Richard J. Guadagno devoted his life to conserving natural resources as a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employee. He grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University in 1984. After several positions with NJ Fish & Wildlife and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, he became a trainee refuge manager at Great Swamp in 1988, then managed four more refuges before moving to Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in California in 2000 as Refuge Manager. A trained law enforcement officer, he was aboard United Airlines 93 when terrorists hijacked the flight on September 11, 2001, and he was among the passengers and flight crew whose heroic actions prevented further tragedy that day.