Keynote Speakers
Friday, October 1, 2o21 at 8:10 AM MT
Dr. Rashidah Farid-Tilghman, Tuskegee University
Dr. Rashidah Farid-Tilghman is a Research Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Coordinator for the Forestry and Wildlife Program at Tuskegee University in the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She is also an alumna of the 2018 Environmental Fellows Program. Dr. Farid holds a PhD from the University of Florida in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation with a concentration in quantitative analyses. Originally, from the rural town of Abbeville, Alabama, her passion for nature and conservation has been in the forefront of her life’s mission. As an ecologist, she has worked in state, federal and private sector where she gained a diverse knowledge of natural resource systems and management. She has also been a lifelong advocate for service and community-based development. In her spare time, Rashidah serves on the Alabama Audubon Science Committee, and is a member of the Alabama New South Coalition- a community-based activism group the strives to promote the general welfare of all people through progressive ideals of freedom, justice and democracy. While her research varies from soil conservation to marine species feed strategies, she is most proud of her extension work with students and the development of natural resource management tools for low-resource landowners. She is a passionate ecologist, community development advocate and a loving wife.
Friday, October 1, 2o21 at 8:50 AM MT
Dr. Lisa Corwin, University of Colorado Boulder
Lisa Corwin is an Assistant Professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is a Discipline-Based Education Researcher and focuses on understanding how learning experiences in STEM classrooms, and specifically research-based courses, can help students to develop scientific resilience, civic engagement, and creativity. Corwin is particularly interested in community college and transfer students’ experiences in these courses. She seeks to understand the outcomes these students experience while participating in course-based research and the value they add to the course for their peers. CC students embody a unique population that is more diverse than that typical to ecology and evolutionary biology undergraduate populations and which has the potential to contribute to the field in unique ways. Her work with the Boulder Apple Tree Project focuses on increasing access to research for CC and transfer students and understanding how a community-engaged CURE can increase students’ civic engagement.
Saturday, October 2, 2o21 at 8:00 AM MT
Keynote Panelists
Dr. Carmen Cid, Eastern Connecticut State University, Emerita
Dr. Carmen Cid is an urban forest and wetland ecologist, professor of ecology, and Dean of Arts and Sciences at Eastern Connecticut State University. For many years she has worked with ESA to increase the diversity of ecologists and elevate the human dimension in the teaching of ecology.
Amber Finely, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
Amber Finley is an enrolled member of the Mandan Hidatsa Arikara Nation (or Three Affiliated Tribes) and a descendant of the Spirit Lake Dakota and Standing Rock Lakota. She serves as Science Faculty and Director of Research and Development at Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, in New Town, North Dakota. Amber serves as the Secretary of the Environmental Justice Section of ESA.
Ross Sappenfield, Vail Mountain School
Ross Sappenfield’s ski bum dream turned into a 30-year career as a science teacher at Vail Mountain School in Vail, Colorado. In his Biology, Chemistry and AP Biology classes, he is passionate about creating a classroom environment where his students feel safe to fully engage in “doing science.” He also enjoys guiding students on outdoor adventures on foot, skis, bike, and even in the ocean! In 2020 he was recognized by NABT as “Outstanding Biology Teacher of the Year.” Mr. Sappenfield was also recognized by his VMS peers in 2018 as the “Teacher of the Year.” Also active in the AP Biology community, Sappenfield has enjoyed providing leadership to teachers from around the nation in grading countless AP exams over the past decade.