Program Coordinators

Emily Bell

UF/IFAS Invasive Species Extension/FISP Coordinator

The UF/IFAS Invasive Species Council provides the leadership to build the capacity of all stakeholders to proactively address the management and prevention of invasive species through partnerships and science-based teaching and extension programs.

ecbell*ufl.edu
(352) 846-2374

Jonathan Dain

Florida Natural Resources Leadership Institute– Director

NRLI is a professional development program for those working with, or making decisions about, natural resources. Participants come from public and private sectors, academia, agriculture, tribal entities, Extension and community/non-profit organizations. Alumni also include elected officials. Over the course of 9 months, NRLI “Fellows” travel to 8 distinct parts of Florida for intensive three-day sessions, each of which focuses on a different natural resource issue of current importance. At these sessions, participants experience the resource in question first-hand, meet with diverse sets of stakeholders who offer differing and often competing viewpoints, and get experiential, highly practical training in conflict management, communication and leadership skills. For more information please visit: http://nrli.ifas.ufl.edu/

jdain@latam.ufl.edu
(352) 294-7652

Chris Demers, CF

Florida Forest Stewardship Program– Extension Program Manager
SFRC affiliations: Austin Cary Forest Advisory Committee, Florida Division SAF Continuing Education Coordinator

The mission of the Florida Forest Stewardship Program is to help, and encourage, private landowners to manage their lands for long-term environmental, economic, and social benefits.

cdemers*ufl.edu
(352) 846-2375

Tony Fedler

Conserved Forests Ecosystems: Outreach and Research Cooperative (CFEOR)– Research Coordinator

CFEOR is a cooperative comprised of public, private, non-government organizations, landowners as well as University of Florida faculty that facilitate integrative research and outreach activities with particular interest in public and family forests. CFEOR develops and disseminates knowledge needed to conserve and manage Florida’s forests as healthy, working ecosystems that provide social, ecological and economic benefits on a sustainable basis.

tfedler*ufl.edu
(352) 846-0465

Mark Hoyer

LAKEWATCH Director

LAKEWATCH seeks to solve water-quality problems and by regularly collecting and reporting water-related data. Long-term, water-chemistry data and water-depth maps are available for more than 1,100 lakes, 175 coastal sites, 120 rivers and five springs in Florida, many of which had never been monitored before this program. Volunteer-collected data have contributed to 37 research articles and helped establish critically important baseline measurements to help guide the evaluation of water-quality changes in relation to land-use and climate fluctuations in critical Florida waterways.

mvhoyer @ufl.edu
(352) 273-3611

Jessica Ireland

Florida Project Learning Tree Coordinator

Project Learning Tree® (PLT®) is an award-winning environmental education program designed for teachers and other educators, parents, and community leaders working with youth from preschool through grade 12. PLT® advances environmental literacy and promotes stewardship through excellence in environmental education, professional development, and curriculum resources that use trees and forests as windows on the world. PLT® is the environmental education program of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) and sponsored in Florida by the University of Florida/IFAS, School of Forest Resources and Conservation.

jjtireland*ufl.edu
(352) 846-0848

Jocelyn Peskin

Natural Resources Leadership Institute Program Coordinator

Founded in 1998, NRLI is an 8-month professional development program for professionals from sectors that impact or are impacted by natural resource issues. The program sessions provide participants with the training required to find inclusive solutions to seemingly intractable problems. NRLI seeks to impact decision making in Florida by creating an expansive network of professionals who can effectively address natural resource issues through collaborative leadership and conflict management.

jpeskin*ufl.edu
(352) 294-7643

Andrew Sims

Cooperative Forest Genetics Research Program Manager

The Cooperative Forest Genetics Research Program (CFGRP) is a research cooperative whose members include the UF/IFAS School of Forest Resources and Conservation, forest industrial companies, and state agencies as cooperative members. Our mission is to develop genetically improved varieties of southern pines, provide technical assistance and conduct supportive research for our members.

adsims*ufl.edu
(352) 846-0896

Sarah Tobing

ProForest Coordinator

ProForest is a multi-institutional initiative that brings together specialists from diverse fields to promote forest health and resilience through collaborative research, extension, and education.

tobing*ufl.edu
(352) 846-0904