Staff
Scott Martin is the acting Executive Director of The Land Learning Foundation (LLF). He currently resides in Huntsville, MO where he lives with his wife, Katy, and their three children. Growing up in Northeast Missouri with vast opportunities to be in and participate in outdoor activities granted him with many core values and memories he holds dear.
In fulfilling the mission on LLF, "Fostering stewardship through outdoor expeirence, youth education, and conservation", Scott has the blessing to not only teach his own children, but those without the same opportunities to enjoy the same outdoor experiences through our youth programs.
Katie (Wiesehan) Marsh finished her Master's degree at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the field of Biology in 2021. For her thesis, Katie conducted a population mark-recapture study on the state-threatened Illinois chorus frog. Her goal is to protect and conserve the threatened Illinois chorus frog population in Edwardsville along with their rare sand prairie habitat. She graduated from Lindenwood University with a Bachelor's in Biology in May of 2018.
She has been working with Land Learning Foundation since 2016 as the Assistant Director, and now the Lead Biologist and Deputy Director. Katie has a passion for the outdoors, field biology, and continuous learning. She is dedicated to helping LLF provide high quality stream and wetland restoration and protection. She is also passionate about giving youth outdoor experiences, introducing them to water quality, and teaching them to respect nature and value water resources.
Board of Directors
Doug Helmers is the President of Land Learning Foundation. Doug is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service where he ran their private lands program in Iowa for 10 years. Prior to that he worked with wetlands for nearly 15 years with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Missouri.
Doug is an avid outdoor recreationalist and continues to stay active in conservation. He and his wife live on a small farm near Rothville, MO with several pets.
Dr. Dan Ramsey
Vice President
Dr. Dr. Dan Ramsey is the Vice President of The Land Learning Foundation. Ramsey of St. Louis, Missouri serves as a high school principal. He likes spending time with his three children who all enjoy the outdoors in different ways from hunting to watersports and biking.
Additionally, for the past decade, he has organized Spring Break Service Trips for 100-225 high school students to assist with natural disaster recovery and conservation efforts. His focus with LLF is on providing kids experiences in the outdoors, promoting respect for natural resources, and healthy hobbies. Ramsey is also an active member of his local Elks Lodge and his church.
Larry Pollard
Previous President
Larry Pollard has served as the Executive Director and a past President of The Land Learning Foundation since it was reorganized in 2011. Pollard, a native of Chariton County, Missouri served with USDA Soil Conservation Service (now NRCS) for 30 years in several locations of Missouri, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Nebraska prior to retiring back to Chariton County.
Pollard is active with his church and volunteers in civic endeavors relating to community development efforts. Sustainable land uses that rebuild, recover and preserve natural resource values is his view for leading The Land Learning Foundation as a board member.
Robert Miller
Jennifer Eggemeyer
Bob Miller is retired from the Missouri Department of Conservation where he served roles in land management, program development, and outdoor education. Bob has always felt the need to introduce our youth to the enjoyable opportunities provided by our natural resources and to instill in them the wise use of natural resources known as conservation.
Bob enjoys helping others develop their outdoor skills and especially see their excitement as they experience the pleasures of outdoor recreation. Bob says” the best part of hunting, fishing, birding, hiking, target shooting is sharing those experiences with others and seeing them succeed”.
Jennifer Eggemeyer grew up on her family’s vegetable farm in St. Louis, MO, which started her love for the outdoors. She has resided in Lincoln County for over 24 years now, where she raised her three children. Before Jennifer went back to her roots, she started her career in accounting. This gave her the knowledge and experience to become the owner and operator of Heartland Seed of Missouri, LLC. Heartland Seed produces, collects, and sells native wildflower and grass seed for wildlife habitats, prairie restoration, and pollinator plots.
Jennifer is not only a devoted Christian, but she also enjoys being active in her community and the seed industry through serving and volunteering on committees. Additionally, Jennifer is committed to conserving and restoring land. She has proudly served as a board member for LLF since 2018. Jennifer believes that education is the key for the future of conservation. No matter your age or occupation, nature has something for everyone, including hiking, fishing, hunting, photography or walking through the wildflowers.
Legal and Policy Counsel
Eric Dannenmaier
Eric is a natural resources policy attorney who grew up in Missouri, and is licensed in Washington, DC, with over thirty years of experience in environmental and water-related legal and regulatory matters. After receiving his undergraduate degree in Biology from Drury University in Springfield, he earned a law degree from Boston University, a Masters from Oxford University and a Doctorate from Columbia University. Eric was part of the national environmental law practice in St. Louis-based Bryan, Cave LLP's Washington office before directing the United States Agency for International Development's Environmental Law Program, and later the Tulane Institute for Environmental Law and Policy in New Orleans. Eric also taught Environmental Law and Constitutional Law at Indiana University, McKinney School of Law, from 2007-2016, where he founded and directed the Law School’s Graduate Program in Environmental, Energy, and Natural Resources Law and taught specialized courses in Water Law and River Law.
Robert Stout
Robert spent more than four decades working with state government in Missouri and counterparts in surrounding states. Robert served as the Chief of Policy for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. His responsibilities included the development and implementation of a watershed approach to state water quality challenges. He successfully negotiated partnerships with federal, state, and local and nonprofit partners on major studies in the Meramec and Lower Grand watersheds. Robert’s experience includes representing Missouri on the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, serving as chair in 2016. His diverse responsibilities included serving as Missouri State Liaison Officer to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and coordinating NEPA consultation for the Department with federal, state, local government agencies for a variety of major projects.
