Regional Conservation

Rare plant conservation; floristic inventories and research; ecological restoration planning, implementation, and training; non-profit organization development and management.

B.A. with Distinction in International Affairs and Environmental Conservation. University of Colorado, Boulder. 1984.

Study Abroad Student. University of Costa Rica, San Jose. Spring-summer, 1983.

Executive Director, The Institute for Regional Conservation . Miami, Florida. 1995-present. Responsible for founding and managing non-profit conservation organization, which promotes the development of regional biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration programs, especially for plants. Responsible for designing and conducting plant inventory programs in South Florida and Puerto Rico, developing and conducting numerous other conservation research and implementation projects, providing technical support to government agencies and non-profit conservation organizations, and developing conservation policy initiatives.

President and Principal Owner, Ecohorizons, Inc. Miami, Florida. 1986-present. From 1986-1995, estimated, managed, and successfully completed more than 250 ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation projects up to $500,000 in value in coastal, freshwater wetland, and upland systems; participated as a technical consultant on projects worth more than $5,000,000 in value and up to 10,000 acres in size; conducted biological inventories of, and wrote management plans for fragmented natural areas; trained government employees and volunteers in restoration and natural areas management planning and techniques. From 1996-present, provide botanical consulting services to select private and public clients including the Town of Palm Beach (FL) and Gemini Botanical Garden, a 15-acre private botanical garden in Palm Beach County (FL).

Director, Gemini Botanical Garden. Palm Beach County, Florida. 2010-present. Director of 15-acre private botanical garden with major collections of Caribbean palms, cycads and other plants.

ParkAide and Park Technician. U.S. National Park Service. Everglades National Park. Homestead, Florida. Summers, 1980-1982. Participated in revegetation efforts in an abandoned agricultural area inside Everglades National Park. Participated in 10+ prescribed burns totaling 8,000 acres as crew member, firing crew member, equipment operator and fire behavior officer assistant. Assisted in aerial vegetation and wildlife surveys, fire mapping, planning and demarcation of nature trails, equipment maintenance, and collection of weather data.

Horticulturist and Manager. Gann's Tropical Greenery and Natives. Miami, Florida. Part time, 1975-1979; 1984. Duties included basic propagation, cultivation, and fertilization of nursery plants, management of native plant division, supervision of employees, sales, and initiation of new species into production. Also responsible for removal of exotic plant species from 2.5 acre rockland hammock restoration site.

IRC Projects

Lead Principal Investigator, Floristic Inventory of South Florida. The Institute for Regional Conservation. 1994-present.
Lead Principal Investigator, Floristic Inventory and Assessment of Puerto Rico. The Institute for Regional Conservation in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service’s International Institute of Tropical Forestry and the University of Puerto Rico. 2002-present.
Lead Principal Investigator, Rare Plant Monitoring and Restoration on Long Pine Key, Everglades National Park. The Institute for Regional Conservation in collaboration with the National Park Service and funded by the Critical Ecosystems Study Initiative (CESI). 2003-2008.
Principal Author, Natives For Your Neighborhood, a web-based resource on native plant gardening and ecological restoration at www.regionalconservation.org. Launched by The Institute for Regional Conservation, September, 2005.
Lead Workshop Leader, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration, a series of six workshops held for 100 land managers from federal, state, local and private agencies. 2002.
Principal Author, Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration. Miami: The Institute for Regional Conservation. 1056 pages. 2002.
Principal Author, Floristic Inventory of South Florida Database Online at www.regionalconservation.org. Launched May, 2001.

Leadership

President, The Institute for Regional Conservation (2004-present).
Board Member, The Institute for Regional Conservation (1984-present).
Advisory Board Member, Tropical Audubon Society (2008-present).
Chair of the Board, Society for Ecological Restoration International (2007-2009, 1997-1999).
Board Member, Society for Ecological Restoration International (1993-2010).
Board Member, Tropical Audubon Society (1997-2008).
Vice President, Florida Native Plant Society (1996-1997).
Board Member, Florida Native Plant Society (1987-1997).

International Outreach

Chair, Society for Ecological Restoration International Science and Policy Working Group, 2009-2010.
Chair, Society for Ecological Restoration International - IUCN (World Conservation Union) Commission on Ecosystem Management joint working group on ecological restoration. 2004-2007.
Head of Delegation, Society for Ecological Restoration International, special invited meeting, Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, Montreal, Canada. 2008.
Head of Delegation, Society for Ecological Restoration International, at the 4th World Conservation Congress, Barcelona, Spain. 2008.
Head of Delegation, Society for Ecological Restoration International, at the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, Bonn, Germany. 2008.
Head of Delegation, Society for Ecological Restoration International, at the 3rd World Conservation Congress, Bangkok, Thailand. 2004.

Invited Expertise

Plenary speaker, Great Lakes Urban Habitat Restoration Symposium: Partnering to Restore Great Lakes Urban Nearshore and Riverine Areas. Special invitation by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Chicago, Illinois. 2009.
Judge, International Panel to select master plan for 100-hectare Gangbuk Park, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Republic of Korea. 2008.
Delegate, International Symposium on the Restoration of the DMZ. Korean Society of Environmental Restoration and Revegetation Technology. Seoul, Republic of Korea. 2003.
Member, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s South Florida Multi-Species/Ecosystem Recovery Implementation Team (MERIT), 2001-2002; member, South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Team, 1998-1999.
Guest Lecturer, Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 1994, 1998, 2000.
Keynote Lecturer. Ecological Restoration Symposium, The World Bank, East Asia Environment and Social Development Unit. Washington, D.C. 1999.

$370,000 from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Critical Ecosystem Studies Initiative (CESI) for rare plant monitoring and restoration in Everglades National Park (2003-2008).
$30,000 from the U.S. Forest Service’s International Institute of Tropical Forestry to develop the Floristic Assessment of Puerto Rico Database (2002-2004).
$7,500 from the Florida Native Plant Society to develop the Natives For Your Neighborhood website (2003)
$10,000 from Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation to develop the Natives For Your Neighborhood website (2002)
$12,500 from the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation to hold the Rare Plants of South Florida workshops (2001).
$20,000 from the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation and $17,500 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to develop a rare plant conservation program for South Florida.

Board Appreciation Award. Tropical Audubon Society. 2007.
Golden Trowel Award for special service to the Chair of the Board of Directors. Society for Ecological Restoration International. 2005.
John Rieger Award for Service. Society for Ecological Restoration International. 2003.
Excellence in Leadership Award. Society for Ecological Restoration. 1999.
Restoration Guru Award. American Littoral Society, Cape Florida Project. 1997.
Conservation Colleague Award. The Nature Conservancy, Florida Chapter. 1994.
Outstanding Citizen Award. Council of Garden Club Presidents of Dade County. 1989.
Phi Beta Kappa. 1984.
Dean's List or Chancellor's Honor Roll. University of Colorado, Boulder. Fall, 1980 – Fall, 1984.
Eagle Scout. 1979.
Best Director, Miami-Dade County Model United Nations. 1979.
National Honors Society. 1979.