Laura Bried

Laura Bried graduated from Paul Smiths College in the Adirondacks of upstate New York with a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources: Management & Policy prior to beginning her studies in the Biodiversity, Conservation & Policy program at University at Albany. She currently works for The Research Foundation of the State University of New York, studying historic land use change in eastern New York using GIS. Her research interests focus on land use and land cover change over time as it relates to human demography and ecological change.

Andrea Chaloux

Andrea graduated from Cornell University in 2003 with a B.S. in Soils Science. As an undergrad she worked at Cornell’s Arnot Forest, studying the relative abundance of reptile and amphibian species in forest plots with different management histories. Andrea is a part-time student and currently works as an assistant biologist for the New York Natural Heritage Program. She enjoys animals, music, and hiking.

Anne Duperault graduated from New York University in 2002 with a B.A. in Politics. As an undergraduate she worked at the New York League of Conservation Voters. She also had the opportunity to go to the small Greek island of Psara and published an updated survey of its reptiles and
amphibians. Anne is currently working at the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute. Her interests include environmental contaminants,
reptile and amphibian conservation and environmental policy.

Although Mike is interested in virtually all aspects of biodiversity and conservation, he is particularly interested in aquatic environments and has a specific passion for coastal zone ecosystems. He assists in coral reef health monitoring by serving as a national trainer, team leader and team scientist for Reef Check and helps to inform the public about environmental issues impacting our aquatic world through involvement as a Project AWARE educator. Mike decided to pursue part-time study in the Biodiversity, Conservation, and Policy program to become a better informed citizen and more effective in aquatic biodiversity research, conservation, and advocacy.

Julianna Hunt is a part-time student who graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 2002 with a B.S. in Organismal and Environmental Biology. While in college, she spent time working for the National Park Service at Cape Hatteras National Seashore doing sea turtle and endangered shore bird conservation. At New Paltz, she had the honor of working with Dr. Heinz Meng. Julianna is interested in conservation grazing research. She likes to spend her free time hiking, biking, and bird watching.

Andrea graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.S. in Animal Science: Preveterinary Medicine and a minor in Zoology in May 2005. After interning in a vet's office and getting down and dirty working on a senior thesis involving dairy cows, she decided not to attend vet school and turned her focus to the environmental problems she had always been concerned about. She is interested in endangered species and urban sprawl, and in her free time enjoys cooking, movies and being outdoors.

Melissa Kalvestrand

Melissa graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University in 2001 with a B.S. in biology with a concentration in ecology and evolutionary biology. As an undergraduate, she worked in a freshwater ecology lab and participated in a summer internship at the Cornell Biological Field Station to examine the influence of groundwater on Oneida Lake. After graduating, Melissa worked as a wetland consultant for six years, first at an engineering firm in Boston, MA and then at one in Glens Falls, NY. Her primary research interests are wetland and stream ecosystems with a focus on the success and failure of mitigation efforts required as part of the regulatory permit process. Her free time is usually filled with hiking, taking her dog for walks, or training for triathlons.

Lana is a master’s student in the Biodiversity program. She graduated from Cornell University in 2003 with a B.A. in Biological Sciences and Linguistics, after which she spent one year teaching in a tiny town in Niigata, Japan. As an undergraduate, she worked with Dr. Emmett Duffy at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science on the effects of invertebrate grazer diversity on the invasibility of seagrass beds in Chesapeake Bay. Lana is interested in invasive species and community ecology. She enjoys learning languages, cooking, and hiking, and is looking forward to knitting the wool from Dr. Gary Kleppel’s prize-winning sheep.

Rebecca graduated cum laude from Cornell University in 2002 with a B.S. in Natural Resources. After living in New Orleans for several years, she decided to pack up and move back to her home state of New York (and just in the nick of time). She is now working for New York State's Division of Coastal Resources and is a part time master's student in the program. She is interested in sustainable agriculture, and issues surrounding urban sprawl. In her free time she enjoys snowboarding, movies, music, and spending time outdoors.

Hilary graduated from Hamilton College with a B.A. in Biology. She is a part-time student whose research interests are invasion ecology and environmental policy. Hilary also works for the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy where she directs the Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program. Her professional experience includes ecological monitoring, environmental education, and conservation program development.

Shanon Rauch

Shannon joined the iodiversity, Conservation, & Policy Program in the Fall of 2007. She graduated from the University at Albany with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Geography. As an undergraduate, she worked on a research project with Dr. Kleppel studying the effects of land use on wetland ecosystems. Shannon currently works part time at the Department of Environmental Conservation in the Program Management Office where she
helps with various projects related to the Brownfield and Groundwater Program. She is interested in pursuing research related to land use, wetlands protection, endangered species, or environmental policy.

Tara Seoane

Matt Sundheim

Matt is a Biodiversity Master’s student. He recently graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. As an undergrad, he worked with mouse populations, comparing track tube and livetrapping methods. He also had the opportunity to spend several weeks in Costa Rica mist netting song birds. After deciding not to pursue a career in ecology research, Matt came to U Albany in search of his calling. He is passionate about preserving and restoring our natural areas, and he is thinking about pursuing policy work.

Christine Vanderlan

Christine returned to school after ten years working in environmental policy, mostly focused on the problem of global warming and policies to promote the use of wind, solar, and biomass for clean energy. She started her career in 1995 working for an environmental think tank in Washington , DC , where she participated in policy development, research, and analysis related to global warming, renewable energy and transportation. Looking to gain a new perspective on the U.S. (and her life), Christine then traveled to Guatemala as a volunteer with the Peace Corps, spending two years there serving as an agroforesty extensionist. She returned to New York State and began working with the non-profit group Environmental Advocates of New York based in Albany . As a program manager, Christine led a coalition of grassroots and regional groups within the state in a successful campaign that brought about the state's adoption of regulations to reduce emissions of global warming pollution from power plants. Christine has a bachelor's degree in Natural Resources from Cornell University .

John Wimbush

John is interested in pragmatic climate change thinking. How will dynamically shifted temperature and precipitation regimes effect storm intensity, sea-level, hydrology, drought/fire, availability of/rights to water, phenology, built infrastructure, human lifestyle in a changed landscape? What effect will these have?
His research centers on the mollusc populations of the Queen of American Lakes - Lake George - both native and invasive. He directs the effort to eliminate zebra mussels from the Lake, working mostly underwater where nature and the anthropogenic world is seen through filtered, altered eyes.
John works in the public policy arena - development and implementation - with the NYS Department of State in the Division of Coastal Resources. There he helps maximize the “highest and best use” of municipally owned, developed waterfronts, while preserving water quality and natural integrity along the watercourses and coastlines of New York State.

Elizabeth Wolfe

Elizabeth Wolfe graduated from Binghamton University in May 2005 with a B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. She is now a first-year Masters student in the Biodiversity, Conservation and Policy program. Elizabeth's main interests include restoration ecology and the preservation of the World's wild places. She recently spent a summer as an intern at the Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve where she filled her days doing salamander research. Elizabeth enjoys spending her time nestled in the bosom of mother nature.