HARRISBURG -- Their training now complete, Pennsylvania’s newest State Game Wardens are working in their newly assigned districts.
The 37th Class of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Ross Leffler School of Conservation graduated Jan. 31, adding 24 more officers to the ranks.
Members of the 37th Class, their hometowns and their assigned districts are: Adam M. Beinhauer, of Pittsburgh (Lancaster County); Wade W. Clark III, of Apollo (Bedford County); Benjamin M. Conklin, of Effort (Carbon County); Joseph M. D’Andrea, of Congers, N.Y. (Carbon County); Joshua W. Elchin, of Windber (Blair County); Peter D. Havens, of Willing, N.Y. (McKean County); Nathan B. Hazelton, of Scranton (Lackawanna County); Joshua B. Keirn, of Altoona (Chester County); Daniel P. Kennedy, of Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); David J. Kennedy, of Bainbridge (Lancaster County); Peter S. Lucas, of Canonsburg (Chester County); Brior P. Magee, of Montgomery (Montgomery County); Jared M. Marzka, of Erie (Butler County); Katherine T. Nealen, of Arnot (Cumberland County); Kyle W. Norling, of West Sunbury (Forest County); Etienne J. Nunemaker, of Clarks Summit (Berks County); Samuel G. Pepper, of Muncy (Chester County); Kirsten M. Pugh, of Chambersburg (Fulton County); Michael Shatalov, of Milanville (Lackawanna County); Clayton D. Shaw, of Carlisle (Juniata County); Jesse E. Speicher Jr., of Butler (Allegheny County); Brady L. Stumbaugh, of Chambersburg (Dauphin County); Joshua P. Tanner, of Smethport (Allegheny County); and Adan T. Ward, of Napoleon, Ohio (Somerset County).
Graduate Katherine Nealen received the class award for academics, with a score of 94.74%.
Graduate Adam Beinhauer was presented with the EVOC driving award for exhibiting safe and exceptional police driving skills during the training program.
Graduate Michael Shatalov was honored with the marksmanship award, achieving the highest overall proficiency in a series of courses firing the handgun, rifle and shotgun.
Graduate David Kennedy was selected as the fitness award winner for maintaining the highest standard of physical fitness during the training program. Kennedy also was presented with a Life Saving Award for his actions on Oct. 18, 2025, while on field training assignment. Kennedy was part of a two-man team that was able to find and rescue a hiker who was experiencing a medical emergency on a remote section of the Appalachian Trail on State Game Lands 211.
Graduate Joshua Tanner earned the academy torch award for maintaining the highest professional standard of conduct, values, ideals and demonstrated abilities as judged by his fellow classmates.
Graduation of new game wardens follows 44 weeks of intensive training, including 10 weeks of field training.
“Every one of these graduates is embarking on a demanding journey and the beginning of a lifelong commitment to service, conservation and duty,” said Col. Richard Danley, Director of the Game Commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Protection. “Becoming a Pennsylvania Game Warden is a calling to protect wildlife and to serve the people of Pennsylvania, even when the work is unseen, difficult, or dangerous.”
Training School Director Kyle Jury praised graduates for their dedication and demonstrated commitment to our natural resources.
“These 24 new graduates now embark on their careers as State Game Wardens by serving in geographical districts across the Commonwealth,” Jury said. “By pursuing this career path, they fulfill an instrumental part of the agency’s continued and dedicated effort to wildlife conservation. Having these individuals join the ranks of game wardens will strengthen the agency’s efforts to safeguard the hunting heritage the Game Commission was founded on so that it can be passed on to future generations.”
In 1930, Ross Leffler, then president of the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners, proposed the establishment of a training school for game protectors, as game wardens then were called. When the training school opened its doors in 1932, in Brockway, Jefferson County, it was the first such conservation officer training school in the world and served as a model for other states.
From 1932 until 1935, the Ross Leffler School of Conservation offered in-service training for game protectors. The school became a permanent facility until 1986, when it was moved to the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters.