UERC 2022 Presenters
Keynotes
David G. Lewis | PhD Associate Professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies, Oregon State University
David G. Lewis is a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, of Oregon. He has a PhD from the University of Oregon (2009) and is assistant professor of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies at Oregon State University. David served as Cultural Manager of the Grand Ronde Tribe, and Tribal museum designer, and Exhibits Curation manager. David has conducted research on Oregon tribal history for some 25 years and has numerous publications in journals, and chapters in books. He is currently engaged in two publication projects, Tribal Stories of Western Oregon, and lead editor of Kalapuyans of Western Oregon, a collaborative project with eighteen contributors. Additionally, David has researched and written over 470 essays for his blog, the Quartux Journal, ndnhistoryresearch.com. David conducts numerous presentations annually with community groups, at conferences, and at universities educating about tribes in the region, consults with local governments, and organizations on diversity, place naming, and land acknowledgements, and curates museum exhibits at local historical societies and museums. David lives in Salem, OR with his wife Donna, and sons Saghaley and Inatye.
Alan Yeakley, PhD | Professor and Chair, Department of Geography & Environmental Systems, University Of Maryland Baltimore County
Alan Yeakley is Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography & Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). From 1994-2016, Dr. Yeakley was a founding faculty member of the Department of Environmental Science & Management at Portland State University in Oregon. Prior to PSU, Alan earned a Ph.D. in environmental science from the University of Virginia, where he was a presidential fellow, and then was an NSF post-doc with the Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia. He has been a principal investigator on numerous NSF, USFS and EPA research grants in ecosystem ecology, hydrology, and management with a particular focus on Portland-area urban ecosystem science. Alan has published over 50 journal articles and book chapters in ecosystem science, and he was the lead editor of the 2014 book Wild Salmonids in the Urbanizing Pacific Northwest. Dr. Yeakley has also served as major advisor for 30 graduate students, most of whom conducted their theses and dissertations on urbanizing Pacific Northwest ecosystem science and management.
Presenters
Keith Chaloux | Owner / IPM Specialist, Pest & Pollinator LLC
Keith has been fascinated with Portland area ecology & botany since 2013, working his way up from crew member to Botanical Lead at Ash Creek Forest Management in just 3 years. In 2016 he became Turf & Ornamental Manager at Pest Solutions LLC, managing a wide array of pest problems from rats to rose midge at Portland International Rose Garden. Recently he worked for Pioneer Pest Management & in 2021 founded Pest & Pollinator LLC to create a new, more eco-friendly way of managing urban pests.
Katherine Gelsey | Undergraduate, Pomona College
Kat Gelsey (they/she) is a senior at Pomona College working towards a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Analysis. After completing an REU at Portland State University this past summer working under Dr. Heejun Chang, Kat's interest in green infrastructure, spatial software, and urban planning equity has blossomed. Following graduation, Kat hopes to attend graduate school for a degree in environmental public health.
Nina Fogel | PhD Candidate, Saint Louis University
Nina Fogel is a fourth year PhD candidate in the Billiken Bee Lab at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her work focuses on bee diversity in native plant home gardens along a gradient of urbanization. She also is the co-founder of Shutterbee, a citizen science project. Nina is interested in urban ecosystems, urban planning and engaging local stakeholders in conservation.
Amy Johnson | Environmental Science Student, Portland Community College
Amy Johnson is a student at Portland Community College pursuing an Environmental Science degree. She has a B.A. in Global Studies from Long Island University. To earn her degree, she traveled to and studied religion and culture in China, India, Taiwan, Thailand, and Turkey. Her thesis examined mediation programs in US prisons. In 2019 she co-founded Sunrise Beaverton and in 2020 was appointed to the City of Beaverton’s Visioning Advisory Committee. Her research interests include the effects of climate change on plants, pollinators and ecosystems as well as community adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change. She currently occupies Kalapuyan land.
Joe Skalicky, Fish & Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office
Joe Skalicky has been a fish biologist working on a variety of projects for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over 25 years. Joe designs and implements field-based conservation and research projects for lamprey and other native species. Currently, he is is focused on working with Federal Refuges on aquatic conservation issues. Joe leads lamprey drawdown assessment projects, lamprey passage assessments and remediation projects at fishways and dams in the Columbia Basin. Joe works with many Federal, Tribal and State partners in Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and Idaho to reduce threats and conserve lamprey and native species. He is an expert in Pacific Lamprey biology and identification. Joe regularly provides instruction within various forums for fisheries research, collection, and assessment.
Jacob Swanson | Undergraduate Student, Environmental Science, Portland Community College
Jacob is an undergraduate at Portland Community College and will transfer to Portland State University in fall 2022 as an Environmental Science major. He has spent the last decade dedicated to working in horticulture farming cannabis while promoting and advocating for sustainable and sound land management practices within the cannabis industry. Jacob's current academic plans are to research freshwater systems and innovative approaches to aquatic ecosystem conservation and restoration to support aquatic species and resource management.
Jane Tesner Kleiner | Landscape Architect, Ecologist and Environmental Educator, nature+play designs
Jane Tesner Kleiner is a registered landscape architect, ecologist, and environmental educator with over 25 years experience planning, designing and installing Green Schoolyard, park and ecological restoration projects to support exploration, wonder and inspiration. She has experience working for and with many levels of government and non-profits to protect and restore natural areas. She currently owns nature+play designs in Vancouver, WA working with stakeholders around our region, volunteering with non-profits and schools, as well as program lead for the Lower Columbia Nature Network serving to connect our community to nature. She is passionate about ensuring kids of all ages have an opportunity to connect with nature everyday. Let's get outside!
Mariah Vertulfo | M.S. Student, Environmental Science and Management Program, Portland State University
Mariah Vertulfo is a master’s student student at Portland State University in Environmental Science and Management. Her research interests include water quality management, soil science, carbon sequestration, and sustainable development. Her current work focuses on the Willamette River and harmful algal blooms (HABs). She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in Sustainability from California Baptist University. She developed research experience through her undergrad work and Tarleton State University's REU program. Her experience and skills have expanded her interests in the environmental sciences, allowing her to explore multiple projects and fields.
Llewyn Whipps | Habitat Restoration Specialist, Ash Creek Forest Management
Llewyn Whipps is a habitat restoration specialist at Ash Creek Forest Management. They have experience working on many restoration projects to establish native plant species and promote ecological function. They are passionate about incorporating new methods and asking big questions about the meaning and goals of restoration work. They bring insights from a background that includes agriculture, forest advocacy, sociology, and pest control.
Jude Wait, Ph.D., Action-Research Scholar in Agroecology & Urban Ecosystems
Jude Wait holds a Ph.D. in Environmental and Natural Resource Science (WSU-Vancouver), a Masters in Management from Southern Oregon University, Graduate certificates in Sustainability Leadership (SOU) and Sustainable Agriculture (WSU), a Bachelor’s in Geology, and academic research in cumulative watershed impacts. Experience includes co-leading multi-stakeholder regional and national networks in the community-based forest/watershed restoration sector, emphasizing multi-cultural workforce training and economic empowerment. Jude applied watershed science to land use planning, restoration, and research programs on public, private, and Tribal lands. Jude's current fellowship, “Urban Agrifood System Collaborative Action Research and Education for BIPOC Community-led Equitable Food-Oriented Development in the Portland-Vancouver Metropolitan Region,” exemplifies a life-long dedication to environmentally just, socially equitable, and economically inclusive sustainability solutions to the problems that challenge ecosystem resilience. Partnering with Communities of Color centers farmers’ perspectives and follows recommendations from the “Resilience of Food Farming in Rapidly Urbanizing Regions” (Wait, 2021). See also Rollwagen-Bollens G, Holmlund T, Wait J. (2022) Actively participating in university-sponsored ecological research increases high school students’ knowledge of and attitudes about science. Frontiers in Environmental Science.
Rod Coles | Chairperson, Friends of Tualatin Hills Nature Park
Rod Coles is a longtime volunteer at the Tualatin Hills Nature Park. Rod has served on many volunteer committees within the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District and has a passion for this unique park. Through his volunteer work, Rod has gained knowledge and an appreciation for urban natural areas. He was one of the people who championed the documentation of the inspirational story of the nature park.
Guenevere DiGioia | MS graduate in Sustainable Forest Management, Oregon State University
Guen DiGioia is an Oregon State alumnus who completed her Master’s in sustainable forest management with a minor in statistics under Jim Kiser. She grew up in Oakridge, Oregon, in the middle of the Willamette National Forest. She obtained her Bachelor’s at the University of Oregon in marine biology with minors in chemistry and Italian. Throughout undergrad, she was interested in chemical cycling involved in climate change, studying oceanic upwelling and estuarine carbon sinks. After graduation in 2016, she had two internships, one with the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative and one in Korean Natural Farming. Guen took the collective knowledge from these internships and pursued the connection between microorganisms and their role in soil nutrient availability and carbon sequestration. This led to her work with Clean Water Services and her thesis titled Carbon Sequestration Potential After Riparian Restoration—A Baseline Study of Carbon Stocks and Mycorrhizal Communities. When she’s not working, she runs and hikes in the forest with her husband, Jacob, and her energetic aussie-poodle pup, Sukki.
Matt Krueger | Environmental Specialist, City of Portland, Environmental Services Tree Program
Matt Krueger has developed and managed outreach strategies, partnership building, tree planting, and young tree maintenance for the City of Portland's Environmental Service Tree Program for the last 13 years. The program has worked with many thousands of volunteers and partners, and planted over 55,000 urban trees during that time. The basis of the program is stormwater management but the work also addresses climate change, air quality, and various equity priorities through strategic outreach and tree planting. The program prioritizes collaborations and willing partnerships within the community and is currently developing a grant program to fund community-led projects.
Jen Hayes | Graduate Research Assistant, Garden Ecology Lab, Horticulture Department, Oregon State University
Jen Hayes is pursuing a PhD in Horticulture and Entomology at Oregon State University in Gail Langellotto's Garden Ecology Lab. Since her first exposure to native bee research as an undergraduate at the University of Vermont, she has had the opportunity to study pollinators in Vermont, Ecuador, North Dakota, and Oregon. She is broadly interested in how human-managed landscapes, such as farms and gardens, can achieve dual goals of pollinator conservation and plant productivity. Her graduate research focuses on the impacts of plant breeding on pollinator visitation to native plants and native cultivars.
Garett Pignotti | Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Washington State University Vancouver
Garett Pignotti (he/him) is a postdoctoral researcher at Washington State University Vancouver, originally from Orlando, Florida. His research focuses on the effects of urban heat on water and plants and the consequent inequitable human exposure to these effects across cities. He received a Ph.D. and M.S.E. from Purdue University where he evaluated the benefits of using satellite measurements of soil water to improve water quality model predictions, but mostly perpetually tried to answer why he had left Florida to come to Indiana. Motivated to translate science into action, Garett has participated in several projects at the local scale from improving water security of a rural community to reducing solid waste contamination of waterways. In his free time, Garett enjoys trying not to get sunburnt hiking with his dog, exploring a love/hate relationship with running, and telling himself to read more books.
Emma Russell | Undergraduate Researcher, Portland State University
Emma is a current undergraduate in the Portland State University Physics Department and is currently interning at West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (WMSWCD) as a ‘climate change intern’. Emma has spent time researching in PSU’s Climate Science Lab studying PM2.5 air pollution in Portland, the Pacific Northwest 2020 Labor Day Wildfire Event, and is currently researching climate change impacts and management adaptations for local conservationism at WMSWCD. Emma’s main research interests include Atmospheric Science, Meteorology, and Climate Change. Outside of studying, Emma is passionate about rock climbing and enjoys spending time outdoors.
Michelle Talal, Ph.D. | Zuckerman Postdoctoral Scholar, Tel Aviv University
Michelle is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist who focuses on urban ecology. She is a Zuckerman Postdoctoral Scholar at Tel Aviv University's Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and the School of Plant Sciences and Food Security. Michelle uses innovative mixed-method approaches to understand urban nature biodiversity, visitor uses and preferences, and ecosystem management. She has an openness to learning new skills and a love of the natural world.
Barbie Weber | Ground Score Association
Barbra (Barbie) Weber is a committed advocate on issues regarding hygiene access for all, environmental justice and housing rights. Co-founder and Coordinator for Ground Score Association (a Peer-lead initiative of Trash for Peace). Oregon Poor People's Campaign Coordinating Committee member, Central Eastside Together board member, Hazelnut Grove villager, and ShelterNow board member. In February 2021 piloted the GLITTER program (Ground Score Association Leading Inclusively Together Through Environmental Recovery), a sustainable tent side trash service for people living outside. She has been highly involved in many organizations and advocacy groups including Street Roots, Sisters of the Road, Right 2 Survive, Western Regional Advocacy Project, Gather Make Shelter academy member, etc. Barbra is an effective communicator with a gentle demeanor. Her motto in life is to do as little harm as possible to all life around her, to make every effort to assist in the betterment no matter what race, religion, gender identity, social status, mental health, criminal history, age, etc. And to fight with all her might to tear down stereotypes and to end hate that divides communities to their core.