Nita’s love for desert ecosystems started in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where she spent her childhood and adolescence. After a short stint in the temperate forests of Austria and New Hampshire (St. Anselm College) she returned to the desert (University of Nevada Las Vegas) where she received a B.S. in Biological Sciences, M.A.S. in Ecology and Statistics, and a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. Following her undergraduate studies, Nita joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to support the Alaskan Oil Spill Bioremediation Project, and the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) Surface Waters, Arid Lands and Forest Health Monitoring projects, starting as an intern then continuing as a contractor before accepting a term position as a Scientist. In 1995 she joined the EPA as a permanent federal employee when she joined the EPA/NPS Sierra Contaminant Study (SCS) as a Research Scientist. The SCS study explored the presence of pesticides in high-elevation lakes in Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks and their impact on endangered frogs. Later she accepted the lead on the Southwest Ecosystem Services Project, working with several federal, state, and tribal agencies. It was during her time at the EPA she pursued her graduate degrees. First she conducted research on the ecology of shoreline riparia at Lake Mohave, a lower Colorado River impoundment located in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area for her Master’s thesis. Later she investigated the impacts of an invasive ornamental shrub, Buddleja davidii, butterfly bush, on plant succession on New Zealand floodplains to earn her Ph.D. Nita also enjoys teaching and mentoring undergraduates and graduate students at UNLV.

During her free time, Nita likes to cook, read, ski, and explore natural and urban landscapes in the desert and around the world with her children (Carey, Jessecca, Jeremiah and Adam), son-in-law (Jonathan) and grandchildren (Jacob and Jared).

Jean Pan received a B.A. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. She then received a M.S. in Biology at New Mexico State University, where she studied factors affecting semi-desert grass populations in the Chihuahuan Desert. Her dissertation research at Indiana University incorporated field and molecular approaches to understand plant-fungal interactions. Jean’s research interests are in the areas of plant ecology, plant-fungal interactions, microbial ecology, and molecular ecology.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with her family and friends.

Ron is new to Federal Service. After a long career in private industry in the Pacific Northwest he recently signed on with the NPS and moved to Boulder City, NV. After high school Ron enlisted in the US Army and was stationed in Germany where he toured parts of Europe on his BSA motorcycle. Ron entered the wood products industry after military service and eventually was employed as a professional log scaler. During this time he earned a B.A. in Finance and later an M.B.A from the University of Oregon. He was employed as Controller of various manufacturing firms in Oregon including Safari Motor Coaches, Inc. Prior to joining the National Park Service Ron spent several years in retirement traveling throughout the West with his wife Dolly and last serving as camp host at Lucky Peak reservoir near Boise.

Ron enjoys motorcycling, fishing, camping and other outdoor activities. He also is an avid powerlifter and holds 3 Oregon State records.

Jenn received her Bachelors degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science and a Minor in Forest Science from The Pennsylvania State University in 1997.  A year working at the Cornell University Uihlein Sugar Maple Research Station in Lake Placid, NY followed, before returning to Penn State to complete a teaching certification in Agricultural and Environmental Science and a Masters of Science in Forest Science.  Her thesis research was titled “Effects of Rate and Timing of Glyphosate and Imazapyr Treatment on the Control of Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum).”  Since completing her Masters degree in 2002, Jenn has worked as a National Park Service Cooperator (NPSpecies Data Manager and Invasive Species Early Detection Coordinator) for the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network (ERMN) as well as part-time periods contributing NPSpecies data management skills and Invasive Species knowledge to the Mid-Atlantic (MIDN) and Northeast Temperate (NETN) Networks.  Most notably, she recently developed the Early Detection of Invasive Species Surveillance Monitoring and Rapid Response Protocol for 20 National parks in the Northeast Region.

In her free, Jenn enjoys spending time with her husband Matt and their pets, native plant gardening, botanizing, photography, traveling, music and arts and crafts.

Bob received his B.S. in Botany and Plant Pathology from Oregon State University in 1985 with a focus on terrestrial plant ecology.  He went on to graduate work at Northern Arizona University in Freshwater Limnology.  From 1989 till 1998 he was an Aquatic Taxonomist at Oregon State University with an emphasis on high mountain freshwater lake systems.  He worked with the Crater Lake National Park LTEM, as well as working on aquatic inventories for Olympic NP, North Cascades NP, Mount Rainier NP, Joshua Tree NP, and Isle Royal NP, along with other state and federal agencies.  As a result of his building various image databases and doing metadata for these projects, he was contracted to do data management for the newly formed Klamath Network.  He was hired as the permanent Data/GIS Manager for the Klamath Network with the NPS in 2003 and transferred to the Mojave Desert Network in late 2005. He obtain a graduate Certificate in Public Management from UNLV in 2010 in the Department of Public Administration.

In his spare time, Bob enjoys time with his spouse Vanessa, is a craftsman bowl turner, and works on his collection of Jazz and Blues music.

Jeanne is currently the Vegetation Mapping Coordinator for the Mojave Desert I&M Network.  Jeanne began working for the Mojave Network in October 2006 as a member of the data mining team duty stationed at Mojave National Preserve.  Prior to working for the network, Jeanne worked for the California Department of Fish and Game and the California Native Plant Society doing field data collection and photo-interpretation for vegetation mapping projects in various parts of California.  Jeanne also worked in the NPS Fire Effects Monitoring program where she was duty stationed at Golden Gate National Recreation Area and managed the fire effects programs for GGNRA and six other national parks in California and Nevada.

Jennifer received her B.A. in Integrative Biology from University of California, Berkeley and her MS in Biology from University of Alabama.  There, she studied the effects aquatic hyphomycetes on the growth and survivorship of immature midges.  Her professional career has included working for the Ocean Salmon Project (California Fish and Game), acting as a research assistant for riparian vegetation studies, and teaching many undergrads at Alabama, and, most recently, Texas State University.  Currently, she is a data miner for the Mojave Desert I&M Network at Parashant National Monument.

Dr. Abella’s research focus is applied ecology for supporting land management and conservation, in the areas of plant ecology, restoration ecology, fire ecology, and scientific literature synthesis. He regularly works directly with resource managers on projects, enabling mutually beneficial science-management partnerships and clear paths for scientific information transfer. Dr. Abella has published over 50 scientific papers and has nine years of applied research experience in the Southwest. His work is regularly sought by media outlets such as the Las Vegas Sun, and he is invited to 4-6 conferences annually as a featured speaker on topics such as ecological restoration, fire management, and exotic species in southwestern deserts. He teaches UNLV courses in restoration ecology, undergraduate and graduate research, ecology, and environmental science.

Chris is a NPS CESU cooperator with a broad interest in the ecology of freshwater systems.  His primary research interest is how the movement of organisms shapes populations and communities.  He holds a MS from the University of New Hampshire, where he used molecular techniques to infer migration rates of an important planktonic copepod (a.k.a. fish food) among east coast estuaries.  His PhD research at Cornell University demonstrated that movement of adult mayflies and the behavior of mayfly larvae (a.k.a. fish food) among beaver ponds with and without trout resulted in a source-sink population dynamics.  After a first post-doc in Atlanta Georgia, he moved to the University of Idaho for a post-doc analyzing a large radio-telemetry dataset on the movements of adult salmon and steelhead (a.k.a. fish) in the Columbia River basin.  He also studies the migration of introduced American shad in the Columbia River and works with the NPS Upper Columbia Basin Network I&M program as a CESU cooperator and teaches an occasion course.

He spends most of his spare time with his two sons, usually outside.

Geoff started with the NPS Mojave Desert I&M Network in Spring 2009. Before joining the network, he worked as a hydrogeologist in the environmental consulting industry, primarily on the characterization and remediation of contaminated aquifers. Geoff has a Ph.D. in Geosciences from Penn State University, an M.S. in Geophysics from Boise State University, and a B.Sc. in Geophysics from the University of British Columbia.

Geoff enjoys spending time with his family and hiking in the mountains around Las Vegas.

Janel is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In May 2012, she will graduate with a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Anthropology. Janel’s love of the desert stems from her life as a Las Vegas native. As a child, her family spent their free time camping, hiking, and taking road trips. She enjoys volunteering her time to clean-up and restoration efforts in and around the Valley desert, and also dedicates her time to planning and overseeing fundraising events for countless local charities in Southern Nevada.

Brian received a B.A. degree in Geography, along with a minor in Geology, at Humboldt State University. Before completing his degree at Humboldt, Brian lived most of his life in Boise, Idaho and spent the early half of his education at Boise State University. Early in his childhood, he grew up and went to school in South Korea for a number of years, where he was exposed to not only the city life but also the heavily forested and mountainous environment that the Korean peninsula had to offer. After graduating, Brian wanted to pursue a job with the federal government but knew his education wasn’t enough. Brian got involved with an organization called Student Conservation Association (SCA), in which he was able to accept an intern position with the Mojave Desert I&M Network. Brian is the Natural Resource GIS/Data Management Intern hoping to gain the experience needed to forward his career.

Brian enjoys hiking, exploring/traveling, and metal detecting in his free time.

Jonathan recently graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with a B.A. in Biology and made his way west to explore new opportunities in the biological sciences. Having been introduced to the National Park Service before as a coastal ecologist and hydrologist at Olympic National Park, he is taking his knowledge of aquatic ecosystems to the Mojave Desert Network. Jonathan fulfills the needs of the field office at Mojave I&M working throughout the Network on a host of monitoring efforts. Jonathan plans to continue his education as a graduate student this fall.

Jonathan enjoys hiking, kayaking, fishing, SCUBA diving, and a good book in his time away from work.

Mike came to the I&M Network in fall 2011 from California’s Bodie State Historic Park. Prior to joining the park family he worked in visitor services and communications in Washington, DC. While a junior at Atlanta’s Emory University, Mike commuted to school by way of a downed tree across a creek; he has never stopped exploring since. Mike graduated in 2008 with a history and political science major and concentrated on energy.

A Californian living in the east naturally develops a love of the road trip; and Mike has driven across the country 7 times, visited 49 states (Hawaii), and seen many of our National Parks and Historic Sites. When the sun is up, and he is not at work, he explores; when down - he reads.