Board of Directors
Current as of August 2018
The NAISN Board of Directors is comprised of representatives from NAISN's member organizations and agencies (hubs and nodes). The Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer are elected at NAISN's annual Board of Directors meetings and serve two-year terms.
Dr. A. Isabel González-Martinez, Chair
Subcoordinadora de Especies Invasoras, DGAP
Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad (CONABIO)
Mexico City, Mexico
Dr. Gonzalez received a B.S. in Biology from the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, an M.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Kent, and a Ph.D. in Conservation from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. Since 2007 she has been in charge of CONABIO's invasive species program, which developed Mexico's National Invasive Species Information System, oversees the development of research projects, and provides technical information for decision making. Isabel was part of the steering committee tasked to develop Mexico's National Invasive Species Strategy. She is a former chair of the North American Plant Protection Organization's Invasive Species Panel (2010 and 2012), and on behalf of CONABIO, is involved in many different national and international forums on invasive species issues.
Carrie J. Brown-Lima
Director
New York Invasive Species Research Institute
Ithaca, New York, 14853
Carrie Brown-Lima is a Senior Extension Associate and the Director of the NY Invasive Species Research Institute at Cornell University. In this role, she works closely with research scientists, state and federal agencies, the NY Invasive Species Council and Advisory Committee and regional managers and stakeholders to promote innovation and improve the scientific basis of invasive species management. Carrie has nearly 20 years of experience working with natural resource conservation and management across ecosystems and borders. Prior to her position with the Research Institute, Carrie spent 11 years promoting conservation strategies and partnerships in Brazil and throughout Latin America on diverse programs such as sustainable fisheries certifications, agriculture and conservation, and transboundary protected areas.
Dr. Mark Renz, Treasurer
Associate Professor and Extension Weed Specialist
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Renz researches and extends information about the biology and management of invasive plants. Research goals in Dr. Renz’s lab are centered on developing information that will improve management by improving the knowledge and understanding of invasive plant biology. Dr. Renz has over 15 years of experience with management of invasive plants throughout the United States in a wide range of habitats including riparian zones, roadsides, floodplains, prairies, wetlands, and forests. Education efforts focus on providing technical information and educational opportunities for agency staff, consultants, companies, and citizens concerned about invasive plants. Dr. Renz also is the president of the Midwest invasive Plant Network whose mission is to reduce the impact of invasive plants in the Midwestern United States.
Doug Johnson, Secretary
Executive Director
California Invasive Plant Council
Berkeley, California, USA
Doug has served as Executive Director of the nonprofit California Invasive Plant Council (Cal-IPC) since 2002. He serves on the board of the National Association of Invasive Plant Councils (NAIPC), and served as the first chair of the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee, created in 2009. Cal-IPC works with partners throughout California to coordinate strategic regional eradication projects. Tools developed by Cal-IPC like CalWeedMapper and WHIPPET support land managers in prioritizing their work on invasive plants. The annual Cal-IPC Symposium brings together land managers, researchers, planners and volunteers to share the latest information in invasive plant biology, management and policy. At the national level, Cal-IPC joins with other state and regional IPCs on issues like strong screening of plants imports and developing national standards for invasive plant assessment. Doug represents NAIPC in discussions through the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species.
Doug has an M.A. in Geography from San Francisco State University with an emphasis on conservation biology, GIS, and environmental perceptions, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Davis. In 1999 Doug was selected as a Switzer Environmental Fellow. Prior to coming to Cal-IPC, Doug worked on habitat restoration for California State Parks and on energy conservation for the City & County of San Francisco.
Tracey Cooke, Past Chair
Executive Director
The Invasive Species Centre
Through her work with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Ducks Unlimited Canada and consulting in the private and not-for-profit sectors, Tracey brings expertise in partnership development and stakeholder relations. She is skilled at forging and nurturing partnerships through collaboration, and is an enthusiastic communicator, facilitator and fundraiser.
Tracey holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Environment and Resources Studies from the University of Waterloo. A native of Thessalon, Ontario, Tracey lives on the North Channel of Lake Huron with her husband and three children.
Chuck Bargeron
Associate Director of Invasive Species and Information Technology
Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (Bugwood), University of Georgia
Tifton, Georgia, USA
Chuck is the Associate Director of Bugwood and has a Public Service Faculty appointment in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia (UGA). A native of Tifton, Georgia, he received an A.S. from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Computer Science, a B.S. in Computer Science from Georgia Southern University, and an M.S. in Computer Science from Georgia Southwestern State University. In his time at UGA, Chuck has developed numerous web applications, smartphone applications, interactive CD-ROMs, databases, and outreach publications. Websites that Chuck has designed have been featured twice in Science magazine, received regional awards for content and design, and have received over one billion hits in the past 10 years.
Chuck designed and developed the infrastructure behind Bugwood Images, which runs the ForestryImages.org, Invasive.org, IPMImages.org, InsectImages.org, and WeedImages.org websites. Recently, he has focused on mapping invasive species and tools for early detection and rapid response using the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) and its many smartphone applications. Chuck has developed and released 16 iPhone applications, including: IveGot1, Invasive Plants of Southern Forests, Landscape Alternative to Invasive Plants in the Midwest, Outsmart Invasives, and Forest Pest Insects in North America. Chuck developed the first smartphone applications released by the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Jason Ferrell
Professor and Director
Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
University of Florida
Dr. Ferrell earned a B.S. and M.S. in Plant and Soil Science from the University of Kentucky in 1998 and 2000, and a Ph.D. in Weed Science from the University of Georgia in 2003. In the time since, he has attained the rank of Full Professor at the University of Florida (UF) with responsibilities in weed management and herbicide stewardship. Jason became the director of the UF's Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants (CAIP) CAIP funds, coordinates, and promotes invasive plant research and Extension activities of faculty and students throughout the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Along with graduate students under his direction, Jason has published over 100 scientific journal articles on many aspects related to plant biology and herbicide use. He currently serves as Editor of the Journal of Aquatic Plant Management and sits on the Board of Directors of several state societies and the Aquatic Plant Management Society.
Dr. Jerry L. Cook
Professor of Biology
Associate Vice President - Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX 77341-2448
Dr. Cook has a B.S. in Geology and an M.S. in Biology from the University of Southern Colorado. For his doctoral work, Jerry conducted a study on the invasive red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, and its interaction with a natural enemy, the parasitic strepsipteran Caenocholax fenyesi. This work resulted in a Ph.D. in Entomology from Texas A&M University in 1996.
Jerry is currently the Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Invasive Species, Professor of Biology at Sam Houston State University and Associate Vice President for Research at Sam Houston State University. He has served as a Program Director at the National Science Foundation, Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, interim Dean of Graduate Studies, and interim Dean of the College of Sciences at Sam Houston State University.
Throughout his professional career, Dr. Cook has maintained an active research program, focused primarily on invasive species and their biological controls. A sample of his projects include working with an endangered ant species that is being impacted by an invasive ant; working on the newly introduced Rasberry crazy ant; partnering with the pesticide industry to develop and test new products to control pest species; working on the taxonomy and systematics of ants and their parasites; and developing a network in Texas for early detection and rapid response of invasive species in Texas.
In addition to Dr. Cook's personal research program, he has become active in the administration of invasive species management. Specifically, Dr. Cook serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Invasive Species (ISIS), the first collaborative institute of the Texas State University System. This effort brings together over 40 Ph.D. level researchers from six campuses throughout the System to study invasive species. In 2013, Jerry was appointed by the Secretary of Interior to serve on the Invasive Species Advisory Committee.
Dr. Greg Newman
Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
Colorado State University
Ft. Collins, Colorado, USA
Dr. Newman is a research scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) at Colorado State University (CSU). Greg holds a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Health and an M.S. in restoration ecology. He received a Ph.D. from CSU in citizen science, community-based monitoring, and ecological informatics. His current research focuses on designing and evaluating the effectiveness of cyber-infrastructure support systems for citizen science programs. His research interests include: evaluating various citizen science program models; understanding the socio-ecological benefits of engaging the public in scientific research; designing and evaluating data management systems for socio-ecological research; assessing the value of local and traditional ecological knowledge for conservation and education outcomes; developing spatial-temporal decision support systems; managing invasive species databases; and coordinating invasive species data exchange for decision support.
Greg's research team manages the International Biological Information System (IBIS) cyber-infrastructure at NREL, a system that supports the Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN), the CitSci.org web application, and more than 20 other web-based ecological data management applications. In addition to serving on the NAISN Board of Directors, Greg is an active member of the DataONE citizen science working group. His many research projects at NREL have included conducting vegetation surveys for national parks; evaluating the health and integrity of national park ecological and cultural resources; developing web-based ecological tools for natural resource managers; conducting restoration ecology experiments; and developing web mapping applications for use in invasive species science.
Past Board Members:
Don C. Schmitz, Former Executive Director
Dr. Pedro M. Antunes
Dr. William T. Haller
Dr. David Moorhead
Katie Walters
Elizabeth Galli-Noble
Dr. John Madsen
Dr. Alycia Crall
Amy Richard