TZD Traffic Safety Hotdish: Six States Share Their Recent Recreational Vehicle Safety Campaigns

Lisa Dugan is a recreation safety outreach coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in the Division of Enforcement. Dugan provides statewide outreach and communication by developing coordinated marketing goals and executing marketing plans to create a broad statewide culture of outdoor recreation safety in Minnesota.

Cody Gray is the boat, hunt, snowmobile, and trap safety course coordinator for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Office of Law Enforcement Safety Education Division. He was promoted to this position after serving as a volunteer services coordinator with the state. Gray came to the DNR from the public school system, where he spent 10 years teaching physical education and coaching. Gray has a master’s degree in administration and management from Eastern Illinois University. 

Nick Harrington is the communications manager for South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP). He is originally from Gretna, Nebraska, and attended South Dakota State University before beginning with GFP. The outdoors are Harrington’s passion, and when he is not working professionally with GFP, he is constantly on the water fishing or in the fields hunting. Nick also enjoys spending time with his family, including three younger adopted siblings.

Veronica Hawman is the regional executive director of the Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota region for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. With over 10 years in the nonprofit sector and a background in nonprofit leadership, Hawman is a certified fundraising executive (CFRE) with a master's degree in nonprofit management. She has spent the last two years working to end impaired driving and is honored to lead the upper Midwest region team in engaging donors, volunteers, and communities in creating a world with No More Victims.  

Tony Hillig is the recreation division chief of the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department, where he oversees the Grant, Trails, and Motorized Recreation Programs. Born and raised in Bismarck, ND, and Hillig returned home after 26 years of active-duty Army service.  Tony is a certified Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA) and ATV Safety Institute (ASI) Instructor who leads motorized youth education across the state and is incorporating the elements of MADD into his programs of record.

Conservation Warden Jake Holsclaw is the off-highway vehicle administrator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Previously, he held the position of a recreation warden, where he was responsible for recreational vehicle crash investigations, routine patrol, organizing safety enhancement details, and assisting with rec vehicle trainings. In his current role, Warden Holsclaw is responsible for managing a department-wide fleet of ATVs, UTVs, and snowmobiles for warden use. He is also tasked with legislative testimony for ATV and snowmobile law changes, safety communications, media interviews, internal department ATV and snowmobile training, field sobriety training, and ATV/snowmobile registration concerns.  Prior to his work with the DNR, Warden Holsclaw spent 13 years working for the Juneau County Sheriff’s Office in Wisconsin, where most of his time was involved with rec vehicle enforcement. 

Erin Payton is the regional executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and oversees the Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin region. MADD’s mission is to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes, and prevent underage drinking. Prior to MADD, Payton worked at several nonprofit organizations, including the YMCA of Metro Chicago, the Chicago International Film Festival, and the American Diabetes Association.

Susan Stocker is the boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources; she has served in this role since 2009. Stocker serves the boating public by implementing regulations, certifying volunteer boating education instructors, and educating young people to embrace a culture of safety on the water. She is the state's representative to the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and is responsible for being the voice of the state on boating safety matters. In 2011, Stocker graduated from the NASBLA Leadership Academy and was elected to the NASBLA Executive Board in 2018, currently serving her sixth year as a member of the board. As a member of the NASBLA Executive Board, she is responsible for moving recreational boating safety forward through education, enforcement, training and policy development on a national level – to the benefit of all states and territories.