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2023 Meeting Plenary Speakers

Greetings from the MA-ESA Chair

Vince D’Amico is an Urban Ecologist with the Northern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service. He is the Team Leader of the Philadelphia Field Station and the co-founder of the FoRests Among Managed Ecosystems (FRAME) Program. Vince is also Affiliated Faculty in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Delaware.

Welcome from the Chair of Entomology & Wildlife

Ornithologist Greg Shriver is a Professor and Assistant Chair in the Department of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware. He is a co-founder of the FRAME and of the Saltmarsh Habitat & Avian Research Program (SHARP).

Welcome from the Chair of the Department of Plant & Soil Sciences

Erik Ervin is Professor and Chair at the Department of Plant & Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware. He is a recipient of the R.D. Cake Memorial Award for Career Achievement in turfgrass research.

The Nature of Oaks

Doug Tallamy is the T.A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 111 research publications and has taught insect-related courses for 41 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His books include “Bringing Nature Home,” “The Living Landscape” (co-authored with Rick Darke), “Nature’s Best Hope,” a New York Times Best Seller, and “The Nature of Oaks,” winner of the American Horticultural Society’s 2022 book award. In 2021, he co-founded Homegrown National Park with Michelle Alfandari. His awards include recognition from The Garden Writer’s Association, Audubon, The National Wildlife Federation, Allegheny College, Ecoforesters, The Garden Club of America and The American Horticultural Association.

Soil Biodiversity on the Urban Landscape

Katalin Szlavecz is a Research Professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. Her research includes study of the diversity and ecology of soil invertebrates, soil biogeochemical cycling, urban ecosystems, and invasive species. She is a CoPI of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study LTER, a research associate at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and a collaborator at the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Farming Systems Project.