Our Staff
Andi Thode
SWFSC Principal Investigator
Professor of Fire Ecology and Management, School of Forestry
Northern Arizona University
Andi Thode grew up in northern New Mexico. She completed her B.S. (1996) and later her Ph.D. (2005) in fire ecology through the Ecology Graduate Group at the University of California, Davis. She has been heavily involved in the Association for Fire Ecology (AFE) since its’ inception. In 2001 Andi started working as a fire ecologist for the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Forest. In 2005 she left the U.S Forest Service to work at Northern Arizona University (NAU). She is currently a professor of fire ecology and fire science in the School of Forestry at NAU. Her research focuses on fire effects, fire monitoring and landscape level fire severity effects. Andi is the PI for the Southwest Fire Science Consortium. Andi received her B.S. in Environmental Biology and Management from UC Davis in 1996. She received her PhD in Ecology from UC Davis in 2005.
Molly McCormick
Program Manager
Southwest Fire Science Consortium
Northern Arizona University
Molly is an ecologist and botanist who has worked in conservation and ecosystem restoration across the Southwest for 20 years. She most recently served as the coordinator of the US Geological Survey (USGS) Southwest Biological Science Center's Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest, where she helped build a program that connects cutting edge science with today's pressing land management issues. At USGS, she spent a summer detailing as the Congressional Liaison for the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area. She has worked across the Southwest, as a restoration practitioner with Borderlands Restoration and biologist at Grand Canyon National Park. She received her bachelor degree in Southwest Studies from Colorado College and a M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy at Northern Arizona University. She is also a permaculture designer, herbalist, and has a hobby native plant nursery.
Annie Mataj Elko
Communications Coordinator
Southwest Fire Science Consortium
Northern Arizona University
Cole Brant
Fire Ecology Learning Lab (FELL) Educator
Southwest Fire Science Consortium
Cole is a recent graduate from Northern Arizona University with a degree in Forestry and a certificate in Fire Ecology. While an undergraduate, Cole worked with the Southwest Fire Science Consortium as a member of the Student Association for Fire Ecology. After graduating, he spent one season on a Type 1 handcrew in Northern California before returning to Flagstaff. Cole looks forward to working in fire ecology outreach and education with the Consortium and helping to bridge the gap between scientists and managers. In his free time, you can catch him snowboarding, mountain biking, or hiking with his dog.
Co-Principal Investigators
Amy Waltz
Director of Science Delivery, Interim Director of Operations
Ecological Restoration Institute
Northern Arizona University
As the Director of Science Delivery with the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University, Dr. Amy Waltz works closely with federal and state land managers and their diverse stakeholders to translate and deliver peer-reviewed science relevant to landscape-scale ecological restoration. Amy is a research ecologist with a background in forest restoration, fire history, and insect communities. She has a Ph.D. from Northern Arizona University with Dr. Wally Covington, and enjoyed 10 years in Oregon, working most of that with The Nature Conservancy and the Deschutes National Forest on collaborative forest restoration issues. Maintaining these past professional networks and developing new networks allows Amy to participate and facilitate landscape projects for the forest service at Forest, Regional and National scales.
Blanca Cespedes-Gonzalez
Associate Professor of Forestry
New Mexico Highlands University
Ph.D., M. Sc. University of Castilla La Mancha, Toledo, Spain; M. Sc. University Complutense of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. Associate Professor of Forestry.
Doug Cram
Associate Professor & Extension Fire Specialist
New Mexico State University
Doug Cram is an Assistant Professor and Extension Fire Specialist at New Mexico State University. His research and Extension efforts focus on management of forests, rangelands, and riparian areas with a particular concentration on the interaction of fire within these systems. He received a BS in Wildlife Science (New Mexico State University), a MS in Forest Science (Oklahoma State University) and a PhD in Range Science (New Mexico State University).
Catrin Edgeley
Assistant Professor
Northern Arizona University
Cat Edgeley is a wildfire social scientist whose research explores how human communities adapt before, during, and after wildfires. The SWFSC has helped her connect with managers and scientists across the Southwest to identify research directions and tailor studies to align with regional and local needs. In her spare time, Cat is usually outside hiking or snowshoeing on the Coconino National Forest with her dog Monty.
Ellis Margolis
Research Ecologist
Fort Collins Science Center; U.S. Geological Survey
llis Margolis is a research ecologist at the USGS New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, based in Santa Fe, NM. Ellis received a Ph.D. in Watershed Management from the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona in Tucson. His research focuses on the interactions between fire, forests, human land use, and climate in the southwestern U.S., which informs management of forested watersheds and fire. His experience with prescribed fire while working for The Nature Conservancy in the Pine Barrens of New York and the longleaf pine forests of Florida inspired his research in fire ecology.
Alexander (Zander) Evans
Executive Director
Forest Steward's Guild
Dr. Zander Evans is the Executive Director at the Forest Stewards Guild. The Guild is a national non-profit focused on practicing and promoting stewardship to sustain the integrity of forests and the people who depend on them. Zander focuses on building partnerships, promoting good forest policy, and supporting staff and members in their on-the-ground efforts implementation of ecological forestry. His research has focused on managed wildfire, forest biomass utilization, and invasive insects. Living in Santa Fe, New Mexico keeps fire ecology on his mind when hiking or fishing in the mountains.
Pete Fulé
Professor
Ecological restoration, Cordilleran forests (southwestern US and northern Mexico), fire ecology.
Pete's research interests include Measuring the extent and characteristics of ecological degradation, including changes in forest structure, plant communities, fire behavior, and habitat components. Studying relict sites where recent anthropogenic degradation is minimal, such as remote plateaus in Grand Canyon National Park and isolated sites in northern Mexico.
Experimentation in alternative methods of restoring natural structure, function, and process to western long-needled pine forests. Modeling of vegetation change and fire behavior and effects across stands and landscapes. He received his B.A. from Vassar college, and both M.S. and Ph.D. from Northern Arizona University's School of Forestry.
Jose Iniguez
Landscape Ecologist, Fiscal Cooperator
Rocky Mountain Research Station – Flagstaff
Pepe's research interests are in understanding how fire impacts forested ecosystems across temporal and spatial scales. Working at large spatial scales is facilitated by also expanding the temporal scale. He uses dendrochronological techniques to re-construct fire history and age structure patterns both in stands and across landscapes. The information gleamed from historical data is then applied to contemporary landscapes to restore both forest structure and natural fires. Pepe received a B.S. and M.S. in Forestry from Northern Arizona University and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from University of Arizona.
Rachel Loehman
Research Landscape Ecologist
US Geological Survey
Dr. Rachel Loehman's research focuses on understanding complex, multi-scale dynamics of natural and coupled human-natural systems, particularly focused on impacts of disturbance (climate changes, wildfires, insect outbreaks, erosion and sedimentation, invasive species) on landscapes, ecological communities, and natural and cultural resources.
Rachel Mitchell
Assistant Professor, Arid-Land Ecosystems
University of Arizona
Rachel’s research interests include fire impacts on arid and semi-arid plant communities, quantifying how plant functional traits contribute to flammability of living and dead plants, and integrated control of fire promoting invasive species. Recently, she has begun focusing on understanding fuel loading and fire risk in urban and ex-urban areas. She has studied the impacts of fire in long-leaf pine forest understories, the understories of ponderosa pine forests in Northern Arizona, and the semi-arid grasslands of northern and southern Arizona. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening with native and climate resilient species, collecting orchids, and spending time with her human and canine family.
Student Advisors
Paul Oltrogge
Wildland Fire Battalion Chief
City of Flagstaff
In addition to his day job as a Wildland Fire Battalion Chief for Flagstaff, Paul is pursing a degree in Masters of Applied Leadership and Management at the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Ethan Taber
PhD Student
University of Arizona
Ethan is a plant ecologist and PhD student in Natural Resources at the University of Arizona. His research focuses on how plant communities recover from historically atypical fires under current and projected climate change conditions, in hopes of supporting resilient land management. Outside of his research, Ethan is passionate about teaching the next generation of natural resource professionals and is the instructor of record for the University of Arizona’s Introduction to Wildland Fire course. He holds a B.A. in Environment and Sustainability from Western Colorado University, and an M.S. in Environmental Science and Policy from Northern Arizona University.
Anna Vaughn
PhD Student
Northern Arizona University
Anna Vaughn is a Ph.D student and research assistant for the Earth Science & Environmental Sustainability department at Northern Arizona University after receiving her Master’s in Geography. Her research interests include climate change, fire adaptation, natural resource management, and environmental policy. Her current work focuses on building cultural and ecological resilience in Emory oak ecosystems of Arizona, with an emphasis on tribal collaboration and co-production of knowledge. In her free time, she enjoys hiking in our public lands, reading, and photography.
Executive Board
Shaula Hedwall
Senior/Supervisory Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Arizona Ecological Services Field Office, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Matt Paciorek
District Ranger - Tonto, Payson
Tonto National Forest
Chris Tafoya
Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) Coordinator
Pueblo of Tesuque
Coming from Santa Clara Pueblo, Chris is currently employed by the Pueblo of Tesuque Department of Environment and Natural Resources as the Reserved Treaty Rights Lands (RTRL) Coordinator. Chris has over 15 years of experience working in Wildland Fire and Forestry on tribal lands. He began his career in Wildland Firefighting with the BIA Black Mesa Southwest Forest Firefighters Crew before moving to the restorative efforts in Santa Clara Pueblo after the Cerro Grande and Los Concha’s fires. He currently manages thinning projects and prescribed burns for Tesuque Pueblo. Chris has come a long way in wildland fire and forestry work, gaining knowledge of forest restoration and wildland fire preventative measures along the way.
Alex Spannuth
Regional Fire Ecologist
US Forest Service, Region 3
After undergraduate education in NAU Forestry (2010) Alex started a career in Fire Ecology with the National Park Service; working in Grand Canyon, Saguaro, and Grand Teton National Parks. In 2018 Alex moved to the Kaibab National Forest as the first titled Fire Ecologist developing new fire effects monitoring and analysis techniques that cover spatial and temporal scales required to make informed land management decisions. During that time Alex was also fortunate to receive graduate level education with NAU Forestry, Mathematics, and Informatics focusing on ecology, statistics, and remote sensing. In 2023 Alex accepted a job as the Regional Fire Ecologist for USFS R3, with the primary goals of landscape scale fire effects analysis and supporting interorganizational fire ecology research efforts. The greater wildland fire community has treated Alex very well over his short career and he looks forward to contributing and giving back to this amazing community!
Dominic Bell
Fire Management Specialist
Bureau of Land Management - Pecos District, Roswell Field Office
A native to the Southwest, Bell grew up in Roswell, NM and attended college at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM and majored in Wildlife Science. He never pursued a career as a wildlife biologist and instead found a passion for fire fighting. He has been able to tie the two disciplines of wildlife and wildfire together as he does his best to tailor the design of fuels projects toward improving habitat, always thinking of what is best for both the wildlife and the landscape. Bell has spent most of his career working for the BLM and is currently the Fire Management Specialist for the Pecos District in southeast New Mexico at the Roswell Field Office. He also has a background in fire operations and serves on a couple of incident management teams in the Southwest as an alternate in the role of Division/Group Supervisor. In his off time Bell likes to explore the mountain and desert communities of New Mexico with his five year old daughter.
Porfirio Chavarria
GIS Coordinator
Wildland-Urban Interface Specialist
City of Santa Fe Fire Department
Lindsey Quam
Deputy Director of Forests and Tribal Liaison
New Mexico Forestry Division
Lindsey Quam is a native New Mexican and of the Zuni Pueblo. He currently resides on Santa Clara Pueblo where he is married to an exceptional woman, Mauricia. He holds a BS in Forestry from Northern Arizona University and a Masters from NM Highlands University. Quam has occupied numerous positions throughout his 22-year career. He first worked as a Project Manager at Los Alamos National Laboratory before moving to the NM Forestry Division where he worked as a forester and moved on to become the Assistant State Fire Management Officer. He established and managed the veteran oriented Returning Heroes Program where he helped train veterans to be wildland fire fighters. Quam then shifted to work with Tribal governments and became the Santa Clara Pueblo Forestry Director. Recently, he is back with the NM state government as the Deputy State Forester and Tribal Liaison. Quam’s career goals are to integrate Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge, practical ecosystem restoration knowledge and western science to influence future forest resilience and ecosystem services through a changing climate.
Trevor Seck
Arizona Program Forestry Supervisor
National Forest Foundation
Trevor Seck joined the National Forest Foundation in 2020 and, in his current role, manages NFF’s forestry program of work across the state of Arizona. Prior to joining the NFF, he worked for the US Forest Service and other state land management agencies across the Western United States. With over a decade of experience working in the field, Trevor is excited to continue pushing the pace and scale of forest restoration and collaborative efforts in the state of AZ.
LIST OF PREVIOUS BOARD MEMBERS
Brent Woffinden: National Park Service, Intermountain Region (2012-2016)
Byron Kimball: Arizona State Forestry (2012-2016)
Carrie Dennet: Bureau of Land Management, Arizona (2016-2018)
Chris Marks: National Park Service, Grand Canyon (2016-2018)
Craig Wilcox: United States Forest Service, Lincoln National Forest (2015-2018)
Dave Mertz: (X-2015)
Doug Ruppel: United States Forest Service, District Ranger (2018-2020)
Jack Triepke: United States Forest Service, Region 3 (2015-2017)
Jacob Davidson: (2018-2020)
Jim Youtz: United States Forest Service (2011-2015)
John Windes: AGF, Arizona (2017-2019)
Keith Burnette: Bureau of Indian Affairs Western Region (2017-2019)
Kyle Sahd: Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico (2015-2019)
Lahn Moore: Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico (x-2015)
Mark Meyers: New Mexico State Land Office (2014-2018)
Mary Rasmussen: United States Forest Service, Prescott
Megan Poling: Student Advisor, Northern Arizona University (2017-2019)
Nathan Curnutt: Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico (2021-2022)
Rich Naden: (2018-2020)
Richard Johnson: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western Region (2012-2016)
Robert Bolin: National Weather Service (x-2015)
Ronald Lodgepole: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Western Region (2019-2021)
Shaula Hedwall: Fish and Wildlife Service (2013-2017)
Susan Rich: (2011-2015)
Tessa Nicolet: United States Forest Service, Region 3 (2017-2019)
Noah Haarmann: Student Advisor – Northern Arizona University (2021-2023)
Sharon Lashway: Game and Fish, Arizona (2021-2023)
Rebecca Davidson: National Forest Foundation (2021- 2023)
Mary Stuever: State District Forester, New Mexico (2019-2023)
Will Cannon: Student Advisor, Northern Arizona University (2023-2024)
Jason Thivener: Fire Management Officer, Bandelier National Monument (2020-2024)
Micah Grondin: District Ranger, Tonto National Forest (2020-2024)
Ryan Swazo-Hinds: Environmental Biologist, Pueblo of Tesuque (2022-2024)