Matt Lowe – Chair and Policy Director
Matt Lowe was born in Helena, Montana, and moved to metro Atlanta at the age of 7. His deep connection to public lands began early, thanks to his grandparents, who took him camping and trout fishing across the country, from the creeks of Georgia to the peaks of Colorado. By the age of 10, Matt was hunting deer, and his passion for the outdoors has only grown since.
Now a devoted husband and father of seven, Matt is committed to passing on the traditions of hunting and fishing to his children. Summers are spent exploring north Georgia’s trout streams, and the fall finds his family ranging from Georgia to Idaho in pursuit of game and adventure.
Professionally, Matt serves as the Senior Engineering Manager for Eric’sons Inc., a company specializing in drainage systems. With a background in Lean/Six Sigma and leadership, he excels in process optimization, team management, and large-scale project execution. His professional expertise complements his role within BHA, where he brings strategic thinking and problem-solving skills to his advocacy efforts.
Matt’s journey with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers began after a conversation with Randy Newberg sparked a search for a local sportsman’s group that shared his values. He joined the Southeast Chapter and quickly became a dedicated volunteer. When the Georgia Chapter was established, Matt eagerly stepped up to help and now serves as Chair and Policy Director.
In these roles, Matt leverages his leadership and advocacy skills to protect public lands, waters, and wildlife in Georgia. Whether coordinating policy efforts, engaging with fellow sportsmen and women, or advocating for conservation, he is driven by a desire to ensure future generations can enjoy the same access and opportunities he has cherished throughout his life.
Marc Thompson – Vice Chair and Events Coordinator
Marc Thompson grew up in the outdoors fishing with his grandfather and playing in every creek and patch of woods he could find. As a result, wildlife and wildlife habitats have been a a passion of his for since childhood. Hunting came along in his twenties and only increased his drive to be in the wild. Upon finding BHA, Marc immediately knew that he wanted to be actively involved in a leadership role. As the events coordinator for the Georgia Chapter, Marc spearheads film festivals, pint nights, and other events for the chapter.
Scott Jones – Treasurer
Public lands have taught Scott Jones more life lessons than he could ever have learned from any professor, teacher, or mentor. His aim is to preserve and expand this fertile training ground for all that are daring and open enough to learn from it.
Tom Adrien - Secretary
Though he grew up hunting large tracts of private land, Tom Adrien is an adult onset hunter as far as public lands are concerned. He eventually purchased a cabin in the adjacent to a patch of national forest with the goal bicycling the mountain gaps. But in addition to some great cycling, he also found an abundance of game while hiking and biking. That’s when he learned of the great hunting opportunities offered on public lands in Georgia. Tom joined BHA as soon as he heard of the organization because of BHA’s goals and missions align directly with his own values. He’s eager to be a part of local and national efforts to protect public lands for present and future generations.
Gunner Hall – At Large
Gunner is a lifelong outdoor enthusiast. His passion for wild places started with “camping” in his parents’ backyard as a child and backpacking in the Colorado Rockies as a teenager. His love of the outdoors remains today only now he’s either out chasing birds with a gun dog named Betty or hunting big game in the woods and swamps of Georgia’s Low Country. When he isn’t hunting, you can find Gunner kayaking and fishing Georgia’s coastal waterways. He’s a strong advocate for conservation and is committed to helping preserve public lands for future generations to enjoy.
Steven Goodwin - At Large
Steven Goodwin is originally from Oak Harbor, Washington, but moved to Georgia as a child. He spent over 15 years working in restaurants in Atlanta, GA, and Charleston, SC. Those experiences led to a passion for wild food harvested from wild places. He spends as much time hunting, fishing, foraging, kayaking, or backpacking on public lands as possible. Steven joined BHA to help promote and protect the places he loves.
Kylan Hoover - At Large
Kylan Hoover was born and raised in Northern California. Since then he has had the good fortune to have spent much of his life working with livestock and land management across the US. He now resides near the lower Chattahoochee River in Southwest Georgia. Kylan’s passion for public lands and waters began while fishing with his cousins as a boy and matured in pursuit of blacktail deer in the Russian and Marble Mountain Wildernesses in California’s far north. Of late, Kylan works to spend as much time as possible chasing the grand Southern Fox Squirrel and fat river catfish wherever they are to be found.
Gator Fouche - At Large
I have always been drawn to the outdoors. I grew up fishing with my Paw Paw. He found the local BASS chapter in Dalton GA. We would fish for bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish from Dalton to Macrae GA. We would go to Steinhatchee FL and chase reds and sea trout every winter. In Highschool and college golf was a main focus but would typically end golf practice by fishing for bass or bluegill until dark. My first duck hunt in Oxford MS transformed from a tagalong hunt into an addiction in about 5 minutes. Since then I have bagged many waterfowl species and am pursuing the life long struggle of never being satisfied. Be them far or near I am familiar with most public mud puddles across the state. I also engage in harvesting many species available in GA deer, bear, hogs, squirrel, dove etc. I suppose myself as a wild game connoisseur who loves to convert skeptics of wild meat into born again devotees. I have found that wilderness and the pursuit of wild game is a necessity in my life. We need wilderness to keep things wild and I am all about making that happen.
Nathan Henderson – At Large
Nathan grew up in central Florida hunting and fishing with his father from an early age. The majority of those experiences happened on public land. Fishing the flats of southwest Florida, exploring the multitude of lakes surrounding his home town, and roam the vast Green Swamp kindled a flame that grew into a passion for the outdoors that cannot be quenched. As Nathan grew older, he started to understand the value of the public land we have in America and how vital that resource is to the fabric of the country. It was this realization that brough Nathan to BHA as a member and eventually as a leader. Nathan lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and works in the IT industry.
Michael Mayne
Michael Mayne was born in Kentucky and moved to the metro Atlanta area at age four. His love for the outdoors began early, spending afternoons after school fishing neighborhood ponds and entire vacations casting lines off his grandparents’ dock on Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway.
That passion soon expanded beyond fishing—into hiking, camping, backpacking, rock climbing, and eventually, fly fishing. Once Michael picked up a fly rod in his mid-twenties, the hook was set. He began spending nearly 100 days a year exploring the creeks and rivers of North Georgia, later traveling to places like Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska to chase trout. Along the way, his appreciation for public lands and wild places only deepened.
Through a fishing buddy, Michael made the jump into hunting. The same North Georgia WMAs he once explored with a fly rod became new again—this time with a bow or rifle in hand. The challenge was new, and each experience grew his respect for the landscapes and wildlife he pursued. After a successful solo archery bear hunt not far from his favorite North Georgia trout stream, Michael knew it was time to give back.
He joined Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and, as anti–public lands sentiment swelled in 2025, stepped into a board position with the Georgia Chapter. Today, Michael is committed to helping preserve the legacy of hunting, fishing, and public lands for generations to come.
Bennett Jacobs
Bennett Jacobs lives on the family farm where he grew up in Rockmart, Georgia. At 18, frustrated by the lack of elk in his home state, he moved to Missoula, Montana, to attend the University of Montana. There, he studied Journalism and Wildlife Biology, interned for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s Bugle magazine, and developed a deep appreciation for the gift of public land.
After college, Bennett spent several years working for the Boy Scouts of America in Washington State. In 2009, he and his wife, Rebecca, returned to Georgia to start a beef cattle operation. Their two children, Aubrey (14) and Nolan (10), enjoy hunting and fishing with their dad on both family and public lands.
Bennett earned his graduate degree at the University of Georgia and became a high school agriculture teacher in 2011. A certified hunter safety instructor, he ensures every student leaves his class with certification and a respect for wildlife and natural resources.