Speaker Bios

Mark Southerland, Vernal Pool Partners (Maryland)

Mark Southerland has a Ph.D. in ecology and has spent the last 35 years working as a consultant to monitor, assess, and restore ecosystems in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. He was the primary author of the EPA national program guidance on biological criteria and has been supporting healthy watersheds and stream health projects for EPA and CBP for the last 10 years. He has also been the lead consultant on the Maryland Biological Stream Survey for the Maryland DNR since its inception in 1993. Mark has chaired the Maryland Water Monitoring Council (MWMC), Patapsco Heritage Greenway (PHG), and Howard County Environmental Sustainability Boards and received the MWMC Carl Weber Life Achievement Award in 2024. He is also the author of successful legislation to allow environmental landscaping, require bird safe buildings at state and local levels, and inventory vernal pools statewide. 

Mimi Sanford, State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) Coordinator, Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Mimi Sanford serves as the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) coordinator in the Natural Heritage Program at the Department of Natural Resources. She has a masters degree in community planning from the University of Maryland and has previously worked in the fields of urban planning, community engagement, and environmental justice. Though not a trained scientist herself, Mimi has enjoyed learning about wildlife conservation on the job and applying skills from previous jobs to the coordination of Maryland’s SWAP. 

Gwen Brewer, Science Program Manager, Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Dr. Gwen Brewer is the Science Program Manager for the Natural Heritage Program in the Wildlife and Heritage Service, Maryland Department of Natural Resources. In this capacity, she supervises statewide staff carrying out monitoring, research, habitat restoration, and conservation planning for rare species, rare plant communities, and nongame animals. She holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Ecology from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in Zoology from Michigan State University. Before coming to the DNR, Gwen was a professor at Frostburg State University.

Diana Devers, Director of Environmental Programs and Engagement, Patapsco Heritage Greenway 

Diana Devers is a born and raised Marylander, who developed a love for the natural world through a childhood filled with time in Girl Scouts, Carroll County Outdoor School, and family camping trips. She completed both a Bachelors in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and M.S. in Environmental Science from University of Maryland, College Park. While her love of nature started in Maryland, she also taught environmental education and performed research on a variety of environmental topics in Florida, Oregon, Australia, New Zealand, and Belize. Diana then continued her education by becoming a Maryland Master Naturalist and a certified Save our Streams monitor. As the Environmental Program Manager at PHG and now the Director of Environmental Programs; Engagement, Diana works to inspire all ages to fall in love with the Patapsco Valley, and give them the tools they need to protect it.

Emily Benoit, Ecologist, Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (Virginia)

Emily Benoit is an ecologist with Fairfax County’s Watershed Assessment Branch, where she conducts biological monitoring and ecological assessments to support watershed management and natural resource conservation. Before joining Fairfax County, she worked as a biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, conducting habitat assessments of ephemeral wetlands to support conservation of the federally endangered reticulated flatwoods salamander and frosted flatwoods salamander.  

David Neely, Biologist, Tetra Tech, Inc. 

Dave Neely has a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Alabama and a long history of difficult fieldwork in challenging places. His research interests focus on the systematics, ecology, and conservation of aquatic organisms; though he grudgingly admits that terrestrial critters can sometimes be pretty cool too. He’s had a deep fascination with herps since early childhood and has worked for Tetra Tech since 2008. 

Michael Hayslett, Private Environmental Consultant, Virginia Vernal Pools, LLC

Michael Hayslett is a Consulting Ecologist and owner of Virginia Vernal Pools, LLC. With over 30 years of traveling the state educating, studying pools, and advising on these freshwater wetlands, he became known as “Virginia’s leading vernal pools expert.” Mike spent 8 years at Sweet Briar College where he directed the VA Vernal Pools Program; he now promotes the conservation of these unique habitats full-time as a consultant, helping communities and landowners better understand, appreciate and manage their vernal pool wetlands and related wildlife.

Susan Lamont, Ph.D.,Professor, Biology Department, Anne Arundel Community College

Dr. Susan Lamont has been teaching plant science and ecology courses full time at Anne Arundel Community College for 20 years. Since 2014, Dr. Lamont has been working in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to involve students in vernal pool research at Corcoran Woods Experimental Forest, located in Anne Arundel County. The purpose of the study is to monitor changes in population sizes of the obligate species, which include spotted and marbled salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum and A. opacum), fairy shrimp (Eubranchipus vernalis) and wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) and the factors that may influence them, including water chemistry and pool depth. The study is conducted every spring and involves 12-15 students from various biology courses.

Jeanette Kazmierczak, Science Writer, Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary (Maryland)

Jeanette is a science writer who covers astrophysics at her day job. On the weekends, she organizes Jug Bay Wetland Sanctuary’s vernal pool monitoring program in cooperation with a team of eight other lead volunteers and a total team of about 40 community scientists. She also participates in the Sanctuary’s turtle, bat, and fish programs.  

Rachel Gauza, Biological Monitoring Coordinator, Montgomery Parks (Maryland) 

Rachel Gauza is a Principal Natural Resources Specialist with Montgomery Parks where she oversees biological monitoring and other aquatic habitat assessments, including a revitalized effort to locate and document vernal pools and other ephemeral wetland habitat across nearly 38,000 acres of parkland. Ms. Gauza specializes in herpetology and aquatic ecology and has worked as a biologist and environmental educator throughout the DC Metropolitan area for 20 years. A champion for community science, she coordinated the FrogWatch USA monitoring program nationally and locally, and served as a coordinator, steering committee member, and review panel expert for the Maryland Amphibian and Reptile Atlas.   

Michelle Campbell, Environmental Protection Specialist with District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE)

Michelle Campbell is an Environmental Protection Specialist with District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), where she serves as the lead for the District’s Wetland Monitoring & Assessment Program. She drafted and finalized the District’s EPA-approved Wetland Program Plan and the Wetland Monitoring Program Plan. Michelle is also responsible for maintaining the District’s Aquatic Resources Registry, which includes mapping for all known wetlands in DC. Michelle has a Master’s degree in Natural Resources from Oregon State University and a Bachelor’s degree in History from New College of Florida. 

Taylor Blackman, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Studies, Juniata College (Pennsylvania) 

Taylor Blackman is an Assistant Professor at Juniata College, where he teaches soils, wetlands, and GIS. He holds a B.S. in Water Science from Penn State, an M.S. in Soil Science from Virginia Tech, and a Ph.D. from Penn State, where his research examined the formation, distribution, hydrology, and surface connectivity of headwater vernal pools. His current work focuses on wetland mapping, creation, and remediation, with an emphasis on low- to no-cost habitat construction techniques. 

Jorge Bogantes Montero, Natural Resources Program Manager, Anacostia Watershed Society

Jorge Bogantes Montero is a Natural Resources Program Manager at the Anacostia Watershed Society’s (AWS). His work focuses on reforestation in riparian areas affected by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), wetland restoration, freshwater mussel propagation, vernal pool conservation, invasive plant management, community science to document biodiversity as well as other efforts involving wildlife conservation. Besides restoration Jorge has been involved in other efforts related to AWS’s mission such as environmental education, outdoor recreation, advocacy and community outreach. Before joining AWS, Jorge worked on biodiversity conservation in his native Costa Rica. He holds a B.S. in Natural Resources Management and Protection from the Universidad Estatal a Distancia in San José, Costa Rica.