Meet The Team
Background:
Originally from South Jersey, I earned my B.S. in Biology from Immaculata University where I was a member of the women's soccer team. I spent time in private ecological consulting after undergrad, mostly working on wetland delineations, habitat assessments, and threatened and endangered species surveys. I am now a MS student at Virginia Tech studying movement and resource selection in bog turtles.​
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Research Area:
I am a community ecologist interested in studying the intersection of commercial and ecological objectives. I am passionate about research in ecosystems under active land management and how wildlife and vegetation communities within these systems respond and adapt to land use and climate change impacts. I plan on pursuing a career in academia, allowing me to push students to ask questions and seek answers, all while continuing research into these important ecosystems.
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Fun Fact:
I once worked at Chili's for a singular day.
-President-
-Vice President-
Background:
I am originally from Bloomington, Indiana and received my B.S. In Wildlife from Purdue University. My undergraduate research primarily focused on predatory zooplankton in the Laurentine Great Lakes and modeling Indiana bobcat population dynamics using agent-based models. After working in different seasonal positions with environmental consulting, research associates, and outdoor education programs, I followed my passion for research and now am a part of the USGS Co-op unit advised by Dr. Ford.​
​Research Area:
Currently, I am studying bat communities in the Southern Coastal Plain of New Jersey. Many bat populations have declined due to a disease, white nose syndrome. To help support bat conservation, I am investigating habitat associations in relation to bat occupancy and how wildfires influence bat activity and community composition.
Background:
Reyhane Rastgoo is a Ph.D. student in the Fish and Wildlife Conservation program at Virginia Tech, working in Dr. Ashley Dayer's Human Dimensions Lab. She earned her bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and a master's in Biodiversity Conservation and Management from the University of Tehran, Iran. Her research explores the intersection of conservation and social science, focusing on human-wildlife interactions and the human dimensions of wildlife. As a Graduate Research Assistant, Reyhane will investigate the motivations behind longleaf pine landowners' participation in the Conservation Reserve Program.
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Research Area:
Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and Human-wildlife Interactions
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Fun Fact:
I enjoy practicing yoga, taking walks to photograph nature (when I first moved to Blacksburg, I posted so much on iNaturalist that I’m pretty sure the app got tired of me!), listening to podcasts, and watching documentaries.
-Treasurer-
-Secretary-
Background:
I am from Richmond, Virginia and I’ve lived on the east coast my entire life. I love traveling, exploring urban areas, and meeting new people. My background is in animal science; I earned my master’s degree in animal welfare from the University of Maryland College Park in 2022. This background eventually led me to an interest in wildlife conservation through a One Health approach and I began my PhD studies later that year.
Research Area:
My interdisciplinary research focuses on understanding turtle trade from both social and ecological perspectives. The goal of my project is to identify potential intervention points in the unsustainable collection, trade, and reintroduction of wild turtles. Specifically, I am working to determine the drivers of turtle ownership and use in the United States, with the aim of informing policies that sustainably combat turtle trade and support conservation efforts. Additionally, I incorporate ecology and wildlife health surveillance in my research by studying eastern box turtle populations in Virginia, as understanding disease profiles is crucial for successful reintroductions following seizures from illegal trade.
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Fun Fact:
I am a double Hokie, I graduated from Virginia with my bachelor’s degree in 2020. Also, I love amusement/theme parks and I’ve been to over 10 of the top ones in the country!​
-GPSS Delegate-
Background:
Hello everyone! I was born and raised in the beautiful Appalachians in Roanoke, VA. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia majoring in Environmental Sciences with a concentration in Biological Conservation. I earned my M.Sc. at Virginia Tech under Dr. Marcella Kelly and am continuing my academic journey for my Ph.D. under Marcella.
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Research Area:
I study the population dynamics (i.e. distribution and density) of pumas in Belize, Central America using remote camera trapping.
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Fun Fact:
I am the proud parent of my majestic baby angel cat, Carlos along with my regal dog, Caleb, and finally my goofy pup, Pepper.
-GPSS Delegate-
Background:
​I come from an ecological background from many taxa from small mammals to herpetofauna. My research interests include studying anthropogenic effects on wildlife communities.
Research Area:
My current research is centered on bat communities with a primary focus on estimating bat activity and occupancy via remote acoustic detectors for all bat nine species in the northeastern US. I am also researching how human-influenced diseases may affect population distribution, especially for species heavily impacted by the disease white-nose syndrome. My research will also examine how forest management, human development, and climate variables may affect bat species’ foraging habitat selection. (Advisor: Ford)
Fun fact:
I love cooking
Akea Cader(She/Her)
-Community Chair-
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Background:
I am from Hampton Roads, VA and I received my B.S. in Fish and Wildlife Conservation from Virginia Tech in 2020. As an undergraduate, I worked on my own research project examining the effect of prescribed burns on small mammal abundance and species richness. I found great joy in connecting with my fellow students through outdoor recreation which further developed my appreciation for the outdoors. After graduation, I worked with the National Park Service in Boston as a Youth Education Coordinator, where I organized and ran youth programs intending to connect local youth to the outdoors and the cultural resources in their community.
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Research Area:
I am broadly interested in the human dimensions of wildlife and social ecological systems. My current research aims to understand how changes in flounder abundance in the mid-Atlantic due to climate change affects food insecurity, cultural well-being, and income of recreational anglers and commercial fishers. I am also interested in science communication and how our profession can improve the dissemination of information.
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Fun Fact:
Crocheting has become my new favorite hobby, and I really enjoy creating lots of new trinkets.
-Community Chair-
Background:
I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where I lived for 12 years before moving to Jacksonville and then Tampa, Florida. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Biology, with a minor in English Literature, from the University of Central Florida. After graduating, I worked as a technician on a black bear hair snare study in eastern North Carolina, where I discovered my passion for minimally invasive wildlife research. I then continued this work at Mississippi State University, focusing on extracting DNA from non-invasive samples. I am now pursuing my Master’s degree at Virginia Tech, advised by Dr. Marcella Kelly in the WHAPA Lab.
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Research Area:
I am broadly interested in application of minimally invasive techniques to investigate population ecology, wildlife-habitat interactions, and spatial ecology, aiming to enhance wildlife conservation and management strategies. My research focuses on assessing black bear population density and movement in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia using spatial capture-recapture models to evaluate how sarcoptic mange and landscape features influence distribution and disease transmission.​
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Fun Fact:
I am a reality tv and farmers market dumpling fanatic
Background:
I am from central Massachusetts and I will forever be a Masshole in my heart :) From 2016-2019 I completed my master's in biological sciences at Ole Miss, and then worked as a high school biology teacher in Oxford, MA from fall 2019-2023. I started my PhD in the WHAPA lab in January 2024, but I first worked for Marcella as a volunteer on the jaguar project in 2014 and then as project leader in the Mountain Pine Ridge of Belize in 2015. My journey to Virginia Tech was largely due to networking - and being annoying...squeaky wheel gets the grease baby!
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Research Area:
I am currently running the Virginia Gray Fox Project, which will eventually be a statewide camera survey. The major goals of this project are to establish the current distribution of gray foxes across Virginia and to identify bottom-up (habitat) and/or top-down (predators/competitors) factors impacting gray fox occupancy.
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Fun Fact:
I love creative outlets - cooking, baking, sewing, painting, crochet - these things make my heart happy! I also teach yoga, so if you ever wanna get your om on give me a shout :)
-Social Chair-
-Orientation Chair-
Background:​
​I am a master’s student in Dr. Ford’s lab. For the past five years, I have worked as a cave and bat technician across the country, including California, Montana, Utah, and West Virginia. I’m excited to now be leading projects of my own! My research focuses on day roost selection of North long-eared myotis maternity colonies on Fire Island, New York, and the roosting and foraging selection of imperiled bats in the New River Gorge, West Virginia. Broadly, I’m interested in how bats use the landscape, and how forest history and composition influence bat population dynamics. Through these studies, I hope to inform effective conservation of endangered bat populations in the face of White-Nose Syndrome, climate change, and habitat loss. I love living in the high Alleghenies, which provides easy access to trail running, rock climbing, and caving.
Fun Fact:
In my free time, I survey caves to create maps with my local cave grottos. I also enjoy leading climbing and caving trips—let me know if you’d like to join!
Background:
I am currently a PhD student at Virginia Tech and hold a B.S. and M.S. in Fisheries & Wildlife from Michigan State University.
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Research Area:
I am a fisheries social scientist and that works to integrate development economics, geography, and gender studies in freshwater fisheries globally. As a mixed methods scholar, I conduct econometric and spatial analyses of survey data as well as qualitative analyses of interview and focus group data to understand complex social-ecological systems. I am particularly interested in exploring issues of equity, access, gender, food security and nutrition, and livelihoods, at the nexus of economic development and environmental conservation. My research is guided by resilience theory, social-ecological systems and food systems thinking, and a commitment to ethical engagement with local communities. I have contributed to projects in both the African Great Lakes and the Laurentian Great Lakes, specifically Lake Malawi, Lake Victoria, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario.
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Fun Fact:
Beyond being a graduate student, I am a runner, yogi, baker, and avid fiber artist.
-Speaker Chair-
-Website Chair-
Background:
I am from Taiwan and earned my Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tokyo, Japan (2022). During my time in Japan, I completed two internships focused on human-bear coexistence—one with Asiatic black bears and another with brown bears. These experiences inspired me to pursue a master’s degree to further explore human-bear interactions using quantitative approaches. I then completed an MS in Geospatial Data Science and Ecosystem Science & Management at the University of Michigan (2024), where my research examined how snare traps affect the space use and movement of Asiatic black bears in Taiwan.​​
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​​Research Area:
My PhD research focuses on effects of sarcoptic mange on American black bear populations and individuals in the Virginia Appalachian Mountains, examining how this skin disease impacts population dynamics, physiology, and spatial behavior.
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Fun Fact:
I have worked with four different bear species (at different capacities) so far, and my goal is to work with all eight!