Panelist Biographies
Mark Sundeen
Mark Sundeen is the author of Delusions + Grandeur, The Unsettlers, The Man Who Quit Money, The Making of Toro, and Car Camping. His work has been translated into eight languages. A contributing editor for Outside Magazine, his work has appeared in the New York Times, The Believer, National Geographic Adventure, McSweeneys, and Best American Essays. He has won the Ellen Meloy Desert Writers Award and fellowships from Macdowell Colony, Montello Foundation, Montana Arts Council and Utah Arts Council. A former river guide and Outward Bound instructor, he is an associate professor of environmental writing at the University of Montana.
Brian Chaffin
Dr. Brian Chaffin is the Executive Director of Clark Fork Coalition, a watershed nonprofit organization in western Montana, and a professor of water policy in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation at the University of Montana. He is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters about rivers, conservation, and environmental governance. Brian has worked as a river ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, a researcher at the U.S. EPA, and still works as a wilderness river outfitter in Alaska as co-owner of Sundog Expeditions. He and his wife Jenni helped found The Redside Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the health and strength of the professional outdoor guiding community. Brian has a Ph.D. from Oregon State University.
Diego Riley and Will Buckley
Diego Riley and Will Buckley are longtime creative partners and filmmakers with a deep love for the natural world, a shared fascination with human-impact systems, and a commitment to socially impactful storytelling. Diego is a Cuban-American writer and director raised across four countries, primarily in Latin America; Will, a photographer and filmmaker shaped by the vast western landscapes of Wyoming. With experience spanning documentaries, sketch comedy, story-driven commercials, music videos, and even United Nations campaigns, Diego and Will draw out the emotional heart of a story and bring it to life with a strong and intentional visual style.