Executive Director Lynn Culver
   Lynn Culver has previously served as FCF president, legal affairs director,  secretary/treasurer and life director. 
    Ms. Culver is a nationally recognized feline husbandry consultant, with over two decades of feline breeding, hand rearing, behavior study and species management experience.
    The Culver's USDA licensed facility specializes in small cat species. They manage a significant population of Geoffroy's cats, as well as other North American and African small cat species. 
    Under the recent leadership of President Lynn Culver, the FCF improved membership services, Journal content and quality, and built a solid reputation with legislators and the feline community as an organization dedicated to conservation and managed captive husbandry. Membership in the FCF grew by 40% and international activities and participation in global conservation efforts is at an all time high.
    The newly created Executive Director position is responsible for implementation of policies set by the Board of Directors, as well as annual goals and objectives, and financial, program, and administrative management of the corporation.
    The executive director serves as an ex-officio member on the Board of Directors and facilitates the work of the Board and its committees by developing resource materials, providing appropriate information, reports, and assistance to committee chairpersons as necessary.

President Kevin Chambers
    Kevin Chambers has worked with animals all his life on the family farm. Mr. Chambers attended Purdue University studying Agricultural Engineering.  His experience with exotics began in 1974 and has experience with over 130 different species.  He bred his first exotic feline in 1982 and is the first person to successfully breed Irkutsk lynx in North America. 
   Mr. Chambers founded the Zoological Animal Reproduction Center, which breeds various species of wildlife in addition to the exotic cats. This USDA and USF&W licensed operation specializes in breeding, brokering, importing, and exporting. Chambers has transported animals all over the USA and to and from over 20 different foreign countries, dealing with facilities from all venues: research facilities, domestic and international zoos, private breeders, pet owners, entertainers, and exhibitors.  He has worked with over 130 different species of wildlife.
    Mr. Chambers is very active in the 4-H youth organization where he has served on boards and various positions for over 20 years.

Vice President Patty Perry
     Patty Perry was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She has a broad spectrum, entrepreneurial business background. Ms. Perry has successfully devoted significant time to a wide variety of fundraising efforts during her lifetime. She has worked and traveled internationally on many of her projects.
     Ms. Perry established an Arabian horse breeding business in 1981 that concentrated on breeding superior individuals from stock she imported from all over the world. This experience led her into the world of wildlife.
     For the past decade Ms. Perry has been devoted to rehabilitation of wildlife and educating the public. Ms. Perry has extensive experience with raptors as well as mammals, including felines. Ms. Perry established a non-profit organization that focuses on conservation education using animals as varied as eagles to tigers. 

 Secretary George DeLong
    George DeLong has been appointed to the FCF board as secretary. Mr. Delong has a BS from Georgia Tech and an MBA from the University of Tennessee and spent more than 20 years as a plant and facilities engineer in a large manufacturing plant. 
    Mr. DeLong has served on the adjunct faculty of a local community college teaching math, business and management courses, and he managed a large engineering Co-Op program, and has served as an officer in the Tennessee Cooperative Education Association. For the last 20 years Mr. DeLong has been an environmental restoration project manager and researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratories. 
    Mr. DeLong is married to Marilyn, and they have bred, raised, and exhibited Siamese in the 70s, then bred, raised, and exhibited Bull Terriers in the 80s.  The couple have been very active participants in the “fancy,” and even judged both the cats and the dogs.  They presently share their home with an Egyptian Mau, an Oriental Shorthair, and a Ragdoll.
    Mr. DeLong believes that the FCF goal of preserving each and every cat species is critically important, and that it represents the most important function of the FCF organization. He supports the right and need for responsible ownership of exotics, and particularly in the value of legitimate sanctuaries and well-planned, genetically diverse breeding programs. 

Treasurer Kurt Beckelman
    Kurt Beckelman has been the accounting manager for four different companies, and has plenty of experience with accounts payable and receivable and payroll. As the FCF treasurer he is committed to helping with the continued growth of the FCF.
    Mr. Beckelman joined the FCF last year. He graduated from the Wild Feline Husbandry Course in March.  Mr. Beckelman is a strong believer in the need for private ownership and captive husbandry of wild feline species. Kurt plans to work with the FCF to reach out to potential owners to insure that they have proper training and knowledge to legally posses a feline, and understand what it takes to provide proper care and training, and proper procedures and protocols for various situations.
    Mr. Beckelman is the park manager and vice president of Safaris Sanctuary in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. After volunteering at the sanctuary for 7 years, he is now their lead cat curator.
    Mr. Beckelman traveled to South Africa in 2007 to intern at Savannah Cheetah Foundation. He and the other interns constructed a cheetah runway for lure training of the facilities’ cats.
    Mr. Beckelman is also an Oklahoma licensed private owner, with bobcat, serval and leopard. He is also raising a caracal kitten for the park at his home.

Membership Services Director Elizabeth Whitlock
    Elizabeth (Betsy) Whitlock became a member of the FCF in 2005 after acquiring the family's first serval. She completed the FCF husbandry course at the 2005 FCF convention in Miami. She was appointed to the Board of Directors in April of 2007 and is chairperson of the Member Service Committee for the 2007 FCF convention. She, her husband Stan, son Bart and daughter Amanda (a recent graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine) operate Belle Hollow Farms and Exotics in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
    Ms. Whitlock grew up in South Florida and was an avid horsewoman and general animal enthusiast as a child and young adult. After moving to the mountains in 1993 and becoming a Real Estate Broker, Ms. Whitlock and family became active supporters of the local 4-H by breeding lambs and providing assistance to the Macon County 4-H Market Lamb Program, for which they where honored in 2005. The family additionally, breeds mini donkeys and pigmy goats and has become a haven for quite a few abused, neglected or abandoned animals.
    The Whitlock's recently completed a new facility at the farm to house and begin breeding Geoffroy's Cats. They also breed Serval hybrids, Savannah Cats. The farm has secured USDA Class B Dealer licensing and hopes to assist in the education of the public in the need for responsible exotic cat ownership and breeding.

 Conservation Director Patrick Callahan
    Patrick Callahan, an Ohio native, joined the Cincinnati Zoo in 1981, and today is the head keeper of Cats. During his career at the zoo he has gained valuable experience with husbandry and breeding of over a dozen species of small cats, as well as the big cats.
    Mr. Callahan’s employment in an AZA institution zoo gains him knowledge of the challenges of long term genetic management of captive gene pools. His advice and guidance will help the FCF organization lead its members to better manage their feline collections to insure long-term sustainability and maximum genetic diversity.
    Previously Mr. Callahan was employed with the Ohio Division of Wildlife Forest Game Research Project as a Conservation Aide, and he also worked for Lion Country Safari.
    Mr. Callahan has traveled to Namibia, Kenya, and South Africa for the Zoo and on his own for the cats. He is especially interested in working with FCF Conservation Advisor Jim Sanderson on support of in-situ Conservation for felines.

Education Director Sylvia Gerber
     Sylvia Gerber works in real estate but she no stranger to exotic wildlife husbandry. She has 30+ years of working with many different exotic animal species.
   Ms. Gerber’s knowledge and experience comes from many years of teaching basic animal husbandry. Her classes consisted of captive wildlife nutrition, veterinarian care, behaviors, handling, environmental enhancements, tranquilizing, transporting, caging, and rules and regulations for the state of Florida Fish and Game Commission. She currently possesses a Class I, II, and III license with the state of Florida to own captive wildlife.
     Ms. Gerber through the years has conducted educational seminars with schools and other public organizations on animal conservation and preservation. She has also trained and handled many different animal species for television shows such as Jay Leno, David Letterman, Good Morning America, and has worked with Jack Hanna, National Geographic and Jim Fowler with Animal Kingdom on educational shows and films.

Legislation Director Robert Johnson
   Robert Johnson has been employed at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species for the past fourteen years. He is also in the doctoral program at California Coast University, currently working on a dissertation in animal behavior.
   Mr. Johnson is an accomplished animal trainer, working big cats on set for National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and Disney. He is also a professional wildlife educator who has presented over 5,000 live educational wildlife shows at numerous venues around the world.
   Mr. Johnson has traveled to other continents to observe and study felids in their natural environments. He has tracked mating pairs of leopards in African bush veldt and followed jaguarundi through rainforests of Central America.
   Mr. Johnson has also traveled to Thailand to assist in Southeast Asian tiger conservation.
   Mr. Johnson is a state and federally licensed falconer. His licenses for raptors and involvement with endangered felines have afforded him direct interaction with lawmakers, government officials, lobbyists and ruling governmental bodies at both the state and federal level.   

Marketing Director Ron DeArmond
    Ron DeArmond has held a USDA license and DNR licenses in Iowa and Illinois for over 25 years. He founded the Pella Wildlife Company, a nonprofit organization operating on a 20 million dollar project to build a Wildlife Education Center, Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and a 220-acre drive-thru Wildlife Safari that features native and extirpated Iowa wildlife.
    Mr. DeArmond brings to the FCF over 25 years of experience in direct sales and marketing. He has been General Sales Manager of three ESPN Radio affiliates and country music stations. He has experience working with national advertising agencies and been involved with the Iowa Broadcasters Association.
    As Director of Marketing for FCF, Mr. DeArmond will network FCF with other animal welfare and wildlife conservation organizations and broaden the FCF base of recognition, increase membership, and generate revenue that will help FCF continue to grow and offer more benefits to its members.
    Mr. DeArmond is the Vice President of the Association of Professional Wildlife Educators, a professional member of the Animal Behavior Management Alliance, member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association, International Wolf Center, Snow Leopard Trust, and serves on the education committee of the Feline Conservation Federation.

Director of Development – Erin Patters
    Erin Patters is a native Texan, who is traveling not only in the United States, but to various other continents as well, as wife of a US Air Force officer. The changes has afforded Erin opportunities to work at a variety of animal care facilities in the states, and she plans to continue in Europe, and Japan accordingly.
    Mrs. Patters joined the FCF in 2006. She holds a deeply imbedded belief in the need and right for responsible captive management and ownership of exotic felids toward the eventual re-stabilization of all exotic felid species in the wild and as educational companions to our communities and us.
    Ms. Patters brings with her a diverse exposure in wildlife rehabilitation, and zookeeper training. She has experience with primates such as the orangutan, lemur, and mandrill, big cats, including tigers, lions, leopards and jaguar. Ms Patters also has worked with private facilities housing African servals, Siberian and Iberian Lynx, cougars, and bobcats.
    Ms. Patters plans to serve in her fullest capacity as Director of Development. Ms. Patters plans to eventually establish an educational/conservational exotic felid and wildlife sanctuary.