Board and Staff
Working to preserve and protect Gold Butte National Monument


Shi-Lynn Campbell
Shi-Lynn has volunteered to lead hikes with several organizations. He currently leads hikes with his group, Hike Nevada. He is an adventure photographer and writer. He leads communications for multiple diversity, equity, and inclusion-based conservation organizations. Shi-Lynn joined the Board of Directors in 2021 and hopes to continue spreading awareness for Gold Butte National Monument. He believes that educating the public about the wonders of Gold Butte NM will lead more people to become advocates of the monument like him.


James Conwell
Before retiring, James spent about 22 years working as a lawyer for the federal courts in Montana and in private practice. After college and before law school, he served a tour in the U.S. Army’s Military Police Corps in Germany (West Germany, at the time) as a platoon leader, provost marshal, and battalion personnel/administration staff officer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a juris doctor (law) degree, both from the University of Montana.
James has served on or been active with several boards and community volunteer organizations, including the Children’s Museum of Montana, the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, and the Knights of Columbus Council 9976. He now looks forward to working with others (including his wife of 31 years, Jenny, also a Friends of Gold Butte board member) to preserve and protect Gold Butte National Monument.


Jennifer Conwell
Jenny credits the mountains of Montana for sparking her obsession with hiking. Since relocating to Mesquite for the winters she is eager to turn her attention to exploring the deserts of the Southwest on foot and working for the preservation of Gold Butte National Monument.


Lois Etzel
Growing up on Long Island meant lots of beach time and boating, clamming ns fishing, swimming and water skiing throughout the summers. Although Lois has always been a wanderer and has traveled on many continents, the western lands of our country, especially the desert, were her favorite place. Lois now spends almost all her free time exploring the public lands of Nevada, especially Gold Butte National Monument. She happened to join a hike in Gold Butte and because of her love of wild places she is now dedicated to preserving and protecting the Monument.


Mike Fullmer
Mike received a BS degree in Occupational Safety and Health from Utah State University. He is a Certified Safety Health Professional. He spent most of his career in the nuclear industry, Connie and Mike had the opportunity to live in the Ukraine for over 3 years when Mike ran the program for safety and health for stabilizing the nuclear reactor that exploded in 1986. Connie did volunteer work in schools while she was in the Ukraine and was greatly appreciated.


Mitch Fry
Growing up in Idaho, his youth was spent in the mountains and wilderness of central Idaho; working years in the mountains and coast of Oregon and now retirement in southern Nevada deserts. Backpacking and camping in Idaho; cycling, fishing, hiking, and rafting in Oregon, and now desert exploring in retirement. The southwest deserts and their dark skies are great places to improve skills in other retirement hobbies of astrophotography and ham radio communications.


Delmon Grapes
He grew up in northern New Hampshire (8 miles from Canada) spending time hiking and backpacking in the White Mountains National Forest and the Presidential Mountain Range (Mt. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, et. al.) After college Del served as a Signal Corps officer with the 7th and 2nd Infantry Divisions in Korea in 1970-71.
Del and his wife, Sherry, have resided in the Chicago area for over 40 years and now escape the dreaded Chicago winters to Mesquite. In the 1990s, he and Sherry discovered the delights of the Southwest, backpacking in the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Zion, Bandelier, and elsewhere. We enjoy the cultural landscape of the Chicago area and the physical landscape of the Mesquite locale.
Del and Sherry have served as volunteers with several organizations: Ragdale Foundation (an artists’ residency) maintaining the flower and vegetable gardens, Friends of Lake Forest Library as treasurer (Del) and for the annual used book sale ($100,000+ in four days!), and Chicago Botanic Garden (Sherry did a certificate in Midwest gardening—not much in common with the desert!).


Terri Rylander
She manages much of the technology and communication for Friends of Gold Butte, including the website, membership platform, and the email newsletter. She has been an active board member since its inception in 2009, with the exception of a couple years.
Terri is always thrilled to take people out to Gold Butte for the first time and loves seeing their eyes light up when they realize it has so much more to offer than just a boring desert. She works hard to help make sure Gold Butte is managed in a way that people can enjoy it forever.


Brenda Slocumb
She attended the University of Nevada, and previously worked for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, where she managed the 4-H program. 4-H is a youth development program primarily run by volunteers and is managed by Cooperative Extension, a division of the land grant university system. She has two grown children and three grandchildren.
She began as the part time Outreach Coordinator for FoGB in early 2016, thinking it would be fun to work with volunteers again, especially when hiking or organizing events. When the former executive director left the organization in 2019, the Board of Directors offered her the position of Operations Manager. This has proven to be a good match, as she now counts FoGB's volunteers among her good friends and really enjoys the variety that her position provides.
When Brenda isn't working she enjoys riding and showing her horses, baking, drawing and painting, and repurposing furniture.