Researchers
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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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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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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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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