Schmidt Hired as New Manager of Government Affairs

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are proud to announce they have hired Andrew Schmidt as the new manager of government affairs. Schmidt has worked for numerous habitat organizations to advocate for conservation programs and policies that benefit both people and wildlife — including with the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Ducks Unlimited and most recently, The Conservation Fund.
 
“Andrew has extensive experience with farm bill and wildlife conservation policy,” said Ron Leathers, the chief conservation officer at Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “We’re honored to welcome him to our team and we know his ideals and his dedication to habitat will represent our 120,000 nationwide members perfectly.”
 
For more than 30 years, Pheasants Forever has excelled as an advocate for conservation policy through strong partnerships with state and federal agencies. As the manager of government affairs, Schmidt will serve an important role representing Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s collective voice on wildlife habitat conservation, both at the state level and in Washington, D.C. 
 
“Through my time working on agriculture and wildlife policy, I’ve had the chance to get to know and work with many of the amazing people at Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever,” Schmidt said. “I could not be more excited to join such a driven and passionate team of conservationists. We have an incredible opportunity before us to make a lasting difference for habitat conservation, and I’m looking forward to getting to work to make that a reality.”
 
Schmidt is a lifelong conservationist and bird hunter. He holds an M.A. in government from The Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in political science from Christopher Newport University. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Maddie and their two sons, Rylan and Camden. In addition to his passion for the uplands, Schmidt is also an avid golfer, musician and long-suffering Baltimore Orioles fan.
 
About Pheasants Forever
 
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 140,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent; the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $577 million on 489,000 habitat projects benefiting over 12 million acres nationwide.

Media Contact
Casey Sill
(402)-657-4143
csill@pheasantsforever.org