These days, it seems easier than ever to embellish educational credentials, lie to the public, and solicit funds from the public. Melissa Smith is a prime example. Smith is the founder of Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf and Wildlife/Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance. Although Smith does have a B.S. in Sociology, she told the public she had a PhD. That was lie number one. That’s not the end of it. There are plenty more where that came from. In lie number two, Smith claimed to have worked closely with a Wisconsin State Senator on a bill to remove dogs from the wolf hunt in 2013. Lie number three. In 2018, she told the press she was a former wolf tracker. And there’s more to come.
Let me recap those three lies for you. Lie number one: She holds a PhD. Lie number two: She claimed to co-write a bill with Senator Fred Rissler. Lie number three: She was a former wolf tracker.
Smith claims to care about Wisconsin’s wolves, and she turns up the tears when she asks the public to donate to her cause. However, Smith has done nothing to improve wolf politics in Wisconsin, and during her ten-year tenure, the nonprofit has seen no improvement. Wisconsin wolves still face the same polarized politics.
Smith’s group stopped one wolf hunt. However, doing so may have harmed the tribe’s lawsuit; the tribe’s lawsuit would have made a bigger difference for Wisconsin wolf politics in the long run. But Smith isn’t about the long run. Smith is about the donation to her cause.
Who is Melissa Smith anyway, and why would anyone care about her?
In 2012, Smith arrived on the scene just as Wisconsin’s wild wolf faced federal delisting when Wisconsin’s conservative legislators were bent on holding a wolf hunt. She showed up ready to take advantage of the current state of wolf politics, just like a Southern carpetbagger after the Civil War. She came in claiming all sorts of things without any backing up for those credentials.
Smith was without experience or a scientific degree. Smith created Stop the Wisconsin Wolf Hunts, now called Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf and Wildlife/Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance, and began soliciting donations. Wolf advocates, desperate to stop the wolf hunt, began to blindly follow her. They believed her because she could talk well, was a master at parroting scientists, and outright plagiarized other well-known wolf advocates’ work.
Lie #2
In 2013, during the wolf hunts, Wisconsin was the only state that allowed hunters to run dogs on wolves. As a result, a Wisconsin Senator wrote a bill to stop it. Smith claimed to co-write that bill, Senate Bill 93, with Senator Fred Risser of Wisconsin. Ultimately, the Senator’s office caught wind of Smith’s false claim and sent her a letter asking her to stop misrepresenting her association with them.
The following is an email from the Senator’s office confirming they sent a letter to Smith:
Dated Thursday, April 11, 2013, sent from Cassie Jurenci, Office of Senator Fred Risser, Wisconsin State Senate, to Ms. Smith in an email telling her that we have received numerous contacts asking about her involvement with our office concerning S.B. 93 and that we have been telling those who ask that she has not been working with us and there is some misrepresentation occurring.
Yet, Smith was able to capitalize on that lie. Smith was elected a Dane County, Wisconsin Conservation Congress Representative by perpetuating that lie. The Wisconsin Wolf was facing brutal wolf hunts, and Smith was no savior of wolves.
UFWS took Wolves off the Endangered Species List in 2011, and Wisconsin held trophy wolf hunts, even allowing dogs to track and trail wolves. Was Smith misrepresenting her credentials to gain more followers? She was building a base of followers on lie after lie.
Back to lie #one
In Wisconsin, Melissa Smith, President of a small nonprofit, Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife, has embellished her academic accomplishments by claiming to hold a Ph.D. and a master’s in sociology. Smith published a flyer about a conference with a claim on it. Smith does not have a Ph.D. degree. Why did she tell everyone she held a PhD?
Why lie about her education? Unfortunately, people like Smith often think that exaggerating about their education is worth the risk if it means getting them through the door of a great job or more donations for their nonprofits. Yes, that’s right; donations will fuel her non-profit.
According to a New CareerBuilder survey, Fifty-eight Percent of Employers Have Caught a Lie on a Resume. It appears that Smith’s entire resume was made up.
Is it against the law to embellish your educational credentials? It’s not, but it’s highly unethical. Unless you’re soliciting for donations.
It seems so unless you check public IRS records.
The IRS record shows her tax-exempt status was revoked in 2022. Has she taken care of the missing records? No, she has not let her donors know about the revoked status. For one who claims to be transparent on her blog’s bio, this is due course for Smith.
Smith has claimed to be Native American. Another lie. [sigh] She is not a member of any tribe.
Lie #4
While working for the Endangered Species Coalition, Smith claimed another falsehood as a member of the Ho-Chunk tribe. I’m curious why the Endangered Species Coalition did not verify her credentials. To this day, they have Smith representing Wisconsin on Zoom meetings. Are these organizations desperate and willing to ignore dubious behavior?
She was undoubtedly desperate and even spun tales of being a former wolf tracker to impress the press, pun intended.
Lie #3
In an article, Smith claimed to the press that she was a former wolf tracker. Yet there is no evidence that she was a wolf tracker.
The following is an excerpt from the article: “Melissa Smith, founder of the nonprofit Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf and a former wolf tracker, differed in her observation, saying wolves will leave livestock alone if effective abatement methods are used. The prey won’t be worth their trouble, she said.” Click here to read the full article.
I contacted the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. They said Smith took a workshop about the history of Wisconsin wolves, but never took the required workshops to become an official Wisconsin DNR Volunteer Winter Wolf/Carnivore Tracker. Thus, as she stated to the press, there’s no evidence of Smith being an official former wolf tracker. So, why did Smith claim to be a former wolf tracker?
Did she want to appear knowledgeable about wolf behavior? In the news article on August 16, 2019, Smith comes off as an experienced wolf expert, stating all sorts of opinions because she has no ecology or wolf biology background. Smith talks well. She was, again, duping the public about her academic experience and credentials.
Why spin so many falsehoods?
What could be behind Smith’s embellishments of credentials? Is there a problem with drinking to access? Smith has been arrested five times for a DUI in twelve years. Let’s take a look at the public records. The most recent OWI arrest, Melissa L. Smith, was on April 28, 2023, in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. According to public court records, Smith had a lousy year and was convicted of a fourth, which is felony. She was found guilty and has a felony on her record and can’t even vote now. She was placed under house arrest for six months.
Aren’t we all for offenders to turn it around and make good as long as they sincerely work to make restitution? Smith has not, and she continues to deceive the public’s trust.
Unfortunately, Smith continues to solicit donations as head of her Wisconsin nonprofit, and there are serious questions about whether her nonprofit even holds tax-exempt status. I am not accusing those who are part of Smith’s small nonprofit of wrongdoing, but I am led to wonder why they have not checked Smith’s credentials or run background checks on her. Smith holds a B.S. in Sociology from UW-Madison but doesn’t have a master’s degree, as she claims in her LinkedIn profile. That’s suspicious and makes you wonder how she can convince her followers of such falsehoods. Why isn’t she being transparent with her donors?
According to IRS records, she has not filed the paperwork for three consecutive years. Is this how Smith conducts business? It appears so.
In conclusion, Unethical behavior remains a persistent problem for Melissa Smith, who runs a nonprofit private foundation, Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife/Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance. Smith is smart enough to “parrot” scientific facts to appear credible. I recommend holding tight to your pocketbook when around her. It is con artists such as her who easily manipulate kind-hearted, naive individuals.
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