the sport of fly-fishing as a greater whole. If elected as a Trustee, he hopes to serve on the strategic planning committee, working to ensure the long-term viability of the organization and increasing engagement with Millennial and Gen Z anglers.
An FFI Certified Casting Instructor, Andrew is also a graduate of Sweetwater Guide School in Montana, the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming, and the Voyageur Outward Bound School in Minnesota. His musings on the sport of fly fishing have been published in Trout Magazine, FlyLords, Hatch Magazine, and Fly Fusion Magazine.
Andrew received his B.A. from Georgetown University in 2013 and is currently pursuing his MBA from the University as well. His graduate studies are focused on nonprofit management and finance, and he hopes to utilize his ongoing education as a resource for the FFI board.
Berris Samples - Durango, Colorado
As an educator, Berris wants to advance the FFI with a diversity of people seeking to grow in their fly fishing skills and knowledge from fly tying to casting to on the water. With a masters’ degree in climate change leadership, he desires to share his concerns about a warming world and the changes that must be made to our fishing lifestyles. This has a great deal to do with conservation, preservation, and limiting our catch. Promoting and maintaining wild fisheries is also a concern. Since he inaugurated the FFF outreach to Europe in 1988 by starting four FFF clubs, his focus is also on “International” for understanding and practicing our fly rod diplomacy.
Berris is a certified master casting instructor and dedicated fly tier. Having fished around the globe, he has experience in fresh and salt water fishing with numerous species and has a direct understanding of fishing concerns like netting and overharvesting. In the late 1980s, he directed the FFF youth program at various conclaves and events. As a program presenter and guest speaker, he has shared his knowledge and experience with a variety of clubs. He also holds the distinction of being the top fundraiser in Army JROTC, raising over a million dollars in the past ten years.
Berris hopes to inspire and exemplify to the fly fishing community the conservation principles of all waters, all fish for all people. Because of his background, he wants others to understand that climate change is here, and we must adapt to its problems and issues like fishing shorter morning hours. As an educator, he feels that we must teach the balance between enjoying the sport and protecting and preserving wild places, waters, and fish.