My life’s work has centered on achieving a healthier balance between human activities and habitat for the rest of the natural world. I approach my work with listening, collaboration, and writing skills grounded in curiosity and a passion for fostering social, cultural, and ecological resilience by conserving and restoring biodiversity.
I began my career as an ecologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, leading and coordinating with interdisciplinary teams to develop wetland, backwater, and riparian forest restoration plans and ensure compliance with environmental regulations for Native nations and government clients. The Corps gave me an award for high-quality client coordination and timely completion of environmental reports for a controversial project that required me to quickly learn about an area outside of my expertise, preventing predation of the threatened piping plover.
I then pursued a PhD at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study applied ecology at the intersection of social and ecological resilience and to continue a research collaboration with The Nature Conservancy on grassland restoration that began during my master’s degree.
After a postdoc with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where I studied pollinator diversity in oilseed crops, I became a program manager at the Tallgrass Prairie Center, serving county roadside vegetation managers who collectively restore and manage over 308,000 acres of vegetation.
Early in my position at the Center I collaborated with social scientists to design surveys of the key communities affected by my program to understand their perspectives about roadside vegetation management. These survey results, one-on-one conversations, and training in conservation communication and social marketing have helped me develop materials tailored for each of these audiences. The number of counties participating in the program increased 40 percent over six years.
Awards, Grants, and Professional Development
- Completed “Effective Coaching” path in Toastmasters International
- Distinguished Service award for service as Area 23 Director, Toastmasters International
- Received and managed 35 grants totaling $4.9 million for my work as a program manager at the Tallgrass Prairie Center
- Received and managed 11 grants and fellowships totaling $102,411 for my graduate and postdoctoral research
- Missouri River Recovery Program award, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, awarded for high-quality interagency coordination and timely completion of predation management plan
- Contributed two articles to a newspaper series on Platte River water issues; the series received the Nebraska Wildlife Federation’s Conservation award and the Renewable Natural Resources Foundation’s national Excellence in Journalism award
Professional Organizations
- Editorial Freelancers Association
- Indigenous Editors Association
- National Association of Science Writers
- Ecological Society of America
- Toastmasters International
Education
As a first-generation college student, I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and a master’s degree in Biology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a PhD in Natural Resource Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
For more details on my professional experience, visit my LinkedIn profile.
Outside of Work
When I’m not working, you can find me reading, cycling, walking my Schnauzer/terrier mix, figuring out how to fit more native plants in my yard, and learning the Cherokee language. I currently call Waterloo, Iowa home and have previously lived in Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
kristine@kristinenemec.com