Roger F. Thoma has worked as an Aquatic Ecologist with MBI since 2008, and worked on MBI projects since 2004. He was most recently involved in finishing a three-year study of the conservation status of eleven Virginia crayfish and the genetics of a Virginia crayfish species complex. Other recent research activity includes the conservation status of seven Tennessee crayfish. He worked as a Research Associate with the Voinovich School for Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University (OU), during which time he collaborated on numerous projects with MBI. This followed 22 years as an Environmental Scientist at the Ohio EPA working on the development of biological criteria (IBI-fishes) and a Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index for Lake Erie shorelines, as well as other water quality assessment methods. Past projects included a statewide distributional survey of Indiana’s burrowing crayfish with emphasis on select ecological components, life history studies of four Appalachian crayfish species, and conservation studies of numerous Ohio crayfish species and the crayfish fauna of the Flushing Escarpment. From 1990-1991 he served as a biological expert with US EPA in Washington, DC. He received a B.S. in Fisheries Management from Ohio State University. He has discovered and described sixteen new species of crayfish and is currently working on descriptions of five others he discovered during his research with MBI. Although now officially retired, Roger continues to work on his many projects with crayfish research, describing newly discovered species, and writing a field guide to Ohio’s crayfish fauna.

Rachelle M. M. Adams, PhD is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University. She leads an integrative research program that focuses on the symbiotic species networks of fungus-growing ants. Her work spans the fields of systematics to behavioral and chemical ecology. She aims to understand the evolution of traits that are central for stability of symbioses over ecological and evolutionary time scales. She has recently published reviews on parasites that manipulate ant behavior, chemical eavesdropping in ant associates, and the diversity of alkaloids found in ants. Dr. Adams has taught Ohio Ant workshops for naturalists and 5th graders and has plans to expand the community of ant enthusiasts across Ohio. She received her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin and her B.A. from The University of Montana. Before arriving at OSU in January 2016, she held postdoctoral appointments at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Nicole Jackson is an alumna of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences of The Ohio State University. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Education and Interpretation and has worked in different capacities throughout the past decade as an environmental educator, facilitator, and freelance consultant for various non-profit organizations across Ohio.

A nature enthusiast, park advocate and urban birder, Nicole has always had a strong bond with nature and its beauty since she was a young girl. In June of 2020, Nicole along with a small group of Black STEM professionals and students, co-organized Black Birders Week. The event was a week-long series of online events that highlighted Black nature enthusiasts and increased the visibility of Black birders, who face unique challenges and dangers when engaging in outdoor activities.

In 2018 she joined the Next Generation Advisory Board of the National Parks Conservation Association. This Council of diverse leaders and advocates explore effective methods of engaging younger generations in national park advocacy and protection. Nicole is a new board member of the Columbus Audubon and hopes to engage more communities of color to enjoy the benefits of birding in their neighborhoods.

Katie Dennison is a Wildlife Biologist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife. As the furbearer biologist, she oversees monitoring and research for the state’s 16 furbearer species. Katie started her career working with domestic animals before a volunteer opportunity at Zion National Park sparked her interest in working in wildlife management. She went on to earn an M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management from Sul Ross University where her master’s research focused on using camera traps to evaluate mountain lion density and prey availability in the Davis Mountains of west Texas. Prior to coming to Ohio, Katie worked on various other carnivore and furbearer research projects in Texas and Wisconsin.

Greg Lipps has been the Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Coordinator for the Ohio Biodiversity Conservation Partnership at Ohio State University since 2014. Prior to this, he worked at The Toledo Zoo and became a contract biologist following the completion of his Masters in 2005. His work has taken him to nearly every corner of the state, conducting surveys and working with partners to implement strategies for the conservation and recovery of a wide range of species. Recent work has focused on Eastern Hellbenders, Eastern Massasaugas, Blanding’s Turtles, and Spotted Turtles, all of which have experienced declines in Ohio. Greg was a contributing author and editor of both the Amphibians of Ohio (2013) and Reptiles of Ohio (2021). He has held leadership roles in both the Midwest and Ohio chapters of Partners in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (PARC), and in 2017 was recognized with PARC’s Alison Haskell Award for excellence in herpetofauna conservation. A lifelong resident of Ohio, Greg resides in the Oak Openings Region of southeast Fulton County.

John D. Harder is Associate Professor Emeritus of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University, where he taught courses in vertebrate reproduction, mammalogy, and conservation biology. His research on the reproductive biology and ecology of mammals has focused on marsupials and has involved field studies in Ohio, Australia, Venezuela, and Amazonian Peru. John’s interest in mammalian diversity in Ohio stems from his early work in compiling the Ohio Mammal Database and from a statewide survey of small mammal abundance, diversity, and habitat associations on 31 study areas throughout Ohio. His talk will feature topics from his new book, Mammals of Ohio, coauthored with Guy N. Cameron, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati.

Matt Faust is a fisheries biologist for the Ohio Division of Wildlife at the Sandusky Fisheries Research Station, where his duties are primarily focused on the management of Lake Erie’s walleye and yellow perch fisheries. He is also involved with several ongoing acoustic telemetry studies aimed at improving fisheries managers’ understanding ecology of native and non-native fishes within the Great Lakes. Matt holds degrees from The University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and The University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, and is currently pursuing his PhD at The Michigan State University, where his research seeks to inform and improve stock assessment methods currently used in the Great Lakes and beyond. Matt grew up in southern Wisconsin and spent his summers at the family cabin up north chasing for bass, pike, and musky.

Eric Saas is the H2Ohio Program Manager for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The H2Ohio initiative is Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s multi-Agency, collaborative water quality effort to ensure safe, clean water for all Ohioans. ODNR’s role within H2Ohio is to restore wetland ecosystems and their natural capacity to reduce surface water pollution. Eric has been working for ODNR since December of 2019; prior to that he monitored surface water and modeled water quality at Ohio EPA for over a decade. He is a Muskingum University and University of New Hampshire alum. In his spare time he’s either homebrewing, gardening or off somewhere exploring the outdoors with his family.