FHAES - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Coordinator
- Program Manager
Alison has lived in Alaska since 1986. She has been working with scientists and managers to understand and address the impacts of environmental change in high latitude systems since 1997. She is particularly proud of how the needs of Alaska's interagency management community drive the innovative work of the AFSC team and is very appreciative of the support structure provided by the Joint Fire Science Program's exchange network.
Diana's current focus is on the improvement of wildland fire science delivery and application. This began with her work on FIREHouse (the Northwest and Alaska Fire Research Clearinghouse), and continues with her work on FRAMES. Prior to FRAMES and FIREHouse, her focus was on fuels research and fire history research, and before delving into the world of fire research she was a wildlife biologist. Her education includes an MS in Forest Ecology from the University of Washington and a BS in Biology from Stanford University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scientific Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scientific Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Principal Investigator, Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho
Eva is an Associate Professor in the Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences at the University of Idaho. Her research interests focus on quantifying landscape change occurring on a variety of spatial and temporal scales, including succession and disturbance interaction, climate induced change, invasive species, and change induced by humans. To study landscapes through space and time she uses geospatial tools such as geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing and image interpretation, GPS, and landscape scale modeling. Strand is particularly interested in the interaction between the landscape mosaic and ecological processes including the effects on plant communities, wildlife habitat, fire behavior and effects, biogeochemical cycling, and landscape structure. Her recent projects include: Long-term monitoring of semi-arid aspen woodlands; Fuel treatment effectiveness in sagebrush steppe, juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forest; Assessment of wildfire severity on plant communities in juniper woodlands, mixed conifer forest, and black spruce forest; and the effects of livestock grazing on fuels and fire behavior in western rangelands. She has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm Sweden, an MS in Chemical Engineering-Systems Analysis, and a PhD focusing on successional dynamics in aspen and juniper woodlands from the University of Idaho. Dr. Strand teaches courses in Landscape Ecology and Rangeland Ecology at the University of Idaho in the classroom and online.
Job Titles:
- Communication Specialist
- Science Communications Lead at AFSC
Heather McFarland is the Science Communications Lead at AFSC. She translates complex scientific information into visual and written stories that people connect with and understand. She has experience in science writing, graphic design, science illustration, social media, communicating to diverse audiences and community outreach. Heather's background is in Arctic biology and conservation.
Job Titles:
- Planning & Environmental Coordinator
Job Titles:
- System Architect
- Web Developer
- Web Developer and Architect of the Public FRAMES
Kelly is the web developer and architect of the public FRAMES website and private MyFRAMES intranet site. As a trained biologist with web development skills, Kelly bridges the divide between the biological sciences and technology and works with partners to disseminate, share, and communicate science. She has experience developing websites, creating customized web-enabled databases and user interfaces, standardizing and collecting data and metadata, and developing data use standards. A native of central Pennsylvania, Kelly completed a B.S. in Biology at Denison University (Granville, OH) while researching the evolution of anti-predator behavior in native Trinidadian guppies. Subsequently, Kelly earned an M.S. in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology from the Ohio State University where her research on population viability analysis was published in Conservation Biology. Kelly has a wide range of experience writing, researching, educating in the biological sciences, working as a grant manager, a naturalist in Glacier National Park, a data manager for the Whirling Disease Initiative, a co-leader of three undergraduate courses in Ghana, an adjunct professor at Western Washington University, and an informatics specialist for Montana State University.
Lynn Wells, Program Manager , Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho
Lynn has been with the FRAMES Program in the Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences at the University of Idaho since 2007. She brings with her a background in management, research, writing, education, and outreach. Before coming to FRAMES Lynn spent a number of years in fire and natural resources with State and Federal agencies all over the United States. She was with the USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, the Southern Research Station, and the Kootenai National Forest; several National Parks, including North Cascades, Everglades, Big Cypress, Shenandoah, and the Blue Ridge Parkway; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Youth Conservation Corps. Lynn has worked as a biological technician, forest technician, natural resource specialist, park ranger, trail crew leader, backcountry ranger, wildland fire manager, and prescribed fire specialist. She had a variety of titles during fire seasons, including crew boss, interagency crew liaison, incident commander, fire camp manager, helicopter manager, and supervisory dispatcher, but she says one of the most memorable ones was Staging Area Manager at the Atlanta Airport during demobilization from the 1988 Yellowstone fires. Lynn graduated from the University of Montana with degrees in Natural History and Anthropology. She calls Moscow, Idaho home now, and her interests outside of work include volunteering in her community, spending time with friends, gardening, and traveling.
Mitch Burgard has decades of experience in wildland fire modeling, geospatial and weather data analysis, science communication and technology transfer, and operational systems. His experience includes 12 years as Fire Technology Transfer Specialist with the Interagency Wildland Fire Management Research Development and Applications Team. He is well versed in all of the main operational fire models, and has instructed the National Course for teaching these fire models, as well as all of the introductory fire behavior courses. On the operational side, he has served more than 10 years as an assistant or acting Fire Management Officer or Long-term Fire Analyst, including three seasons in Alaska.
Job Titles:
- Research Landscape Ecologist
Randi has 30 years field experience in Alaska as a fire ecologist, wildlife biologist and sometimes firefighter. She enjoys engaging research groups from all over the country & fire management agencies in Alaska to facilitate "fire science we can use". Recent focus areas involve the effectiveness of fire fuels breaks in boreal forest (2019 JFSP Final Report), application of new remote sensing products in fire management, and how climate warming is changing fire regime, tundra, and forests in northern latitudes.
Sarah has lived in Fairbanks since 2003 and has directed the Alaska Fire Science Consortium since it started in 2008 and is passionate about making science relevant and useful for policy, management and decision-making. She is Associate Professor in the Natural Resources and Environment department at UAF and also directs the NOAA funded, Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Scientific Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Geospatial Analyst and Data Visualization Specialist
Originally from Fairbanks Alaska, Zav received a masters in natural resources from Humboldt State University. His background includes geospatial and visual modeling of fire interactions on landscapes, regional-scale data analysis of drought impacts on forests, and website development and design. Currently, Zav is interested in communicating complex biophysical processes to diverse audiences using modern visualization techniques and digital-media formats.