The People behind this Website

This website was created by the University of California in cooperation with the County of Riverside.

Tom Scott is a member of The Advisory Committee for the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). Growing up in San Diego during a period of unprecedented suburban sprawl prompted him to work in the field of wildlife response to human activities. He received a B.S. in Zoology and M.S. in Ecology from San Diego State University and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of California, Berkeley. A University of California Cooperative Extension Specialist in Wildlife Conservation, Tom is also the Associate Director of the Center for Conservation Biology at UCR, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at UCR. Tom has been involved in conservation research and planning for over 14 years.

Pey-Yi Lee is a doctoral student in Biogeography at the University of California, Riverside. Pey-Yi received a B.S. and a M.S. in Biology from Tunghai University and a M.S. in Biology from the University of California, Riverside. He was formerly a Lecturer in physiology at Yu-Pei Medical Institute in Taiwan. Pey-Yi is an expert in spatial modeling using geographic information systems (GIS). He developed most of the GIS related portions of this website.

Nanette Pratini is a Staff Research Associate for Cooperative Extension/Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. She received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and a M.S. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis. She has over a decade of experience researching conservation issues in southern California. Nanette was the GIS Analyst for the U. S. Bureau of Land Management's Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert Plan and the Western Mojave Plan and currently supervises the updating of the MSHCP vegetation map. She was formerly the manager of the Biological Resources Information Unit at UCR.

Walter Wehjte is a doctoral candidate in Biogeography at the University of California, Riverside. Walter received a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Vermont and M.A. in Geography from UCLA. He was formerly a Research Associate at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology. Walter's dissertation research focuses on the dynamics of biological invasion, specifically the on-going expansion of the range of Great-tailed Grackles. Walter performs field surveys for the MSHCP and is a co-author of a paper on restoration prepared for the MSHCP. He recently received a $1000 grant from the Frank M. Chapman Fund of the American Museum of Natural History.

Andrew E. G. Jonas is a Reader in Geography in the School of Geography, University of Hull, United Kingdom and was formerly an Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. He received his B.A. from Durham University, U.K. and his M.A and Ph.D. in Geography from The Ohio State University. A leading scholar in urban growth theory, Andy has been studying regional conservation in southern California for over ten years and collaborates closely with the Scott Lab. He is the author or co-author of a number of books, journal articles and presentations on the MSHCP and related issues.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

Emil Gasparian is currently the webmaster for our website. He is majoring in Computer Information Systems.  He continues where Anthony left off with his excellent skills in web development and programming. Visit his personal site at www.cs.ucr.edu/~egasparian

Michael Aspell is the current office manager at the lab. He is in his fourth year, majoring in Environmental Sciences with emphasis in Toxicology. Aside from working in the lab, he also puts in hours at the Bureau of Land Management located in Moreno Valley where he assists with various GIS related mapping projects.

Our Distinguished Alumni- Gone but Never Forgotten

Jim Sullivan was our project manager from June 1998 until January 2001 while a doctoral student in Geography at the University of California, Riverside. He received a B.A. in Geography from UCLA and Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of California, Irvine. Jim is a recipient of the University of California's highest student award, the Chancellor's Distinguished Fellowship and has also received scholarship awards from the American Planning Association and the California Geographical Society. Jim is the author or co-author of a number of journal articles and presentations on the MSHCP and related issues. He is now the Director of Environmental Resources for the Coachella Valley Association of Governments.

Anthony Cocciolo graduated with a degree in Computer Science in 2002. Anthony's ample skills in web design are showcased in this website. As our resident programmer, Anthony primarily worked on the development and maintenance of this website and the lab's computer network.

Katja Krivoruchko was with us from 1999 to 2002. She graduated with a degree in Environmental Sciences and is working for local consulting firm. A citizen of Belarus, Katja is a second-generation user of GIS, who began using Arc/Info in 9th Grade. She was the valedictorian of her high school and received an Associate of Science degree from Crafton Hills College summa cum laude (4.0 G.P.A.). Her paper, "Focal Taxa and the Selection of Multiple Species Reserves" won first prize in the undergraduate paper competition at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers in September 2000. She was the recipient of the Gary Wanczuk Memorial Scholarship in 2002.

Ben Pitterle graduated in 2001 with a major in Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. He is an experienced GIS technician and is primarily working on updating the coastal sage scrub and riparian areas of the MSHCP vegetation map. He is currently in graduate school at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management.

Jessica Castaneda-Ramirez was our former office manager and graduated in 2002 with a degree in Political Science. She has primarily worked on the literature database, and she was the recipient of the 2002 Gary Wanczuk Memorial Scholarship.

Jennifer Mermilliod worked with us from June 1998 until January 2000 and was formerly our Office Manager. She received a B.A. in history summa cum laude in June 2000. Jennifer has been awarded the prestigious Dean's Fellowship for her graduate studies in the Program in Historic Resources Management at UCR and plans to pursue a career in historical preservation locally. She was recently awarded membership in the Golden Key National Honor Society and received the Cornerstone Award for her senior thesis, which will be published in the Cornerstone journal. Jennifer was married in April 2000 and is expecting a child in mid-2002.

Sara Gerster worked with us from April 1998 until August 1999. She collected many of our species location records, spending endless hours slaving over a hot EIR in local government offices. In recognition of her work on the MSHCP and excellent academic record, she was awarded a scholarship from the Inland Empire Section of the American Planning Association. Sara recently recieved a Masters of City and Regional Planning Program at the California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. She is currently working as a Planner for the city of Fresno, her home town.

Daniel S. Cooper was a graduate student at UCR from September 1997 until December 1999. Dan has a B.S. in Biology from Harvard and a M.A. in Biogeography from UCR. He is now a biologist with the National Audubon Society in Los Angeles. A tireless birder impervious to extreme heat, Dan performed biological surveys throughout western Riverside County for the MSHCP and assisted with creating and editing the database of species records. He also acted as a liaison between the consulting community and UCR, organizing meetings with local natural history experts and tracking down recent and historical observations.

Katie Chiang was an intern with us in 1998 while in her senior year at Pomona College. She wrote her senior thesis on the policy lessons of the Stephen's Kangaroo Rat Habitat Conservation Plan. After being awarded a B.A. in Biology-Public Analysis, Katie was an intern with the Land Trust Alliance. She is now the Government Relations Coordinator for the Defenders of Wildlife in Washington DC.

Jeannie Kim graduated from UCR in June of 2001 with a major in History and a minor in Environmental Sciences. Jeannie plans to join the Peace Corps and is currently brushing up on her medical skills as an EMT in Los Angeles. She was our former Office Manager who always took care of the critical details, large and small.

James Chuang graduated from UCR in 2001 with a degree in Environmental Science. He primarily worked on our literature database and our species point database. He participated in the UC/DC Program in Washington DC in 2000 and is currently attending paralegal school at UCLA and working as an intern at one LA Regional Quality Control Board.