Leadership Team
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Joey Shaw, PhD.
Director of the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage UC Foundation Professor of Biology, Geology, Environmental Science University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Joey has been part of the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the GSMNP since 1998, joining the organizing committee in 2012, becoming Chair in 2015, and Director in 2017. He leads botanical events at the SWFP from ferns to trees and shrubs to wildflowers. At UTC, he teaches Plant Taxonomy, Plant Morphology, Field Botany, and Biogeography and he often has a lab group of 3-5 graduate students. He’s an editor and author of the Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee and currently working on the Second Edition. |
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Shannon Gordon
Meeting Planner, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and Association of Southeastern Biologists Shannon has been a part of Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the GSMNP since 2017. She has been involved with the meeting and events industry for over 30 years serving her clients and attendees across many organizations. It is her continued honor to support event logistics, leader, and attendee experiences for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage. |
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Kacey Russo
Graduate Student and Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Graduate Assistant to Joey Shaw, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Kacey is a current graduate student in Dr. Shaw's botany lab. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, and then began working in various roles for the National Park Service. Most recently she was a Biological Science Technician for Great Smoky Mountains National Park and primarily monitored forest vegetation, rare plants, and fire effects. |
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Courtney Alley
Member at Large, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Courtney has her Masters in Environmental Science from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and she was the first Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Graduate Assistant. For her graduate research she studied invasive plant species distribution in the state of Tennessee. Currently she is a GIS specialist for Hamilton County Geospatial Technology. |
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Chris Fleming
Member at Large, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Chris has been involved with the Wildflower Pilgrimage in the GSMNP for over 25 years. While obtaining his M.S. in Botany at the University of Tennessee, he quickly realized that his participation in this event was part of the curriculum. This event is something he looks forward to every year because not only is he serving as a natural history guide in a biodiverse and fascinating park, but he also has the opportunity to learn from the pilgrims. Chris is currently based out of Asheville, NC and serves as the Director of Project Management at the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, overseeing grassland restoration projects in 40 national parks. |
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Randy Small, PhD., University of Tennessee Knoxville
Member at Large, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Randy is the Director of Biology Teaching and Learning at UTK. His research focuses primarily on plant systematics and molecular evolution, specifically within the family Malvaceae. Randy teaches, among others, field botany, evolution, and organismal/ecological biology at UTK. |
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Stylianos Chatzimanolis, PhD.,
UC Foundation Professor University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Member at Large, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Stelios is a Professor of Entomology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His research focuses on rove beetle systematics and describing new species of insects. Additionally, he is interested in discovering how many (and what kind of) beetles call the Southeastern USA home. Stelios runs the UTC Insect Collection which is the first and only beetle collection in TN to be digitized. |
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Margaret Kovach, Ph.D., Colorado State University
UC Foundation Professor Emerita Peggy was a professor of Biology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga until her retirement in 2022. She has been active in the Institutional Biosafety committee and she has a keen interest in all things nature. |
OUR PARTNERS
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OUR friends
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