A Rousing Success at the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Chapter Meeting
Contributed by ESA Mid-Atlantic Chapter Chair Lea Johnson
On April 5, nearly 300 ecologists—faculty, students, and practitioners—gathered at Longwood Gardens for what we’re told may have been the largest meeting of ESA’s Mid-Atlantic Chapter in its decades-long history.
As chair of the regional chapter for the year, I was also chair of the meeting – so the enthusiastic participation this year feels extremely rewarding. We had more than 160 abstracts submitted, which ultimately worked out to a program with:
- 51 oral presentations
- 110 posters
- 5 live workshops, focused on ecology education, career pathway development, science communication, and policy advocacy and mentorship
We also featured a truly fantastic plenary session, Seeding the Future with Native Plants, that included contributions by John Price from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank, Lucy Rubino from the Greenbelt Native Plant Center of NYC Parks, Tom Knezick from Pinelands Nursery, and Phoebe Judge from the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences. Combining research findings with best practices in applied ecological restoration is exactly the kind of solutions science we love to advance.
Our chapter meeting also honors the most standout student presentations. This year’s winners include (in order, first, second and third place):
Oral Presentations
- Undergraduate
- Sarah Yannayon, Chatham University
- Alison Kryger, SUNY Binghamton
- Olivia Arbogast, Johns Hopkins University
- Graduate
- Josh Bliss, Towson University
- Morgan Mark, Rutgers University
- Elizabeth Cika, West Liberty University
Poster Presentations
- Undergraduate
- Joshua Barufaldi, Drexel University
- Saraswati Braun, West Liberty University
- Allison Stewart, Rider University
- Graduate
- Raydaliz Cancel and Corey Palmer, University of Massachusetts Amherst (tie for 1st place)
- Margaret Schaefer, University of Maryland College Park
- Amanda Munshower, West Chester University
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all who presented this year! As a judge, I can say that it was a remarkable field of entries. Our students are doing great things!
The next day, with the scientific program concluded, the spring rain let up just in time for me and my team to welcome 80 waterproof ecologists on a walking field trip exploring the long-term and experimental ecological research programs I’ve established at Longwood as Associate Director of Land Stewardship and Ecology, and how this research feeds into adaptive land management.
An event like this only works because of a great team behind it, and the Mid-Atlantic Chapter is fortunate to have a great team of experienced leaders and willing colleagues. In particular, I thank Kristie Lane Anderson (also of Longwood) for organizing the program, and Astrid Caldas for organizing the judging. Past chairs and officers Chris Habeck, Steve Sheffield, David Bowne, Debra Wohl, Rich Pouyat and Claus Holzapfel all contributed behind the scenes. Jon Miller and Christi Nam from the national ESA Meetings and Membership teams provided extremely valuable support.
The Mid-Atlantic Chapter looks forward to providing a venue for ecologists to explore each other’s work and consider major questions in the science for many years to come!