People of PRI

Rachel Lupas processes a tissue sample for analysis

Adjusting to these 'ever-changing times'

Nov 24, 2020 11:15 am

Alexa Ashbrook, INHS graduate student

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

Alison Stodola: Aquatic Biologist

Mar 15, 2017 12:00 pm

Alleen Betzenhauser: senior research archaeologist

Apr 24, 2017 3:30 pm

Amber Schmidt: Grad Student and Illinois Indiana Sea Grant Scholar

Dec 6, 2023 9:45 am

Andrya Whitten: Aquatic Ecologist

Mar 8, 2017 1:00 pm

Angiel DiAscro in face mask performing titration

Angela DiAscro, field chemist

Jul 28, 2020 8:00 am

Anna Frailey, field scientist/forest ecologist

Mar 1, 2023 9:00 am

We're pleased to welcome Anna Frailey to the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a field scientist/forest ecologist! Anna brings her passion for land management to this role, and we look forward to having her on our team!

Anne Krippenstapel, field scientist

Aug 8, 2022 8:00 am

Anne Krippenstapel recently joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a field scientist. She earned her bachelor's degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and worked as a forestry tech, running a chainsaw, treating invasive plants, and doing timber stand improvement.

Auriel Fournier standing in front of wetlands

Auriel Fournier, director of Forbes Biological Station

Apr 11, 2022 8:00 am

Auriel Fournier, a waterfowl ecologist and director of the Forbes Biological Station, has been awarded a 2022 PRI Early Career Researcher Award. Fournier also leads the major National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-funded Firebird project focused on waterbirds in the Gulf of Mexico, which involves collaborators from multiple agencies and organizations.

Auriel Fournier, director of Forbes Biological Station

Jun 13, 2019 8:00 am

Beth Meschewski: Research Specialist

Mar 20, 2017 1:00 pm

Brenda Molano-Flores: Plant Ecologist

Mar 24, 2017 12:45 pm

Caitlin Bloomer, INHS graduate student

Oct 23, 2019 9:00 am

Cariad Williams, paleontology PhD student

Oct 25, 2019 8:00 am

Carly Fenstermacher, INHS graduate student researcher

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

Christine Atkinson, ISWS graduate student

Oct 24, 2019 9:00 am

Christine Parker outdoors holding a turkey.

Christine Parker, INHS graduate student

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

Christine Parker: PhD student

Mar 8, 2017 1:15 pm

Claire Dappert-Coonrod in ballcap excavating

Claire Dappert-Coonrod: Archaeologist

Jun 29, 2017 11:15 am

Claire Johnson, INHS graduate student researcher

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

Claire Snyder, assistant scientist, large river fisheries ecology

Jun 12, 2019 12:45 pm

Clare Tolmie: Senior Research Archaeologist

Apr 17, 2017 3:00 pm

Connie Carroll-Cunningham: Botanist

May 24, 2017 4:15 pm

Cora Wessman, Illinois Water Inventory Program coordinator

Jun 27, 2022 8:00 am

Rockford native, Cora Wessman began working as a graduate student hourly researcher with the Illinois Water Inventory Program (IWIP) nearly three years ago. Today, she oversees the program as the IWIP coordinator. "IWIP has become something I am very passionate about, and I hope to see the program grow for years to come," said Wessman.

Courtney Weldon, INHS graduate student

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

Dana Brown, vector biologist

Jul 21, 2022 3:30 pm

Dana Brown recently joined the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) as a vector biologist. Prior to joining INHS, Dana spent four years assisting with microbiological research in laboratories focused on virology, immunology, and cancer biology.

Dawn Cosentino, project engineer

Apr 21, 2021 8:00 am

Distinguished Research Specialist/Technician: Lee Green

Apr 11, 2019 4:45 pm

Dominique Turney, aquatic nuisance species specialist

Dec 13, 2019 11:15 am

Elizabeth Watts Malouchos, research archaeologist

Oct 19, 2021 12:30 pm

Elizabeth Watts Malouchos recently answered some questions about her career in archaeology, commonly-held misconceptions about archaeology, and her advice for those just starting out in the field.

Emily Struckhoff, INHS graduate student researcher

Oct 26, 2020 8:00 am

Emmarie Alexander, undergraduate researcher

Apr 19, 2021 8:00 am

Erica Hernandez, INHS graduate student

Oct 25, 2019 9:00 am

Erin Benson, ISAS graduate student

Oct 21, 2019 9:00 am

Gail Kampmeier speaking at a lectern in 2016

Gail Kampmeier: Entomologist

Mar 28, 2017 12:00 pm

Holly Tuten, vector ecologist

Dec 13, 2019 11:00 am

Isabelle Lulewicz, zooarchaeologist

Mar 29, 2021 11:00 am

Janice Enos, avian biologist

Feb 7, 2023 9:30 am

Janice Enos, an avian biologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS). Her research broadly focuses on how social interactions influence nesting ecology and habitat selection in songbirds. Janice has been an animal lover and interested in science for as long as she can remember, crediting David Attenborough and PBS documentaries like “NOVA” and “Nature” for sparking her interest in science, and the Massachusetts Audubon Society for convincing her to become an ornithologist!

Jennie Atkins: Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program

Mar 20, 2017 1:15 pm

Jessica Ackerman: Wetland Geologist

Apr 5, 2017 12:15 pm

Jordyn Chace in the Mark Davis Lab in NRES and the Illinois Bat Conservation Program

Jordyn Chace, graduate student

Oct 27, 2021 8:00 am

Jordyn Chace says she has always wanted to be a conservation biologist, even before she knew that it was a real career. Now she's a bat genomicist with the Illinois Natural History Survey.

Julie Claussen: Fisheries Biologist

Feb 5, 2018 3:45 pm

Katelyn McLaughlin, environmental science writer

Jan 20, 2023 12:30 pm

I grew up in the Northwest Chicago Suburbs and moved to Champaign in June of 2021 for work. I graduated from Illinois State University in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in English and a focus on publishing and I’ve worked a few jobs unrelated to my major since then. My role at PRI is as an environmental science writer for WaterOperator.org through the Water Survey and this is the first writing-based job I have had since graduating college so I am very excited about that!

Katey Strailey, postdoctoral researcher

Oct 10, 2022 11:00 am

I’m really excited to get to do applied research. For me, it’s the best of both worlds–I get to do work that is both scientifically engaging and valuable for conservation. Conservation and management of our aquatic resources are really important to me, and I want to make sure that whatever I do for work is supporting those resources.

Katie O'Reilly, aquatic invasive species specialist

Aug 4, 2022 8:00 am

Katie's doctoral research focused on understanding changes to Lake Michigan coastal wetland food webs using stable isotope analysis and otolith microchemistry. Her post-doc research expanded into the ecological impacts of an invasive aquatic plant (Elodea canadensis) in Alaskan freshwater ponds. Beyond her formal training as an aquatic ecologist, Katie is also passionate about understanding how scientists can more effectively communicate with different audiences.

Katrina Cotten, terrestrial ecologist

May 15, 2023 10:30 am

Katrina Cotten recently joined INHS as a terrestrial ecologist. She received her B.Sc. in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During her undergrad and after graduation, she worked in the Human-Wildlife Interactions Lab, where she was first introduced to working with bats. She completed a summer research project examining predation risks at natural versus artificial roosts in southern Indiana. She also contributed to a literature review examining the temperature buffering capacity of tree microhabitats at a global scale.

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