STEVEN DANIEL, Naturalist and Botanist, Nature Discoveries, Rochester, NY

M.S. Science and Environmental Education; Cornell University

Steven has spent the better part of a lifetime studying natural history and teaching others, formally and informally. He took an early retirement from school teaching to develop Nature Discoveries - an ecotour company that he co-founded and for which he has led over 130 trips worldwide. He teaches Field Natural History and leads professional development outings for the Biology Department at Monroe Community College. Steven developed master plans for The Nature Conservancy at Mashomack Preserve on Long Island and for Great Gully in Cayuga County, as well as the biological inventory and development for the Genesee Country Museum Nature Center in Mumford. While plants are a long-consuming interest, he also enjoys studying Lepidoptera, birds, and most every aspect of the natural world. He is active in several local conservation organizations.

AISSA FELDMANN, Ecologist, NY Natural Heritage Program, Albany, NY

B.S. Natural Resource Ecology and Conservation (1992); University of Michigan
M.S. Conservation Ecology(2001); University of Georgia

Aissa has worked as an ecologist for the New York Natural Heritage Program for nearly nine years and has statewide experience in terrestrial, palustrine, and estuarine community sampling, mapping, and classification. Before coming to New York, Aissa conducted county natural areas inventories as an ecologist for the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission and worked as an environmental educator in Michigan, California, and Ohio. She has a special interest in mosses and seagrass, and is an occasional newsletter editor for the New York Flora Association.

ED FRANTZ , Adirondack Park and Forest Preserve Manager, New York State Department of Transportation, Utica, NY

A.S. Natural Resource Management, SUNY Morrisvile, NY
Duel B.S. Resource Management and Forest Biology; SUNY CESF, Syracuse, NY

Ed is the Adirondack Park and Forest Preserve Manager for NYSDOT. He has worked for NYSDOT for the past 14 years including a position as a Regional Environmental Manager, prior to that Mr. Frantz worked 6 years for the NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation as a Wetlands Specialist. Ed has a broad working experience of many environmental areas and has been involved in over 1000 projects in every area of development including transportation, utilities, agricultural, industrial, residential and commercial. He currently serves on the board for the NYS Wetlands Forum, is the Chairman of the NYS Flora Association, is a member of the Abstract Review Team for the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation and is a former board member for the NYS Invasive Plant Council.

ERIC LAMONT, President, Long Island Botanical Society, Riverhead, NY

Ph.D. Botany/Biology

Eric recently retired from a long career as a biology teacher at Riverhead high school. He now devotes his time to studying the flora of European and Latin American countries as well as the flora of Long Island. He is an Honorary Research Associate at The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, NY and serves as the President (1992-present) of the Long Island Botanical Society. He is the Managing Editor (2001-present) of the Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, the oldest botanical society and journal in North and South America, and served as the organization’s President from 2001-2003. Eric is a Contributing Author for the Flora of North America, has published more than 60 botanical papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and has authored almost 100 popular articles on plant related topics. He has described two plant species that are new to science. Eric was one of the members of the original board of the New York Flora Association when it was founded in the late 1980s.

CHRIS MARTINE, Botanist, Assistant Professor, SUNY Plattsburgh

B.S. Natural Resource Management (1996); Cook College, Rutgers University
M.S. Ecology and Evolution (2001); Rutgers University
Ph.D. Botany (2006); University of Connecticut

Chris spent five years as a conservation educator working for the NJ Forest Service and the Mercer County (NJ) Soil Conservation District before heading to Storrs, CT for his PhD work. He has been on the Biological Sciences faculty at Plattsburgh State since 2006, where he teaches courses in field botany, plant systematics, plant biology, and science communications; and where he continues to build a new campus herbarium. Chris is currently conducting research in plant reproductive biology, systematics/taxonomy, and invasive species ecology. He is faculty advisor to the SUNY Plattsburgh Student Chapter of the Botanical Society of America and serves on the editorial board of the Plant Science Bulletin. Faculty page: http://web.plattsburgh.edu/academics/biology/faculty/martine.php.

JOSEPH McMULLEN, Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, Inc., Phoenix, NY 

BS and MS Degrees in Biology, Concentrations in Botany.   

Joe is a principal and one of the founders of the environmental consulting firm of Terrestrial Environmental Specialists, Inc. located in central New York. He has worked in the environmental consulting field for over 34 years, and has performed botanical studies in all the states in the northeastern U.S., Alaska,  Florida, and Puerto Rico.  Wetlands restoration/ wetland vegetation is one of his concentrations. He has been involved with the NYFA since its inception and attended the original meeting organized by Dick Mitchell in March 1988.

ANDREW NELSON, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 

B.S. General Forestry (1958); SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.
M.S. Botany (1959); SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY.
PhD. Botany (1962); University of California, Berkeley, CA.

Andy recently retired after serving for the last fourteen years as a member of the teaching faculty in Biology and Director of Rice Creek Field Station at SUNY College at Oswego.  He has a continuing interest in the flora of the eastern portion of the Lake Ontario coastal plain and has worked particularly in the peatlands of that region.

RICHARD M. RING, Botanist, NY Natural Heritage Program, Albany, NY

B.A. Biology, Earlham College
M.S. Terrestrial Ecology, University of Michigan

Rich is a botanist and ecologist who has worked chiefly on landscape ecology, the habitat requirements of breeding passerine birds, and rare plant species distribution and conservation.  Previously he has pursued these interests across ridge, swale, and tussock for the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, and the Alaska Bird Observatory.  Raised in Washington County, New York,  he began seeking rare plant species across the state for the New York Natural Heritage Program in 2006.

Kimberly Smith, State Parks Botanist, NY Natural Heritage Program and NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Albany, NY

B.S. Ecology and Environmental Studies, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
M.S. Forest Ecology, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

Kimberly is the State Parks Botanist working on a partnership between the New York Natural Heritage Program and the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Prior to coming to New York, she worked as a botanist for the National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy on a variety of ecology and restoration projects. In her current position as the State Parks Botanist, Kim's work is focused on monitoring the status of rare plant populations in New York's state parks and providing management recommendations for natural resource management and planning. She is broadly interested in working with land managers to develop strategies for protecting New York's botanical diversity.

ANNA M. STALTER, Associate Curator and Extension Botanist at the L. H. Bailey Hortorium Herbarium at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Anna is a plant ecologist who holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell and her research and teaching efforts focus on the plant communities of New York and the northeastern U.S. Anna has been a member of the Steering Committee of the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society since 2002. In addition, her knowledge of the local flora has informed her role as a member of the Natural Areas Commission and the Conservation Advisory Council, City of Ithaca, NY.

CONNIE TEDESCO, Field Botanist, Cooperstown, NY 

B.S. Plant Science; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
M.A. Biology; SUNY Oneonta, Oneonta, NY 

Connie is a field botanist who resides in Hartwick, N.Y.  She recently completed a Flora of Otsego County, New York.  Other interests include rare plant pollination, invasive plants, and field studies/herbaria research that increase the records for underreported counties in New York State.

PRISCILLA TITUS, Ecologist, Fredonia, NY 

B.S. Biology; Augusta State University, Augusta, Georgia 

Priscilla is an ecologist and native plant enthusiast with more than 20 years of professional experience in research, public lands management, and private industry settings.  Her travels and work have taken her to both coasts of North America including Mexico and Alaska, and to much of central Europe.  She formerly served on the Arizona Native Plant Society’s Board of Directors and as an Earthshare Board member and Representative for the Washington Native Plant Society. After moving to Fredonia in Year 2005 with her husband Jon, who is a biology professor at SUNY-Fredonia, Priscilla developed an interest in propagating native western New York genotypes with emphasis on successional species for use in restoration efforts.  She is a member of the Niagara Frontier Botanical Society and the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy.

TROY WELDY, Director of Ecological Management, The Nature Conservancy, Albany, NY 

B.S.; Butler University, Indianapolis, IN
M.A.; College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA 

Troy has been a member of the New York Flora Association since 1996, serving various roles including former Chair.  He is currently the Director of Ecological Management for the New York Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.  In this role, he focuses on policy and management implementation on issues related to deer management, wildland fire management, and invasive species management.  Troy's lobby efforts for invasive species support has resulted in dedicated state funding (about $15M to date), the creation of the New York State Invasive Species Council and Advisory Committee, the formation of eight regional partnerships, and a formalized approach to establish a four-tier regulatory list.  In addition, he is a Research Associate with the New York State Museum and Adjunct Faculty for the Institute of Wetland Environmental Education and Research. He is author of over 75 technical reports and articles including the New York Flora Atlas (http://newyork.plantatlas.org/) and a chapter on invasive species management in the 2008 Conserving Biodiversity on Military Lands (http://www.dodbiodiversity.org/ch7/index.html). This is the third version of the Atlas for which Troy has secured funding and served as project manager.  His previous roles include interim Director of US Network Operations for NatureServe, Botanist for the New York Natural Heritage Program, and Faculty Research Associate for Vassar College.

DAVID WERIER, Private Consultant, Brooktondale, NY 

B.S. Biological Sciences (1989); SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 

David’s botanical interests focus on understanding the vascular plant (and to a lesser degree lichen) taxa of eastern North America (primarily New York State) through field work in conjunction with herbarium and literature research. His work often centers on conservation of the flora of this region. One project he is currently involved in is the New York Flora Atlas project (http://www.newyork.plantatlas.usf.edu/Default.aspx), which aims to create an accurate and up to date checklist of New York State plants and lichens including NYS distributions based on vouchered specimens. He is one of the founders of the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society and is currently the editor for their newsletter (Solidago).

STEVE YOUNG, Chief Botanist, NY Natural Heritage Program, Albany, NY

B.S. Environmental and Resource Management (1974); SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York. 
M.S. Taxonomic Botany (1985); University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

In his 20th year as a botanist for the New York Natural Heritage Program, Steve is in charge of the collection, organization, and dissemination of New York's rare plant information.  More information about his program can be found at www.nynhp.org. He is one of the founders and past chair of the Invasive Plant Council of New York State (recently integrated into DEC), present coordinator of the Long Island Invasive Species Management Area, and vice president and assistant editor of the newsletter for the New York Flora Association.