New Hampshire Fish and Game hires its first female executive director

New Hampshire will have a woman leading Fish and Game for the first time in the department’s history. 

The state Executive Council on Friday unanimously confirmed Stephanie Simek of Olympia, Washington. Simek has 30 years of natural resource experience and has spent the past decade working in Washington state agencies. 

Gov. Chris Sununu nominated her for the position in July after she received the unanimous support of the Fish and Game Commission, which advises the department.

Councilor Joseph D. Kenney, a Wakefield Republican, praised the “unique set of talents” Simek will bring to the department. Councilor Cinde Warmington, a Concord Democrat, noted the historic nature of her confirmation. 

“I’m very impressed with Stephanie,” Warmington said, “and I also want to acknowledge that she’s the only woman in the state of New Hampshire to ever hold this position.”

Simek will take over the post from the current executive director, Scott Mason, who has led the department since 2020 and did not seek reappointment. The commission solicited applications from February to April. The position is a four-year appointment with a salary range of $95,153 to $132,619, according to the job posting.

Simek will join the department at a time when it faces deep financial challenges. At a hearing earlier this month in front of the council, she was enthusiastic about the chance to lead.

“I’m really trying to contain myself here, because I’m trying to be very professional, but I’m super excited about this opportunity,” she said. “I have worked my whole career preparing for a position of this caliber.”

Simek referenced her thorough education in the field: a bachelor’s in fisheries and wildlife from Virginia Tech, a master’s degree in environmental and forest biology from State University of New York, and a doctorate in forest resources from Mississippi State University. 

The new job will add to a long list of roles Simek has held in the environmental sphere. “I have worked as a field technician, a research scientist, a lead biologist, an environmental consultant, a mid-level manager, and an executive manager throughout my career,” she said at the hearing. She is currently a regional manager at the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

She has experience, too, in paving the way in male-dominated roles; she said she was one of the first women in the nation to lead a statewide black bear management program.

Simek said she was born in upstate New York near the southern foothills of the Adirondacks. Her father was a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, she said, which led her family to live “all over the world.” She said her mother is an entrepreneur.

“I attribute my ability to bring people together and to work with diverse communities to having been a child of a career military personnel member,” Simek said. 

The ability to find common ground is a trait she highlighted to the council. She said she has dealt with “very contentious issues,” ranging from black bears damaging timber in commercial forests to beaver relocation efforts. “Yes,” she quipped, “beavers can be very contentious.” 

“My philosophy is that common ground exists even in the most challenging situations,” she said, highlighting her experience working with a variety of groups: nonprofits, tribal governments, park rangers, local law enforcement, landowners, and others. 

“No agency is perfect, nor is any director,” Simek said. “I know this and understand it, but I am committed to the position that we must strive to be our best servants to the people or the resource.”