Lizzie '14

Urban Forestry Project Manager, Davey Resource Group

I worked as a research assistant in Scott Wissinger’s lab, which meant trekking out to Bousson to collect salamanders from pit traps to weigh, measure, and sex them, and then return them. My sophomore year the weather cycled wildly! One day we were in waders in 36 degree sleet walking into vernal pools, and two weeks later it was 75 degrees and humid. Always a mad dash to get the sallies back to the lab on ice on a heavy migration day. The coursework I took at Allegheny prepared me well, because I got to take a wide range of classes, from more specific topics like Coastal Ecology to broader scientific exploration and decision making.

I do my work with the goal that urban growth doesn’t have to compromise urban ecology. My career path is at the intersection of quality scientific data management, policy, and politics. As an urban forester, I am a subject matter expert on the biological processes of trees and a greater system network of how trees and humans interact in city environments. I have helped cities write management plans, craft legislation, draft treatment plans for at-risk trees, and teach students how trees protect their drinking water. Every day is different and mostly exciting and I get to spend a lot of time outside.