GISC Board Members
Officers
President
Triston is an Invasive Species and Ecology Specialist for the UGA – Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. He received his BS in Natural Resource Management: Wildlife in 2021, and began working for UGA in 2020. Triston has a passion for prescribed fire, habitat restoration and wildlife conservation. In addition to his work with UGA, Triston is also a wildlife educator.
Vice President
Position not yet filled
Bio
Secretary
Emilee is an entomologist for the U.S. Forest Service and is stationed in Athens, GA. She is a Georgia native and earned a bachelor’s and doctoral degree from the University of Georgia. Emilee has contributed to a number of projects in agriculture, urban, and forested settings, including investigating the use of native plants in landscapes, techniques to improve pollinator attractiveness and plant growth in urban settings, and native and exotic pests associated with tree (Celtis laevigata) decline throughout the Southeast. She has broad interests on the ecological impact of invasive species and is currently working on projects focusing on invasive species in the Piedmont.
Treasurer
Eamonn Leonard
Wildlife Resources Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
eamonn.leonard@dnr.ga.gov
912.262.3150
Eamonn is currently a Wildlife Biologist, for Georgia Department of Natural Resources. He has worked for the J.W. Jones Ecological Research Center at Ichauway and for the USGS in Idaho. Received a MS in Plant ecology (2007) from Utah State University. Eamonn has worked on habitat mapping projects, invasive species management, land conservation, habitat restoration with a focus on ground cover restoration, rare species conservation, and supervises staff that manage Ceylon WMA and Altama WMA. Eamonn sits on the Conservation Task force for Cannons Point on Saint Simons Island aiding in the invasive species management plan, is treasurer for the Georgia Invasive Species Council. Eamonn has also helped facilitate the creation of the Coastal Georgia Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area and acts as the lead coordinator for this group.
Past Presidents
Timothy Daly
County Extension Agent
UGA/Extension Gwinnett
tdaly@uga.edu
Timothy Daly is the Agriculture and Natural Resources County Extension Agent for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, Gwinnett County. He has Masters of Science in Entomology and Bachelors of Science in Horticulture both from the University of Georgia. Mr. Daly was employed for 15 years in the ornamental horticulture industry serving commercial landscape accounts in the metro Atlanta area. He is a Certified Arborist, Certified Crop Adviser and a Georgia Certified Landscape Professional (GCLP). He is the past secretary of the Georgia Arborist Association and the UGA Cooperative Extension representative to the Georgia Urban Agriculture Council.
As a UGA County Extension Agent, Timothy Daly does extensive educational programming and consultation for green industry professionals, homeowners, small farmers, and manages a large group of Master Gardener Extension Volunteers.
Board Members at Large
Ben began their horticulture career in Ohio, first at Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum and then at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. During that time, Ben was involved in the Ohio Invasive Plant Council and also participated in a Midwest Invasive Plants Network working group. After moving to Georgia, Ben accepted their current position as Garden Manager at Woodlands Garden of Decatur, an eight-acre public garden focused on celebrating plants native to the Georgia Piedmont. Ben believes that public gardens should play an important role in invasive species management both by identifying potential problem species and educating the public on native alternatives to invasive plants. One of their career aims is to bring together stakeholders from diverse backgrounds (land managers, plant breeders, nursery owners, researchers, and the public) to create solutions that move the horticulture industry forward.
Stephanie Green
Ecological Resource Coordinator
Manager’s Office/Sustainability Office
Athens-Clarke County Unified Government
706.613.3838
Stephanie Green currently serves as the Ecological Resource Coordinator for Athens-Clarke County. She has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Biology from Berea College in Kentucky and a Master’s of Forestry with an emphasis in forest ecology from University of Kentucky. Stephanie is a central Florida native who has spent her career managing public and private conservation lands throughout the Southeast including Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi and now Georgia. Her interests include habitat restoration, prescribed fire and the impacts of invasive species. In her spare time she pretends to be a birder, and can usually be found with binoculars.
Alan Harvey
Professor of Biology
Georgia Southern University
aharvey@georgiasouthern.edu
912.531.2299
Alan is a biology professor at Georgia Southern University’s Statesboro campus. He received a BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University (1981) and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona (1988). He has broad interests; a past president of the Georgia Entomological Society, he is the curator of the Georgia Southern University Herbarium, and recently had a photography exhibition at the Armstrong Art Gallery. At Georgia Southern Alan teaches the Invasive Species course, which addresses policy and outreach issues as well as the basic science of invasion biology. He and his students developed and implement an Invasive Species Management Plan for the Biological Sciences Building and surrounding environs, and conduct original research on the ecology and regional distribution of local invasive plants and animals.
Jessica Warren
Agricultural and Natural Resources Agent
UGA Extension – Camden County
912.576.3219
Jessica Warren serves as the University of Georgia Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent and County Extension Coordinator for Camden County. Her issue programming focuses on invasive species management, coastal water quality, and natural resources education. Jessica has a Bachelor’s of Science in Forest Resources with a concentration in Wildlife and a Master’s of Natural Resources with a focus on Conservation Education, both from the University of Georgia. Her previous work experience includes working for the University of Tennessee’s Tree Improvement Program as a Research Associate funded by a National Science Foundation grant and teaching Environmental Science and Natural Resources in the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program.
Jim is a Senior Fisheries Biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) and is stationed in Waycross, GA. He is a Georgia native and earned a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife from the University of Georgia in 2000 followed by a master’s degree in Marine Science from Savannah State University in 2007. As a biologist with the GADNR, he oversees projects related to American shad and American eel, along with serving as the Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS) Coordinator for the GADNR. This entails serving as the project leader for non-native catfish (flatheads and blues) removal efforts in the Satilla River; helping coordinate many of the statewide responses we have to ANS introductions; and developing and employing education and outreach efforts to inform students and adults about ANS in our state.
Just a little bit about myself, I’ve been with Buck Jones for 12 years and currently work in the sales department. I have worked in production and was the load crew manager for 4yrs. I have a business degree in management. My brother Buck and I are the grandsons of Buck Jones. Buck operates our ornamental tree farm in Gillsville Ga. We are third generation and plan to keep it rolling in the future.
Lisa Giencke
Senior Research Associate, Plant Ecology
The Jones Center at Ichauway
229.734.4706
Lisa Giencke is a Senior Research Associate in plant ecology at the Jones Center at Ichauway in southwest Georgia. She has a B.A. in Biology from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and an M.S. in Environmental and Forest Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Lisa has been at the Jones Center since 2011. Her research interests focus on plant diversity in the longleaf pine ecosystem, including patterns of diversity, fire effects, conservation of rare species, and restoration.
Morgan Pierce
Land Management Technician
Conservation Department – Jekyll Island Authority
mpierce@jekyllisland.com