SPEAKERS

Jim Angy, is an award-winning nature photographer and knowledgeable naturalist. Currently, three of Jim’s images from Pelican Island are a part of the America’s Wild Places exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. A resident of Brevard County for more than 40 years, for the past 30 years Jim has photographed Florida’s wildlife. His images are published in books, calendars, post cards, and magazines including: The Nature of series of books by Cathie Katz, Florida’s Fabulous Birds, Florida’s Fabulous Reptiles, Florida Wildlife, Popular Photography, The Florida Naturalist, the Orvis Catalog, and Robin Chapman’s Absolutely Essential Guide to Orlando. For additional information, visit his web site at http://www.StillNature.com.

Thomas Ankersen, J.D.  Teaching and Scholarship - Domestic/International Environmental Law & Policy, Water Law, Protection of Biological Diversity

University of Florida: Joined College of Law in 1991 as Legal Skills Professor and Attorney at the Center for Governmental Responsibility. Named Director, Conservation Clinic (1998) & Director, Costa Rica Joint Program in Environmental and Land Use Law (2000). Affiliate Faculty, Center for Latin American Studies since 1993.

Professional Experience: Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund Inc., Staff Attorney, Denver and Tallahassee (1990-91). Peeples Earl & Blank, Senior Litigation Associate, Miami (1986-90). Stottler Staggs & Associates, Environmental Planner, Cape Canaveral (1980-83).

Professional Affiliations: President, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center Board of Directors; Tropical Ecosystems Directorate, U.S. Department of State Man and the Biosphere Program; Board of Directors, Forest Management Trust; World Conservation Union Environmental Law Commission.

Daniel F. Austin, Ph.D. is a Research Associate of the Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami, Florida, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona. He is also Adjunct Professor, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson; Research Associate at the Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami; Research Associate at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix; Research Associate at the Drylands Institute, Tucson; and Emeritus Professor at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. While in Florida, he received three Green Palmetto Awards and the Mentor Award from the Florida Native Plant Society.

Alice Bard has been a district biologist with the Florida Park Service for the past 15 years.  She earned a B.S. and an M.S. degree in Biology from the University of Central Florida.  Her interests include the ecology of listed plant and animal species (she has been involved in an ongoing restoration project on clasping warea (Warea amplexifolia) for the past 14 years), prescribed fire, small mammals, herps, restoration ecology, and landscape ecology.

During the twenty three years as the principle landscape architect in his own firm, Bill has been instrumental in the innovation of many techniques and use of materials that have changed the face of environmentally acceptable landscape of central Florida and has initiated the use of several native plant species that have become standard material for large scale developers such as the Disney Company and D.O.T. Bill has stresses the necessity of environmentally functional landscapes over the purely decorative but non-functional landscapes in institutional commercial and residential work. This philosophy has lead to successful design projects for IMC-Agrico, Mobil, Audubon Society, and Audubon International has been acknowledged by several state awards.

With Nancy Bissett, opened The Natives, Inc., a nursery growing central Florida native plants for restoration and landscape in 1982.

Nancy Bissett is the owner and manager of The Natives nursery in Davenport, FL.  She has developed techniques for restoring many upland communities including scrub, sandhill, and flatwoods that include planting, direct-seeding native groundcovers, and weed control. As the developer of The Natives nursery, she has experimented with the propagation and growth of many natives plants, including grasses, wildflowers, and rare species. As a botanist she has helped federal, state, and local authorities find and evaluate rare plant communities, and has found new rare plant locations and a new scrub mint.

Dave Breininger is a senior ecologist with Dynamc Corporation, which  conducts NASA's Ecological Program at Kennedy Space Center.  He is a Ph.D. student in Conservation Biology in the Department of Biology, University of Central Florida.

Dr. Kathy Burke joined FNAI in January 2004, following a decade of work as a biological scientist with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. As a botanist for FNAI, she specializes in invasive, aquatic, and rare plant species. Her current primary focus is development of a statewide, geo-referenced database on the occurrence and status of invasive exotic plants in Florida's public conservation lands. She also serves as Chair of the Plant List Committee for the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, Plants Editor for the Florida Committee on Rare and Endangered Biota, a member of the Science Committee for the Florida Wildflower Advisory Council, and a member of the Florida Endangered Plant Advisory Council.

Dr. Mark Bush is a Professor of Biology at the Florida Institute of Technology. He is active in local and international conservation, serving on the Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection and Management Committee, is a founding member of the Andean Biodiversity Consortium, and is an advisor to Conservation International on the implications of climate change for conservation. His research centers on deciphering the climatic and occupation history of tropical South and Central America using fossil pollen. He has ongoing projects in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Guatemala, and the Galapagos Islands.

Rick Cech is an active naturalist, nature writer and photographer. He is the principal author and photographer of Butterflies of the East Coast: An Observer’s Guide, Rick Cech & Guy Tudor (in press), available May 2005. He wrote “A Distributional Checklist of the Butterflies and Skippers of the New York City Area” (1993), and co-authored the National Audubon Society Regional Guide to Florida (1998), The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior (2001), and National Audubon Society Interactive CD-ROM Guide to North American Birds (1996). His photos have been featured in a variety of books, magazines and exhibits. He has been a frequent contributor of articles and photographs to American Butterflies, and edited The Anglewing, an early NABA publication.

Jim Cuda - Research  incldues screening and evaluating insect natural enemies for classical biological control of invasive weeds. He holds a  Ph.D. in Entomology from Texas A&M University.  Since 1983 he has been employed as an faculty meber of University of FL. At UF he develops in-service training programs for county faculty on IPM in agriculture, horticulture, structures, natural resources and public health emphasizing biological control and other biologically-based pest management practices. He serves as a committee member for FLEPPC. 

Mary Palmer Dargan, is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to earning her Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from LSU in 1981, she was education director and botanist at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Fine Art in Nashville. She is author of The Early English Kitchen Garden: Medieval Period to 1800. Continuing education has included professional courses at the Harvard School of Design. She has served on the National Advisory Committee of the Garden Conservancy, and is a former garden editor of Charleston Magazine. She serves on the board of the Cherokee Garden Library of the Atlanta History Center, and is a member of the Cherokee Garden Club (Garden Club of America). Mary Palmer Dargan joined the design studio in 1984; she became a principal in 1985.

Mary is married to Hugh Dargan of the Dargan Landscape Architects firm. The Dargans were married in Charleston, South Carolina in 1985. Together, they completed the British National Trust's course at West Dean in Sussex on Restoring Historic Landscapes that same year. In 1992, the Dargans were named by Southern Accents as two of the South's leading landscape architects; since then, their work has become increasing national in focus. Trophies and awards include both Regional and National Awards of Merit from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Several of their projects currently air on Ground Breakers and Secret Gardens Of... weekly, primetime television series produced by Home & Garden Television (HGTV). The Dargans’ projects have been featured in major gardening books and dozens of magazines and newspapers such as Garden Design, Southern Accents and The New York Times. They are also nationally known lecturers.

Mary Palmer Dargan, is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. Prior to earning her Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from LSU in 1981, she was education director and botanist at Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Fine Art in Nashville. She is author of The Early English Kitchen Garden: Medieval Period to 1800. Continuing education has included professional courses at the Harvard School of Design. She has served on the National Advisory Committee of the Garden Conservancy, and is a former garden editor of Charleston Magazine. She serves on the board of the Cherokee Garden Library of the Atlanta History Center, and is a member of the Cherokee Garden Club (Garden Club of America). Mary Palmer Dargan joined the design studio in 1984; she became a principal in 1985.

Joanne Davis was born in West Palm Beach and is a life long resident. Having grown up in Palm Beach County and enjoying the outdoors, she understands the importance of preserving our natural heritage. Her passion for nature in all its forms is the basis of her commitment to protecting open space.

Her education included biology, botany, and communications, and she holds an associate degree from Palm Beach Community College. After graduation, Joanne managed a native plant nursery for several years, and worked for a large land planning firm before coming to 1000 Friends of Florida. Many hours of volunteer advocacy, including taking a lead position in two bond referenda to preserve land, contributed to her knowledge of local issues.

At 1000 Friends, Joanne does local advocacy work for the organization, and has been the chair for the county’s land acquisition committee, an advisory committee to the commission, since 1991. In addition, she is a member of the county’s Land Development Regulatory Advisory Board, which oversees and makes recommendations on the Unified Land Development Codes. Joanne has been active in Palm Beach County’s growth management and environmental issues since the late 1980s.

Two years ago, Mark Garland took over from Nancy Coile as the head of the Botany Section in the Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.  His job entails identifying plants for other scientists in the department, helping to maintain the state's lists of endangered and threatened plants, and working with Florida's list of noxious weeds.  Before taking this job Mark worked at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, first in the Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) land-buying program and then in the Wetland Delineation Section.  Mark has a degree in botany from the University of Georgia and studied the genus Hieracium (in the family Compositae) at Florida State University under Loran Anderson.  In his spare time he enjoys exploring Florida's natural areas, translating descriptions of new species of plants into Latin, and playing with the Linux computer operating system.

Roger Hammer is a senior interpretive naturalist for Miami-Dade Parks Department, and has served as Director of Castellow Hammock Nature Center for 27 years. He is an award winning author, educator and naturalist.  His awards include:

Dr. Hinkle is Vice President and Chief Scientist for Dynamac Corporation directing the Life Science Services Contract at Kennedy Space Center.  Ross has served on the Breavrd County Endanagered Lands Programas Committee for more than 10 years he has been Committee Chair for the past several years.

Bill was in the Arizona State University zoology program for 2 years –then to University of Illinois to get a BS. Later he attended Florida State University finishing a Masters in Geography. He worked in Lee County for 2 years as a planner and in Tallahassee or 22 years in various divisions and now serves in the Division of Sate Lands.

After moving to Florida nearly 20 years ago, Craig has been involved in a wide range of issues related to growth management, wildlife, land management and public involvement.  He has worked as an Extension Urban Wildlife Scientist with the University of Florida, directed the Environmental Lands Division for Pinellas County and been active with the Florida Native Plant Society.  Today, we works as an environmental consultant for Biological Research Associates.

Eugene (Gene) Kelly is a senior land manager for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.  With the District, he has spent over 16 years actively assisting in the acquisition, management planning, and management implementation.  He is in the Hernando Chapter of FNPS and is a member of the FNPS Board of Directors.

Dr. Kennedy is President and Executive Director, Center for Plant Conservation.

Suzanne Kennedy is founder of Floravista, Inc., is dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of the natural ecological processes of sites within the context of the surrounding ecosystem.  In its first year, Floravista has accomplished native landscape design, project management, and educational literature for developers of eco-friendly subdivisions, homeowners associations, and residential customers.  Suzanne Kennedy, President, is a plant ecologist recognized for endangered plant conservation and holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in Biological Sciences.  She currently serves as the Chair of the FNPS Conservation Committee. For more info, please visit www.floravista.net.

Tug Kessler is a student at Auburn University and a 2004 FNPS Endowment Grant awardee.

Tanya Kim is a graduate student at the University of Florida and a 2004 FNPS Endowment Grant awardee.

Gary Knight has been with FNAI since 1990, and has been the program's director since 1995. Prior to becoming Director, he also served as Managed Areas Biologist and Senior Botanist. Gary is responsible for the overall direction and management of FNAI, including program development and planning, fundraising, financial administration, and all personnel matters. He is the program's principal spokesperson and primary contact. Gary also serves on the Board of Directors for the international conservation organization NatureServe and is on the Center for Plant Conservation's Science Advisory Council. Gary has a master's degree in Biological Science from Florida State University.

Tim Kozusko is a native of Cocoa Beach.  He was educated locally, holding a B.S. in Limnology and an M.S. in Biology from the University of Central Florida.  His thesis research investigated the water chemistry and plant zonation of isolated wetlands on the Kissimmee Prairie.  Tim has been involved with the Thousand Islands through research, educational work, and as a member of the Cocoa Beach Waterways/Wildlife Advisory Board and the Land Management Committee.  He is currently employed by United Space Alliance and resides in Melbourne Beach.

Ross McCluney is a principal research scientist at the Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida. He holds B. A., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics, was an organizer of the University of Miami's observance of the first Earth Day Teach-In in 1970, and edited The Environmental Destruction of South Florida, published by the University of Miami Press in 1971. He served on the Board of Directors of Florida Audubon Society for several years in the 1980s and has been studying, writing, and lecturing on energy and environmental policy for over two decades. He currently serves as Vice President of Floridians for a Sustainable Population. Author of over 60 scientific, technical, and non-technical papers on a variety of subjects, Dr. McCluney has also authored a number of essays on environmental issues.

He is author and editor, respectively, of two new books, Humanity's Environmental Future: Making Sense in a Troubled World, and Getting to the Source: Readings on Sustainable Values, the latter being an anthology of essays by prominent environmental writers on environmental values. These books were published by SunPine Press of Cape Canaveral, Florida in May 2004 available from (www.sunpinepress.com and www.amazon.com.

In 1971, Dr. McCluney taught a semester-long non-credit course at the University of Miami on the environmental problems of South Florida. Over the Fall/Spring 2003-2004 academic year he taught the undergraduate course PHI 3033, philosophy, religion, and the environment at the University of Central Florida, Cocoa Campus (www.futureofhumanity.org).

He recently completed a 21 year program of research work on window energy and illumination performance continuously funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Currently he is using computerized optical ray tracing techniques to predict the performances of a variety of complex solar optical systems.

Bruce Means is a triple alumnus of Florida State University, receiving his Ph. D. there in 1975. Past Director of Tall Timbers Research Station (1978-1984), he is presently Executive Director of Coastal Plains Institute (since 1984) and Adjunct Professor, Florida State University Department of Biological Science. An ecologist with more than 40 years of field experience, his main research interests center on fire ecology, longleaf pine ecosystem, tropical biology, tepui ecology, biogeography, pond ecology, and rare and endangered species. He has published more than 230 scientific research papers, contract reports, and popular articles and is co-author of "Priceless Florida," the only book treating the entire ecology of Florida from the abyssal plain of the Gulf of Mexico to the highest, driest sand ridge. His popular articles and photographs have appeared in National Geographic Magazine, Natural History Magazine, BBC Wildlife Magazine, International Wildlife, National Wildlife, Florida Wildlife, American Gardener, Fauna, South American Explorer, and others.

He recently co-produced and starred in two hour-long National Geographic Explorer documentaries ("King Rattler" & "Quest for the Rainbow Serpent"), was featured in three episodes of the "Snake Wrangler" series on National Geographic Channel, and was the ecologist in a one-hour National Geographic Ultimate Explorer film featuring an expedition through the remote rainforests of Guyana to mysterious Mt. Roraima. He has broad field experience including Alaska, southeastern U. S., Jamaica, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Uruguay, Amazon basin, Galapagos Islands, Australia, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Madagascar, Venezuela, and Guyana, all of which countries he has visited on scientific research expeditions or to which he has organized and led natural history tours. He conducts conservation inventories all over the world, preparing reports for landowners about the biological significance of their properties, including description of the major habitats, most prevalent plant and animal species, rare and endangered species, and management recommendations for their conservation.

His latest natural history book, entitled "Herpetophilia," has been submitted to publishers. Herpetophilia means love of creeping, crawling things. The book contains 20 chapters about his work and adventures with frogs, salamanders, turtles, earthworms, snakes, and other things that go bump in the night. Another book will follow about his 30 years of research with one of America’s wildlife icons, entitled "Diamonds in the Rough: Natural History of the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake."

Randy Mejeur received his M.S. in botany from the University of Georgia in 1998, where his research interests focused on fire ecology, restoration ecology, and botanical explorations of the longleaf pine ecosystem. In his work as a botanist for an environmental consulting firm since 1998, Mr. Mejeur has conducted floral and faunal surveys on a variety of public and private lands, conducted wetland assessments throughout Florida, and developed management plans on conservation lands for the protection of rare species and restoration of natural systems. He continues to pursue innovative solutions to protect significant natural resources within a context of rapid urbanization as an Associate Ecologist at Glatting Jackson in Orlando, Florida.

Marc grew up in the mountains of western Pennsylvania near Johnstown. During childhood, he spent many summer days collecting and rearing butterflies and moths, and developed a fascination for these beautiful animals that has never waned. Marc now works as a Senior Regulatory Scientist for the St. Johns River Water Management District in Palatka.

Marc received a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University, and a Master’s from the University of California at Davis, both in entomology. His Ph.D. is in zoology, from the University of Florida. Marc has written or co-authored many scientific and popular articles on butterflies and moths as well as the books, Florissant Butterflies: A Guide to the Fossil and Present-Day Species of Central Colorado (Stanford University Press, 1992), Butterflies of the Florida Keys (Scientific Publishers, Inc., 1993), Florida Butterfly Gardening (University of Florida Press, 1999), Butterflies Through Binoculars: Florida (Oxford University Press 2001), and Florida Butterfly Caterpillars and Their Host Plants (University Press of Florida, 2005).

After finishing school at U. C. – Davis, Marc married Maria Lain of Sacramento, California. Maria is Director of Eco-Cognizant, Inc., an ecological consulting and education firm. Since moving to Florida in 1982, the Minno’s have worked on the preservation of rare habitats and the conservation of threatened animals and plants such as the Schaus Swallowtail, Arogos Skipper, Curtiss’ Milkweed, and Okeechobee Gourd. For many years Marc and Maria have worked with the Native Plant Society and other conservation organizations. The Minno’s enjoy gardening around their home in Gainesville, traveling, photography, and exploring natural areas with their children, Ivan and Angie, and grandson, Mirin.

Maria Minno (M.S., Botany, UF; B.A., Environmental Biology, UCSB; and L.M.T.), is co-author with her husband, Marc Minno, of the book Florida Butterfly Gardening, and helped produce the Handbook to Schoolyard Plants and Animals of North Central Florida.  Maria’s efforts to keep herself and her family healthy led to a fascination with alternative medicine, which she has been studying formally and idependently for a number of years.  Her interests in landscaping, nature study, children’s environmental health, and alternative medicine find a meeting point in this philosophical examination of environmental landscaping.

Raymond Mojica Jr. has been a Land Manager with the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program since April 1999. His area of responsibility is the nearly 350 acres of land that the EEL program manages within the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge including an oversight role in the development of the Barrier Island Ecosystem Center. His focus has included the development of 4 miles of passive recreational trails, the removal of invasive exotic plants and collaboration with local educational institutions. To date, he has received over $650,000 in grant moneys to promote these goals. Prior to joining the EEL program he held positions as the Science Coordinator at the Caribbean Marine Research Center in the Bahamas, as a salt marsh restoration coordinator within the Canaveral National Seashore, and as a fisheries researcher in the Bahamas studying the early life history of Nassau grouper and bonefish. Raymond holds a M.S. in Marine Biology from Florida Tech (1991) and a B.S. in Marine Science from Southampton College (1985).

Reed Noss is the Davis-Shine Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Central Florida and an international consultant and lecturer. He has a B.S. in Education from the University of Dayton, a M.S. in Ecology from the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida. He has worked as an ecologist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Florida Natural Areas Inventory, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during his 30-plus years in the environmental field. Dr. Noss is the author of over 220 scientific and semi-technical articles and several books: Saving Nature's Legacy (1994), coauthored by Allen Cooperrider; The Science of Conservation Planning (1997), coauthored by Michael O’Connell and Dennis Murphy; The Redwood Forest (2000), which he edited; and two coedited books: Ecological Integrity, (2000) and Large Mammal Restoration (2001). The first and last of these books have won major book awards.

Dr. Noss was Editor-in-Chief of Conservation Biology, the leading journal in the field, from 1993 through 1997, is Past President of the Society for Conservation Biology (1999-2001), and is currently President-Elect of the North American Section of the Society. From 1993 through 1996 he held a Pew Scholars Fellowship in Conservation and the Environment. In 1995 he won the Edward T. LaRoe III Memorial Award of the Society for Conservation Biology. He is certified as a Senior Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America and is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He serves on many boards, committees, and advisory panels, including the Board of Governors of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Board of Trustees of the Florida Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. His present research involves the application of science to conservation planning at regional to global scales. He lives with his family in Chuluota, Florida.

Ronald Plakke, Ph. D. is  Co-coordinator PEAR Scrub Oak/Scrub Jay Restoration Project.  He has a doctorate. in Zoology, with a Botany Minor from the Univ. Montana , and an A.B. in Biology from the University of Northern Colorado.  He is Professor of Zoology, University of Northern Colorado, Emeritus.

Dr. Plakkee is a memberof the Lake Beautyberry Chapter, FNPS and PEAR Association, Inc.

Peg Urban is Co-coordinator PEAR Scrub Oak/Scrub Jay Restoration Project. She is a Master Naturalist and a member of the Lake Beautyberry Chapter, FNPS and PEAR Association, Inc.

Marcia Rickey is a researcher at Archbold Biological Station.

David C. Rigsby, received a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture,  from University of Florida in 1973. He has spent thirty-two years in all phases of the field of Landscape Architecture, Planning, Land Management and Land Development

Paul A. Schmalzer is a plant ecologist with the Dynamac Corporation at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where he has worked since 1982. His current research interests include: effects of fire on vegetation and soils, restoration of scrub ecosystems, and distribution, structure, composition, and dynamics of barrier island plant communities. He received a B.A. in biology from Western Maryland College (1976), and M.S. (1978) and Ph.D. (1982) in ecology from the University of Tennessee. He has received numerous awards  including The Nature Conservancy Florida Chapter Conservation Colleague Award and NASA Manned Flight Awareness Award of Merit and is principal or co-author of over 100 scientific publications and reports. Since 1990, he has served on the Environmentally Endangered Lands Selection and Management Committee for Brevard County, Florida.

Tammy E. Foster is an ecologist with the Dynamac Corporation at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where she has worked since 2000. Her research interests include: plant physiological ecology, fire ecology, and restoration of scrub ecosystems. She received a B.S. in biology from Eastern College (1996) and a M.S. (2002) in biology from the University of South Florida.

Dr. Tim Schubert is a graduate of the University of Missouri - Columbia, where he received his B.S. in Forestry, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology. Since 1980, Dr. Schubert has served as a plant pathologist for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gainesville, FL. In 1987, he was appointed as administrator of the Plant Pathology Section, which houses a staff of fifteen persons who are responsible for the regulatory functions relating to plant diseases in Florida.

Dr. Schubert specializes in the diagnosis of plant diseases caused by fungi, and in the diagnosis of abiotic diseases (diseases caused by non-living agents). In recent years, he has served on several state and national task forces to address the causes, impact, and disease management guidelines for citrus canker, chronic plant damage from air pollution in Florida, incidents of widespread pesticide phytotoxicity in Florida, soybean rust, and sudden oak death / Ramorum blight.

Gary E. Schultz is a Florida native who has worked for the Florida Natural Areas Inventory since 1983, including full time as a Botanist/Ecologist for the past eleven years. He has a Master’s Degree in Horticultural Science and a Bachelor’s Degree in Botany from the University of Florida. His specialties are natural community assessments and identifying and surveying for listed plant and animal species. He has written numerous reports for FNAI, including ones for Cape Canaveral Air Station, Picayune Strand State Forest, Half Moon Wildlife Management Area, the Lake Wales Ridge with Linda Chafin, the Cross Florida Greenway with Brenda Herring, and Volusia County with Katy NeSmith.

D. Scott Taylor is a Land Management Specialist with the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program, Melbourne, FL. He has a PhD in Marine Biology and has worked with IRL wetlands for 15 years.

On October 30, 2004, Dr. Walter K. Taylor retired from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, after 35 years of teaching and research. Professor Taylor served as Associate Chair of the Department of Biology and taught a variety of classes including biodiversity, Florida wildflowers, Florida natural history, ornithology, zoogeography and invertebrate zoology.  Taylor was named Professor Emeritus of Biology at UCF's Founders Day convocation held in April 2004. He has two, popular wildflower books to his credit: The Guide to Florida Wildflowers and Florida Wildflowers in Their Natural Communities. He recently authored, along with Eliane M. Norman, André Michaux in Florida. In 1999 while on a cruise with his gracious wife, Dr. Taylor was awarded the Green Palmetto by the Florida Native Plant Plant Society for his contribution to academic studies and for public education of native plants and native plant communities.

Pamela F. Traas is an author, freelance writer and photographer.   Her book, Gardening for Florida's Butterflies, published in 1999, is now in its second printing.  She also wrote the Florida section of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens Butterfly Gardener's Guide, is a former correspondent for the Tampa Tribune Newspaper and former contributing editor and columnist for the Tropical Breeze Newspaper.  She lives with her husband and dog Floppy in Safety Harbor, Florida.  She currently works for the Pinellas County Park Department

Kit Van Wagner is the Education Specialist for the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program. She is responsible for developing and implementing biodiversity education initiatives in the County. Kit received her Bachelors degree in Environmental Studies from Middlebury College in Vermont and her Masters degree in Science Education at Florida Tech in Melbourne, Florida.

Lynka Woodbury, Dade Chiapter FNPS Secretary, Dade Chapter Rep and FNPS Director at Large, works at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden managing the FTG Herbaria at the Center for Tropical Plant Conservation. She designed the original herbarium database in 1997 which won the NSF grant to put the herbarium on the web. Besides mounting thousands of specimens, she recruits and trains an army of volunteers who annually devote the most hours to Fairchild creating www.virtualherbarium.org. Lynka is a native of Coconut Grove, moved to Puerto Rico at 11; grew up enjoying the outdoors with her renowned botanist father Roy Orlo Woodbury. At UF she majored in English and Biology, but worked for the geography department making maps  She traveled the world on sailboats, and while she now paints and sails for fun, her real loves are native environments and people; especially her two children, family, volunteers, and wonderful friends in FNPS.

Dr. Zarillo is a  Florida Tech Professor specializing in coastal  processes and oceanography. He has instructed the Remote Sensing Course at FIT for 15 years.