Bill grew up in Amish country in northern Ohio, where he worked on dairy farms through high school. He served in the Army and used the G.I. Bill to pay for college, graduating with a B.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana and an M.S. in Biology from Eastern Illinois University. Following graduate school, he worked for The Nature Conservancy as a Land Steward and then spent seven years as an organic vegetable farmer in central Illinois. He transitioned from farming to working as a Local Food System Educator with University of Illinois Extension where he developed programs to support staple crops and agroforestry. He currently works for the Savanna Institute as Value Chain Development Manager, where he’s conducted research on chestnut trees and berries. He also serves on the board of the John Wesley Powell Audubon Society in central Illinois.

In January 2023, he launched his gardening and re-wilding newsletter on Substack, Easy by Nature. Bill writes, “Join me on a journey to one of the most beautiful places in the world: your yard. That’s right, your yard can be a stunningly beautiful place. It can serve as an oasis and refuge from the noise, confusion, and cruelty in the world. Nurturing this beauty represents one of the most rewarding things you can do.”

For the Winter 2023-2024 issue, Bill recommended Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process, Irene M. Pepperberg, Harper, 2008, 240 pages.

For the Autumn 2023 issue, Bill recommended The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Princeton University Press, 2015, 352 pages.

For the Summer 2023 issue, Bill recommended Raven's Witness: The Alaska Life of Richard K. Nelson, Hank Lentfer, Mountaineer Books, 2020, 256 pages; and The Island Within, Richard Nelson, Vintage, 1991, 284 pages.

For the Spring 2023 issue, Bill recommended The Narrow Edge: A Tiny Bird, an Ancient Crab and an Epic Journey, Deborah Cramer, Yale University Press, 2016, 304 pages.

For the Winter 2022-2023 issue, Bill recommended Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, Merlin Sheldrake, Random House, 2020, 368 pages; and Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World, Kristin Ohlson, Patagonia, 2022, 392 pages.

For the Autumn 2022 issue, Bill recommended Birds Art Life by Kyo Maclear, Scribner, 2017, 217 pages.