Who we are
The full project team includes a diverse array of partners with varying perspectives and expertise, comprising 33 individuals representing 18 organizations and private landowners, many of whom live and work in Rockbridge County, Virginia. We have many different people that are contributing voices and helping with this project. We also have within that larger group a very committed smaller group that is doing the active management development, research development, etc.. Some of these individuals are included below. Please see the Collaborative Approach page to learn more about how we are working together to develop a forest management plan.
Partnership Members
Emily Cohen
Emily is faculty at the Appalachian Laboratory. Her research on migratory birds aims to understand migration biology in the context of the full annual cycle and to apply this information toward the inclusion of migratory habitats in conservation and management efforts.
Amanda Duren
Amanda is the Director of Conservation Partnerships for the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture. In this role, she coordinates place-based partner networks focused on landscape-scale conservation and planning located across the Appalachian region.
Liz Brewer
Liz Brewer is a graduate student on this project at the Appalachian Laboratory and the Conservation Marketing Specialist for the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture. Her work is focused on the engagement of natural resource practitioners and community members in forest management planning for migratory birds.
Luca Morreale
Luca is a postdoctoral fellow on the project at the Appalachian Laboratory. His research uses big data, remote sensing, and novel analytical techniques to better understand forest habitats in the eastern US.
Cathlyn (Cat) Davis
Cat is faculty at the Appalachian Laboratory. Her research centers on public engagement with science, and has included citizen science design and evaluation, scientist involvement with the public and other stakeholders, communities of practice around climate change education, and technology integration and assessment in K-12 classrooms.
Matt Fitzpatrick
Matt is faculty at Appalachian Laboratory, where he studies how biodiversity is responding to environmental change. He develops and applies advanced modeling tools – spanning spatial statistics, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing – to map where species occur today and forecast how their ranges will shift, work that supports conservation across terrestrial systems worldwide.
Ashley Peele
Ashley is the Science Integration Coordinator for the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture. In this role, she focuses on applying community science methods to a range of avian conservation questions and data gaps in the Appalachian region.
Mia Calvert
Mia is Conservation Manager at Shenandoah Valley Conservancy, where she supports conservation easement projects and regional conservation partnerships across the Allegheny Highlands. Mia is excited to support landscape-scale conservation throughout the Allegheny Highlands
Rosemary Downing
Rosemary is Director of Conservation at Shenandoah Valley Conservancy, where she leads land conservation initiatives focused on protecting forests, farms, waterways, and resilient landscapes across the Shenandoah Valley and Allegheny Highlands. Her work focuses on developing resilient conservation and land management strategies.
Bob Biersack
Bob has spent the last 20 years supporting land conservation and native biodiversity in Rockbridge. He is a member of the Rockbridge Bird Club, Virginia Master Naturalists, and a board member and past president of Rockbridge Conservation.
Laura Neale
Laura is conservation chair of the Rockbridge Bird Club, and has been birding, botanizing, and hiking the public lands in Rockbridge, and beyond, for decades.
William (Butch) Snow
Butch is a landowner and cow-calf producer in Rockbridge County.
Jennifer Gagnon
Jennifer is an Extension Specialist in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech. She has coordinated the Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program since 2005. In this role, she develops educational programs and materials for thousands of forest landowners throughout Virginia every year.
Sergio Harding
Department of Wildlife Resources Nongame Bird Conservation Biologist
Matt Pienkowski
Forest Projects Coordinator, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
Justin Barnes
Forest Management Coordinator, Virginia Department of Forestry
Jean Lorber
Forest Conservation Scientist, The Nature Conservancy