PRAIRIESTRIPS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Extension Wildlife Specialist
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor in Two Departments at Iowa State University
- Associate Professor, Entomology, Iowa State University
Amy is an Associate Professor in two departments at Iowa State University: Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and Entomology. She teaches courses in animal behavior and conducts research on the mechanisms and evolution of social behavior in insects, with a focus on bees and wasps. In the context of the STRIPS project, she is interested in how landscape enhancements for floral resource quality and availability can improve the nutritional health of managed and wild bees.
Job Titles:
- Prairie on Farms Manager - Tallgrass Prairie Center
- Technical
Andy cites Ada Hayden, Siggurd Olson, and Aldo Leopold as his inspirations. His rural Iowa roots, ability to work with people, and passion for effecting change are a good fit for the Prairie on Farms Program. Andy says: "I envision an agricultural landscape where there is a balance between reverence for our land, and making enough money to have successful and sustainable farms. The TPC is unique in its relationship to environmental stewardship because we make prairie compatible with work, whether in roadside ditches or prairie strips in farm fields.
Job Titles:
- Project Manager, Program Coordinator II
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- Iowa Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Coordinator - Tallgrass Prairie Center
- Technical
Anne Phillips joined the staff of the Tallgrass Prairie Center in 2021 as Community Engagement Coordinator. Born in Oklahoma, raised in Iowa and educated in Kansas, Anne feels like she has always had a bit of prairie in her soul. Anne holds degrees in English literature and graphic design, as well as a master's degree in journalism and mass communications from the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. She worked almost 20 years as a newspaper journalist and another 9 years as a graphic designer. She volunteers for and serves on the board of directors for the Youth Art Team, a nonprofit organization that brings together students from a variety of backgrounds and life situations to develop and create community art. Anne has four grown daughters and their families, including three grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- Extension Forestry Specialist
Job Titles:
- Postdoctoral Research Associate
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Associate Professor
Job Titles:
- STRIPS Field Activities Manager, Research Associate I, Iowa State University
- Technical
Job Titles:
- Graduate Assistant - Research
Job Titles:
- Program Director, Sand County Foundation
- Technical
Job Titles:
- Communications Consultant
- Technical
Growing up on a farm in southwest Iowa, Doug Davenport's passion for agriculture developed at an early age. He developed a passion for conservation after college while serving in the Peace Corps in Honduras. He put both passions to work in a long career with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, retiring in 2017. He now works as a communications consultant for the STRIPS team.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Entomology, University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign
Dolezal is a broadly trained insect physiologist with interest in how environmental stressors interact to affect bee health. Pollinators, particularly honey bees and wild bees, are a critical element of healthy ecosystems and key players in agriculture. Dolezal's research interests revolve around studying how ecological stressors, like nutrition, landscape composition/ecology, viral pathogens, and sublethal pesticide exposure interact to affect these pollinators. Working mostly in Midwestern agroecosystems dominated by row crop agriculture, his lab uses of a variety of approaches, including landscape ecology, ethology, physiology, and genomics to study these interactions and better understand how field-relevant stressors contribute to bee declines.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University
- Graduate Assistant - Research
Dr. Howe leads the Genomics and Environmental Research in Microbial Systems (GERMS) Laboratory. The goal of the GERMS Lab (www.germslab.org) is to understand and manage the impacts of microbiology as we continuously change the environment that we live in. Our research provides data that is needed to inform our decisions and policy by developing innovative scientific methods that detect and quantify microbial activity in the environment. Our broad interests include the production, resilience, and safety of food, energy, and water resources; the impacts of land management strategies; the connection of environmental and animal microbiomes; and the large-scale detection of biomarkers for environmental health. Our past and present research includes identifying microbial drivers of biogeochemical cycling and their response to climate change; understanding contributions of microbial genes, individuals, and groups to population function and dynamics; detection of antibiotic genes and pathogen biomarkers; scalability of increasingly large sequencing datasets through the application of advanced computational approaches; and leveraging high throughput, next-generation metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing to investigate interactions within environmental microbial communities.
Job Titles:
- Scientist II, Iowa State University
Education:
B.S., Agronomy & Seed Science, Iowa State University, 2017
M.S., Agronomy, The Pennsylvania State University, 2019
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Department of Statistics, Iowa State University, STRIPS Data Management Lead
- Lead Contacts, Investigators
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Professor
- Professor, Natural Resource Ecology & Management, Iowa State University
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Research and Extension, University of Nebraska
Job Titles:
- Research and Restoration Program Manager, University of Northern Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Center
Dr. Justin Meissen is responsible for implementing restoration research and demonstration projects, and creating training seminars, presentations and technical materials for multiple audiences including roadside managers and other conservation professionals. Justin has extensive experience in ecological restoration, having worked for The Nature Conservancy, Audubon California, and leading the Red Bison Prairie Restoration Student Group while in college at University of Illinois. He has served as a botanical consultant and plant ID workshop instructor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He was a teaching assistant for three years for an ecological restoration course at the University of Minnesota. His PhD research at the University of Minnesota evaluates the risks of repeated, intensive overharvesting of seed from native tallgrass prairies. The study, conducted in western Minnesota, required extensive collaboration with the Minnesota DNR, The Nature Conservancy, and private landowners. Justin says, "I'm excited for the opportunity to restore and advocate for our tallgrass prairies, and I look forward to exploring new and compelling avenues of applied prairie research that will help us improve our ability to restore and promote these important ecosystems."
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Associate Professor, Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, University of Nebraska
Education:
B.Sc. Ag, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Nepal
M.Sc. Ag Econ, GBPUA&T, India
M.Sc. Plant Biotech, Fort Valley State University, Georgia
Job Titles:
- Director, Tallgrass Prairie Center, Professor of Biology, University of Northern Iowa
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Associate Director, Bioeconomy Institute, Iowa State University, STRIPS Wildlife Research Lead
- Professor, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Principal Investigator, Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Management Lab, Co - Director, Bioeconomy Institute, Director, C - CHANGE
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Professor of Agronomy, Iowa State University
Job Titles:
- Advisor
- Professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Dean 's Professor of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University, STRIPS Water Research Lead
Education:
B.S., Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2020
Job Titles:
- Professor, Entomology, Iowa State University, STRIPS Pollinator Research Lead
Education:
B.S., Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Nebraska, 2013
M.S., Agriculture and Natural Resources, Tarleton State University, 2016
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Agricultural Education, Iowa State University
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska
Job Titles:
- Graduate Assistant - Research
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator
- Technical Staff
Fahimeh is the MiSTRIPS coordinator for the Long-term Ecological Research at Michigan State University W. K. Kellogg Biological Station. She has worked in various fields within natural resources management including wildlife management, forestry, and education. Her experience has taken her across the county, and across the world as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana (2013 - 2015). While in Ghana, Fahimeh engaged with women farmers managing agroforestry systems. It is through this experience that she has developed a passion for encouraging land stewardship in her community
Job Titles:
- Field Projects Director, Sand County Foundation
- Technical
Greg oversees Sand County Foundation's field activities for water quality and nutrient management in southeastern Wisconsin. He works directly with producers and operates monitoring equipment with our research partners. Greg was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He has previously worked in wetland, prairie, and forest restoration and research for Ducks Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the US Geological Survey.
Job Titles:
- Communications Specialist
- Technical
Job Titles:
- Professor
- Professor, Sociology, Extension Sociologist, Iowa State University
J. Arbuckle is professor and extension sociologist at Iowa State University. His research and extension efforts focus on improving the environmental and social performance of agricultural systems. His interest areas include climate change, non-operator landownership, and soil and water conservation. He is co-director of the Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll, an annual survey of Iowa farmers. J. has been part of the STRIPS team since 2008.
Job Titles:
- Graduate Assistant - Research, Dr. Adina Howe
Job Titles:
- Montana Camp Maintenance Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Assistant Teaching Professor, French Conservation Camp Director
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant II
Job Titles:
- Student Services Specialist IV, Student Accessibility Services Liason
Job Titles:
- Graduate Assistant - Research
Job Titles:
- Director of Graduate Education ( DOGE )
Job Titles:
- Graduate Assistant - Research
Job Titles:
- Assistant Teaching Professor
Job Titles:
- Soil Scientist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor, Agronomy, Iowa State University
Job Titles:
- Graduate Assistant - Research
Job Titles:
- Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Job Titles:
- Assistant Teaching Professor
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, STRIPS Antimicrobial Resistance Lead
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Assistant Professor
Job Titles:
- Manager - Tallgrass Prairie Center
- Prairie on Farms Manager - Tallgrass Prairie Center
Andy cites Ada Hayden, Siggurd Olson, and Aldo Leopold as his inspirations. His rural Iowa roots, ability to work with people, and passion for effecting change are a good fit for the Prairie on Farms Program. Andy says: "I envision an agricultural landscape where there is a balance between reverence for our land, and making enough money to have successful and sustainable farms. The TPC is unique in its relationship to environmental stewardship because we make prairie compatible with work, whether in roadside ditches or prairie strips in farm fields.
Job Titles:
- Team Leader, Research Soil Scientist, USDA Forest Service
Job Titles:
- Professor, Director of the Iowa Water Center, STRIPS Soil Health Research Lead
Job Titles:
- Professor, Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Leader
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant II
Job Titles:
- Systems Analyst II, Web Developer
Job Titles:
- Department Chair, Leopold Center Interim Chair, Professor
Job Titles:
- Business Administrator III / Administration
Job Titles:
- Professor / Plant Pathology
Tim Smith is from Eagle Grove, Iowa and farms 800 ac of corn and soybeans. He chatted with Lisa Schulte Moore from the STRIPS team on June 1, 2017 about why he sees prairie strips as a good option for his farm. He also shared some of his experiences as a farmer in establishing and farming around prairie strips.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor, Harmon Family Professor
Job Titles:
- Agricultural Specialist I
Job Titles:
- Agriculture Professor, Illinois Valley Community College