The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission is in the midst of its search for a new director following former director Austin Booth’s resignation in January.
Commission members are hoping to make a selection by June, said Randy Zellers, assistant communications chief for the agency.
Chris Racey, the agency’s chief of staff, is currently serving as interim director. He’s among those looking to win the job on a permanent basis.
The candidates come from a variety of backgrounds, including positions in public policy, wildlife conservation, private industry and education, Arkansas Business learned through a public records request.
Here’s a look at each candidate.
Andrew Kelley
Kelley graduated with a bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Arkansas in 2018 before going on to study at Georgetown University for a master’s in logistics and supply chain management.
He has worked in the office of U.S. Sen. John Boozman since 2018, where he started as a staff assistant and tour coordinator. He currently holds the position of legislative assistant, where he advises Boozman on issues related to the environment, energy, infrastructure, transportation and regulations. He currently resides in Washington, D.C.
John Zack Brown
Brown of West Virginia earned his undergraduate degree in biology at Bethany College in 1993. He graduated with a master’s in zoology from the University of Arkansas in 1996.
He’s currently the assistant chief of operations for the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resource Section, where he leads activities including capital improvements, business and fiscal services, outreach and education, environmental coordination and technical support and oversees more than $30 million in annual expenditures. He has worked with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources since 1998, in positions including as a fisheries biologist and capital improvements coordinator.
Charles ‘Swanny’ Evans
A certified wildlife biologist, Evans earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia, where he focused on wildlife science. He’s been awarded more than $10 million in funding for research and has contributed to multiple technical and peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Since 2024, he’s worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, representing the Office of Conservation Investment, which distributes billions of dollars annually to start fish and wildlife agencies. Before that, he worked at the D.C.-based Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports and in various other positions in Montana and Georgia.
Doug Schoenrock
Currently residing in Michigan, Schoenrock received his education at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, earning a bachelor’s in animal science and a master’s. He worked for the Sara Lee Corporation for 20 years, where he had vice president-level responsibilities both domestically and internationally in sales and marketing.
He’s now a sales and marketing executive at Savannah Foods. In 2020, Schoenrock was named President of Ducks Unlimited, where he led the $350 million nonprofit through various conservation and fundraising efforts.
Ed Penny
Penny earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in wildlife and fisheries science from Mississippi State University. He is currently Ducks Unlimited’s director of public policy in the 13-state Southern Region, where he works with leaders in the state and federal governments to develop conservation policy.
Before taking that role in 2017, Penny was director of conservation programs at the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) and before that, Director of the MDWFP’s Wildlife Bureau.
Chris Racey
Currently serving as interim director of the AGFC, Racey received his bachelor’s in biology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania before earning his master’s in aquaculture and fisheries at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
He’s worked at the AGFC most of his career, starting out as an assistant biologist for the agency’s Community Fishing Program before becoming assistant chief of fisheries management in 2009. He became the fisheries chief in 2015, then deputy director of the AGFC in 2018. He was chief of staff for the agency from 2021 until this year, when he stepped into the interim position following Booth’s departure.
Mike Wilson
Wilson has worked for the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism for 34 years. He started out as a park ranger, a position he held at various Arkansas State Parks for 11 years, before being promoted to serve as a park superintendent at Cane Creek State Park, then DeGray Lake Resort State Park.
In 2018, he became the Arkansas State Parks Region 4 Supervisor. He became manager of operations for state parks in 2018, and in 2024 was named Operations Director for the parks division. Along the way, Wilson earned his EMT certification, became a commissioned law enforcement officer, attended the Park Ranger Training Academy at the University of Memphis and received his bachelor’s in business administration at Henderson State University.
Colbie Jones
Jones earned her bachelor’s in mass media from Henderson State University in 2014. She worked at several community newspapers before starting her career in state government at the Arkansas Minority Health Commission. She served as director of Keep Arkansas Beautiful for two years before taking on her current role as the associate environment administrator at the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment’s Division of Environmental Quality.
Maurice Jackson
Jackson studied at the University of Pine Bluff, where he earned his bachelor’s in fisheries biology and his master’s in aquaculture and fisheries. He currently serves as coordinator for the AGFC’s Family and Community Fishing Program.
He started his career at the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, where he was a hatchery supervisor and then an aquatic education biologist. He joined the AGFC in 2012 as an education specialist, a position he held until taking on his current role in 2015.
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