David Schuessler and Rich Smith have new leadership roles at Ducks Unlimited (DU). Schuessler is DU’s director of fundraising for events and Smith serves as DU’s director of development.
“David Schuessler and Rich Smith each have decades of volunteer and staff leadership experience with Ducks Unlimited. They are the best in their class at what they do and have led their teams to record achievements,” said DU CEO Adam Putnam. “I know they are just getting started with what they can do for this organization. They are passionate waterfowl hunters and accomplished business leaders in their fields. I am proud of everything they have done in the past and I can’t wait to see what they will achieve in the future.”
Schuessler has a rich history with DU that began in 1976, when he joined the DU Greenwing program in the Florida chapter where his father and uncle served as volunteers. He began his professional career at DU as Regional Director in North Carolina in 1999. He then served as Director of Volunteer Relations and Fundraising for Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico.
In 2007, Schuessler moved to DU National Headquarters in Memphis to serve as DU’s National Director of Volunteer and Event Outreach. For the past 12 years, he has overseen all operational components of DU’s event fundraising system and education and youth programs.
Schuessler was a Floridian for much of his early life, spending every possible moment on the water or in the field. His family has a rich hunting heritage, including a deep appreciation for the Ducks Unlimited family.
A graduate of Auburn University, Schuessler received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Marketing. He first joined the ranks of DU volunteers in 1993, serving as a committee member, area chair, and district chair. Before beginning his career at DU, David was a district manager for Royal Cup Coffee.
“I am honored to serve DU’s event fundraising staff and volunteers in this new role as we work to make an even greater impact on North American waterfowl and wetland conservation through our partners.” fundraising efforts for events,” Schuessler said.
Raised on the eastern edge of Long Island, New York, Smith’s love of the outdoors came naturally from a family with a farming background and a strong hunting and fishing tradition. He is a longtime waterfowler and supporter of DU, both as a volunteer and as an employee.
Smith has been with DU since 2000, when he began his career as a regional director in southeastern New York. He later became Director of Northeast Development and continued as General Director of Development covering half of the United States. In 2011, Smith moved to Memphis, Tennessee to lead the DU Development program as National Director of Development.
Prior to joining DU, Smith spent time as a wildlife biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Falmouth, Maine, as part of the Gulf of Maine Estuary and Coastal Program and then was a partner in a independent insurance agency in Mattituck, New York.
He has an Associate of Science degree from Paul Smith’s College in New York, a Bachelor of Science from the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the State University of New York at Syracuse, and a Master of Science from Humboldt State University in California. .
“As a lifelong supporter of Ducks Unlimited, I am humbled and honored to take on this important role in our organization,” Smith said. “I have dedicated my life to conservation and am excited to guide our development program to even greater heights by leading a stellar team in advancing our partnership with our generous donors.”
For more information, visit www.ducks.org and be sure to follow DU’s Twitter feed: @DucksUnlimited and @DUConserve for the latest Ducks Unlimited news.
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world‘The largest non-profit organization in North America dedicated to the conservation of rapidly disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 15 million acres thanks to the contributions of more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of enough wetlands to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information about our work, visit www.patos.org.