HARRISBURG, PA - In related moves, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has appointed a new Deputy Executive Director and a new Director of the agency’s Bureau of Information and Education.
Stephen Smith, who had served as Information and Education Director since 2014, recently was promoted to Deputy Executive Director, and Lauren Ferreri, who had worked as the Biological & Visitor Manager at the Game Commission’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, was appointed to replace him.
Smith moved into his new role Feb. 17. Ferreri’s first day as Information and Education Director was April 13.
Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans said the agency as a whole has benefited from these moves.
“These are two talented individuals who have worked hard throughout their time with the Game Commission, and have a lot they can show for it,” Burhans said. “They’re driven by the agency’s mission – to protect wildlife and habitat, while promoting hunting and trapping, for current and future generations. Their work reflects that, and they’re already excelling in their new roles.”
A Berks County native, Smith graduated magna cum laude from West Chester University with a degree in Political Science. He then received a law degree from the Penn State Dickinson School of law. Smith joined the agency in 2008, after several years of practicing law.
Prior to his appointment as Bureau Director, he served as the Game Commission's Assistant Counsel for Legislative Affairs, during which time he helped to pass several important pieces of legislation that helped to expand Pennsylvania’s mentored hunting program, increase the penalties for the unlawful taking of wildlife and authorize the Game Commission to join the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
In his new role, Smith again is working to support the agency’s legislative outreach, as well as assisting and representing the Executive Director, reviewing and developing agency policy, and helping to support the Board of Game Commissioners. He said it’s an honor to serve the Game Commission in this capacity.
“This is a critical time for the Game Commission and the future of hunting, trapping and the conservation of wildlife,” Smith said. “The work we do now to extend our outreach and forge stronger partnerships could have lasting impacts for the generations to come, and ensure they will enjoy the same opportunities we have for centuries.”
Outreach has been an area of focus for Ferreri during her career with the Game Commission, and she brings that to her new role leading the Bureau of Information and Education.
At Middle Creek, a wildlife-viewing destination that draws about 150,000 visitors a year, Ferreri worked to connect with the public – not only by helping provide a better experience for the tens of thousands who come to witness the annual spectacle of snow-goose migration, but through planning and scheduling conservation education programs throughout the year, and hosting an expanded number of permitted hunts at Middle Creek.
Ferreri’s connection to the Game Commission began as a volunteer while she was still in college at Delaware Valley University, where she graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Management and Conservation. She was hired by the Game Commission in 2012 as a biologist aide, trapping deer in the Southeast Region, then in 2014, moved into a biologist position in the Northcentral Region. There, she discovered the rewards of sharing her passion about wildlife, and began assisting with educational programming in addition to her primary duties. Ferreri also worked for a time in a clerical role at the Southeast Region Office, selling hunting licenses and talking to the public about their wildlife interactions and concerns.
She draws on all of these experiences in her new role.
“So far, my work with the Game Commission has provided a broad view of the agency’s needs, as well as the public’s, and allows me to better identify what we can do in carrying out the agency’s mission,” Ferreri said. “That includes engaging more with our hunters, but also with students of conservation and other Pennsylvanians who enjoy wildlife. Through these initiatives, we can ensure the breadcrumbs that helped create conservationists like myself continue to be shared, and the Game Commission’s mission can continue to thrive.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Lau - 717-705-6541
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