Researchers
Theo Witsell, MS, 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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Gabby Le Fevre, M.S., Ecologist
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Gabby received her MS in Biology from Austin Peay State University in 2023. While at APSU, she investigated the effects of climate change and invasive species on tall-grass prairies using a novel open-top chamber design. Prior to her graduate research, she worked with Midwestern birds, West African mammals, and sea turtles. She enjoys field work and has a passion for research-driven grassland conservation. She is excited to join the Grasslandia team to further explore the Southeast's diverse flora and fauna.
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Vero Tessier, Ecologist
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Vero is an ecologist at SGI. She grew up in the Blackland Prairie region of North Texas and gained a passion for grasslands while doing prairie restoration work during her undergraduate years at Austin College. She has since done vegetation monitoring in longleaf pine and tallgrass prairie ecosystems, as well as in the grasslands of the South Texas Sandsheet. She plans to eventually return to school to study plant ecology.
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Seasonal researchers
Eve Bohnett, Research Associate
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, 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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