Grassland Researchers
Theo Witsell, M.S., Co-Founder and Chief Conservation Officer
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Theo Witsell is co-founder and Chief Conservation Officer for the Southeastern Grasslands Institute (SGI), where he oversees science and conservation programs. Prior to his role at SGI, he worked for more than 25 years for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC), the agency that houses that state’s Natural Heritage Program and System of Natural Areas. He had several roles in his time there, serving as a land manager before becoming the agency's botanist, ecologist, and Chief of Research before leaving for SGI in early 2024. He has also worked as a consultant for a wide variety of federal and state conservation agencies and NGOs across eastern North America. A botanist at heart, Theo was co-editor of the Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013), co-author of Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Arkansas (2021), and recently completed a book about his field work following the route of naturalist Thomas Nuttall’s 1819-1820 trip through what is now Arkansas and Oklahoma. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 scientific papers and book chapters and is a regional reviewer for the Flora of North America Project.
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Click here
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Allison Wilson, Biologist
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Allison serves as SGI’s Biologist for the Little Rock, AR Grasslandia Team. She grew up in Mobile, AL and received her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of South Alabama in 2019. She is currently finishing her Masters degree from the University of Southern Mississippi where her thesis project is conducting a floristic inventory of Lamar County, Mississippi. Her love for grasslands and native plants was sparked after observing the diversity that longleaf pine savannas have to offer along the Gulf Coast.
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Jared Gorrell M.S., Biologist
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Jared is a Biologist at SGI. He grew up in the former prairies of central Illinois, became enthralled by grasslands in the remnant sand prairies of the Illinois River Valley, and decided to become a botanist as a result. In 2019 Jared completed his undergraduate degree in botany at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2019 and he is currently working to finish his Master’s degree in Biology under Dr. Estes at Austin Peay State University. In addition to plants, Jared loves looking for birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects and spends most of his free time tracking down species new to him. He recently observed his 100,000th observation on iNaturalist where he goes by the handle of “wildlander.”
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Chuck Hunter, M.S., Senior Advisory Ecologist
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Chuck Hunter serves as the Senior Advisory Ecologist for the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, focusing on Conservation Planning and Strategic Conservation Design, while emphasizing Implementation of priority conservation actions for the fauna and flora dependent upon Southeastern Grasslands through diverse private and public Partnerships. He grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, where he learned about nature and enjoyed the outdoors from an early age. He received a B.S. in Zoology (and a minor in Botany) from Northern Arizona University in 1980 and M.S. in Ecology from Arizona State University in 1988. During the intervening years, Chuck worked on a number of wildlife inventory and conservation projects along southwestern river systems. During 1988, Chuck joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Phoenix, Arizona, and in 1989 joined the Service’s Southeast Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia. Chuck's duties in Atlanta have included (in various positions) conservation of endangered and threatened, at-risk, and other species of conservation concern throughout the Southeast Region. Specifically, with respect to migratory bird management, he has been instrumental in developing and implementing conservation planning efforts for landbirds, shorebirds, and waterbirds. Since September 2003 until he retired on May 31, 2025, Chuck specifically served as the Chief, Division of Strategic Resource Management, National Wildlife Refuge System in the Southeast Region.
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Click here to view Chuck’s CV.
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Dakota Parish, Grassland Monitoring Technician
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Dakota is a Grassland Monitoring Technician out of our Clarksville office. Growing up in Magee, Mississippi within the understudied Southern Hilly Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion, he developed a passion for the natural world at a young age and began documenting species on his family’s property through iNaturalist. This interest led him to pursue a degree in Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture at Mississippi State University, where he recently graduated. During his undergraduate research, he conducted a floristic survey on a property in central Mississippi and documented more than 500 species of vascular plants across 120 families. Through his research and future work, he hopes to promote awareness and conservation of understudied ecosystems and species throughout the Southeastern United States.
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Virginia Betbeze, Grassland Monitoring Technician
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Virginia is a Grassland Monitoring Technician for SGI. In Mobile, Alabama, she grew up with a passion for animals and nature, which lead her to obtain her degree in Wildlife Ecology and Management from Auburn University. Seasonal positions have taken her across the country, but she's excited to be back in the southeast because the humidity suits her. Though her background is in wildlife research, restoring native habitat has long been of great interest to her.
Chip Morgan, GIS Analyst
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Chip started as a volunteer leading the Witness Trees Project, which mapped the locations of over 21,000 trees from historical survey records dating from the 1780s - 1810s in central Tennessee. That only whet Chip’s appetite for mapping, and now he works with the team on numerous mapping related projects including using the advanced Ecozone methodology developed by noted mapping veteran Steve Simon.
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Email: chip.morgan@segrasslands.org
Gabrielle Patterson, Ed.D., Historian
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Gabrielle serves as the SGI historian, specializing in environmental, natural, and Indigenous history. Her research focuses on the historical distribution of grasslands in the Southeastern United States, exploring how landscapes and environmental conditions influence human activities. Her work integrates primary and secondary sources to document the historical grassland ecosystems in SGI’s focal region, thereby advancing SGI’s mission to Save the Forgotten Grasslands of the Southeast.
Gabrielle’s Work:
Historical Research
Compiling Historical Maps
GIS Mapping
Archival research
Conferences
Gabrielle earned a Master of Arts in history with a concentration in Native American history, as well as a Master of Education in Community College Leadership. She also completed her Doctor of Education in Adult and Lifelong Learning, with a specialization in Adult Education Leadership, at the University of Arkansas.
In her personal time, Gabrielle enjoys golfing, hiking, hunting, traveling, and spending quality time with her two dogs, Sir Jasper and Lady Jewel.Education:
B.A. in History, Louisiana State University-Shreveport
M.A. in History: Native American history and Early American History, University of Nebraska-Kearney
M.Ed. in Community College Leadership, University of Arkansas
Ed.D. in Adult & Lifelong Learning: Adult Education Leadership, University of Arkansas
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