Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Chairman and Board of Directors

Meet the FLEPPC Officers and Board of Directors

Officers

	Scott Ditmarsen, Chair Dow AgroSciences Tampa, FL Telephone: (813)382-3189 E-Mail: scditmarsen@DOW.COM Scott Ditmarsen is Chair of FLEPPC, completing the current term vacated by Dan Clark, who accepted a position in Hawaii. Scott served on the Board of Directors during the 2005/2006 term, he currently is Chair of the Finance Committee, and was Chair of the Vendors committee from Spring 2003 thru Fall 2005. He has also been an active member of several Weed Science Society chapters and the Florida Vegetation Management Association. Scott is a Senior Sales Specialist in Industrial Vegetation Management for Dow AgroSciences. He has a Master's degree in Forestry and an MBA in Finance.

	Dianne Owen, Treasurer Florida Atlantic University Telephone: (954)236-1085 E-Mail: dowen@fau.edu Dianne Owen is the Secretary. She received her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland in 1983. She now works as a Research Associate in Biological Sciences at Florida Atlantic University.

	Hillary Burgess, Secretary Nursery Manager Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 305-667-1651 ext.3425 E-mail: hburgess@fairchildgarden.org Hillary Burgess is a transplant from Michigan. She began her time in Florida as an intern for the Everglades National Park's vegetation management program, and then worked as a biological technician for the Hole-in-the-Donut restoration project in the Park. She is currently the Nursery Manager at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami. She has a bachelor's degree in biology from Albion College.

	Karen Brown, Editor University of Florida Telephone: 352/392-1799 / Fax: 352/392-3462 E-mail: kpbrown@ifas.ufl.edu Karen Brown is the editor for Wildland Weeds magazine. She has a Master's degree in Library and Information science from the University of South Florida. She works at the University of Florida's IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants.

	Dan Clark, Past-Chair National Park Service Florida/Caribbean Exotic Plant Management Team Telephone: 305/252-0347 E-Mail: daniel_clark@nps.gov Dan holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego and a M.S. from the University of Florida, where he conducted applied research on invasive species ecology and management. Dan has 15 years of professional invasive species management experience having previously served as an Environmental Specialist for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Conservation Officer for the City of Sanibel and an Exotic Plant Management Specialist working with the NPS Florida/Caribbean Exotic Plant Management Team in the US Virgin Islands and in south Florida. Dan relocated to Hawaii in 2008 to lead the Invasive Species Branch Program for the Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office.
	Alison Fox, Past-Chair UF/IFAS-Agronomy Dept 352/392-1811 ext. 207 Email: amfox@ifas.ufl.edu Alison describes herself as an alien invader of Florida, having arrived from Great Britain in 1987 after earning a Ph.D. in botany from the University of Glasgow. She started at the University of Florida as a post-doctoral associate working on aquatic plant biology and control and has evolved into an Associate Professor conducting research on invasive plants in aquatic, wetland, and terrestrial habitats in Florida and the US Virgin Islands. Alison is a Past-President of the national Aquatic Plant Management Society and has served on the Board of Directors of the Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society, the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, and the Weed Science Society of America.
Board of Directors
	James N. Burch (1st year) Big Cypress National Preserve 239/695-1111 Email:Jim_Burch@nps.gov James N. Burch has provided stewardship of natural systems in southern Florida for the National Audubon Society, Collier County Natural Resources Department, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the US Geologic Survey Biological Resources Division, and Florida Gulf Coast University. He is a member of the Florida Academy of Sciences, Society of Wetland Scientists, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is currently employed by the National Park Service as a Resources Management Supervisory Botanist at Big Cypress National Preserve and oversees the exotic plant management program.

	Adam Grayson (1st year) Lake and Wetland Management 954/536-6014 Email:goatsby@gmail.com Adam Grayson has worked in the environmental field since 2000, specializing in exotic invasive plant control. A large part of his job is training field crews and the public on plant identification and proper herbicide practices. He works for Lake and Wetland Management, a private company in Palm Beach County specializing in exotic and invasive plant control and removal. He has served as Secretary to the South Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society and is currently a member of the Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society, the South Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society, and the International Society of Arboriculture. He is an avid nature photographer, amateur herpetologist, bird watcher and a practitioner in the art of falconry.

	Dustin Hormann (1st year) EarthBalance 941/426-7878 Email:DHormann@earthbalance.com Dustin Hormann is a Project Manager in the Ecosystem Restoration Division at EarthBalance® and is experienced and certified in invasive species management. He provides project coordination, technical supervision, and quality assurance for restoration projects of various sizes and complexities. With a background in ecology, chemistry, wetland morphology, and wetland construction, Dustin has successfully managed phases of a multi-year exotic vegetation eradication project in the US Virgin Islands, as well as many small- to large-scale wetland and coastal restoration projects in the southeast US. He has planned and implemented both exotic removal and native planting for public and private clients.

	Todd Olson (1st year) Aquatic Vegetation Control, Inc (561) 845-5525 ext 309 tolson@avcaquatic.com Todd Olson received a B.S. degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University in 1986. He has been employed in the vegetation management industry for the last 17 years working throughout the southeastern U.S. He has been part of the management team at Aquatic Vegetation Control, Inc. for the last 11 years. He is active in the following organizations: NALMS, FLMS, FAPMS, and has served two years as vendor chair for FLEPPC.

	Jennifer Possley (2nd year) Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden Research Center 305/667-1651 ext. 3433 Email:jpossley@fairchildgarden.org Jennifer Possley is the GIS Lab Coordinator and Field Biologist at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Research Center in Miami. She has been a Fairchild employee for six years during which time she has mapped, monitored, and conducted research on rare native and non-native flora of Miami-Dade County. Prior to joining Fairchild’s conservation team, Jennifer completed a master’s degree in Agronomy at the University of Florida where she studied the ecology of down rose myrtle (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa). She also worked as an Americorps member in Big Cypress National Preserve removing invasive species such as melaleuca.

	Jonathan Taylor (2nd year) Everglades National Park 305/242-7876 Email:Jonathan_e_taylor@nps.govl Jonathan Taylor has been working in Everglades National Park since 2002 primarily as a steward for the park’s Exotic Vegetation Management Program. Recently, he has been assisting with the Hole-in-the-Donut Wetland Restoration Project. Before coming to Florida in 1999, Jonathan and his wife lived and worked in Haiti. In Miami, he worked at the Southeast Environmental Research Center at Florida International University on understanding the role of phosphorus in the Everglades ecosystem. His academic training was focused on wetland plant ecology; he earned his MS from the Plant Biology Department at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and he received a BS from the Marine Science Department at the University of South Carolina.

	LeRoy Rodgers (2nd Year) South Florida Water Management District Vegetation Management Division 561-682-2773 Email: lrodgers@sfwmd.gov LeRoy Rodgers is a Lead Scientist with the South Florida Water Management District in West Palm Beach where he has worked since 2000. He is responsible for coordinating invasive species research, management and monitoring programs. He holds a B.S. in Botany from the University of Florida and a M.S. from Old Dominion University. Prior to his employment with SFWMD, LeRoy worked as a field botanist with The Nature Conservancy in northwest Florida. LeRoy currently chairs the FLEPPC symposium program committee and co-chairs the Lygodium Task Force. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Native Plant Society, Palm Beach Chapter.

	Sandra Vardaman (2nd year) Alachua CountyEnvironmental Protection Department 352/264-6803 Email: smvardaman@alachua.fl.us Sandra Vardaman is a Senior Planner with the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department, Land Conservation Program. She is responsible for coordinating the acquisition and management of endangered Natural Areas within the county. Prior to this, Sandra was employed with the Martin County, Florida, Environmentally Sensitive Lands Program. Her primary duties were coordinating natural areas acquisitions and land management. Her career in acquiring and managing natural areas began as a biologist with the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department’s Natural Areas Management Team. In addition to her work experience, she served as FLEPPC Secretary in the early 1990’s.