Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage

In Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Photo taken by AB Morris during the 2022 Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage
  PILGRIMAGE
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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 25 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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Quinn Towery
Graduate Student and Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Graduate Assistant to Joey Shaw, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Quinn is a current graduate student in Dr. Shaw's lab field botany, conservation, and floristics. He received his undergraduate from the University of Kentucky, he's worked for the National Park Service as a Biological Science Technician, and the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves. When Quinn isn't busy at UTC, he can be found rock climbing.


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​Courtney Alley
Member at Large, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage
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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 Havran, PhD., Campbell University
​Member at Large, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage
​Chris is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Campbell University in  North Carolina. He has field experience with the plants of the southeastern US and Hawaii. He is the founder and curator of the Campbell University Herbarium. His current research interests involve southeastern floristics and phylogenetics and taxonomy of native Hawaiian plants.



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Matt Heard, PhD., Belmont University
​Member at Large, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage
Matt is currently the program coordinator for the Environmental Science department at Belmont University in Nashville, TN. At Belmont, he teaches Intro to Environmental Science and Principles of Biology II, among other courses. The research within Matt's lab revolves largely around pollution and other anthropogenic effects on the natural world. When Matt isn't at the university, he can be found hiking, running, gardening, and hanging out with his family.


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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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Zack Murrell, PhD., Appalachian State University
​Member at Large, Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage
Zack is a Professor of Biology at Appalachian State University. Zack's research focuses on species boundaries and systematics, floristics, and biodiversity informatics. He has also placed efforts into developing the SouthEast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC), an effort to digitize countless herbarium specimens.
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OUR PARTNERS

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OUR SPONSORS

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ANNUAL SPRING WILDFLOWER PILGRIMAGE

April 26 - 29, 2023 / GSMNP


  • Home
  • 2023 Pilgrimage
    • Event Pricing
    • Evening Speakers
    • Featured Artist Spotlight
    • Lodging
    • Interactive Maps
    • iNaturalist
    • Inclement Weather
    • Parking Passes at GSMNP
    • Code of Conduct
    • Terms and Conditions
  • SWFP Shop
  • Donate
  • Past Events
    • SWFP 2022 >
      • Artist of the Year
    • Evening Speakers
    • 2021 Virtual FWFP
  • Need Gear?
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Leadership
  • Contact Us