March is Women’s History Month. With the many strides women have made, we chatted with a few of our women in science at the Garden about their careers, inspirations, and advice.
Get to know the women of the Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development (CCSD) department!
The Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development (CCSD) explores and implements new, science-based approaches to the conservation and sustainable use of plant diversity. CCSD’s strategies for conservation are based on a sound, scientific understanding of the occurrence, distribution, and ecology of plants.
What do you do at the Garden?
I support an Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) funded project related to the conservation and pollination ecology of a federally threatened species of milkweed, Asclepias meadii. I get to work out in the field, in the conservation genetics lab, and in the greenhouses for propagation.
What’s been a highlight of your career?
During undergrad, when I was just getting started in my ecology journey, I found an extremely rare species of native bee at a local urban farm in St. Louis, which inspired a growing love and excitement for conservation of native plants and pollinators.
Who’s been an inspiration to you?
Picking just one is HARD, but Lilly Anderson-Messec comes to mind strongly. She’s an extremely talented botanist, photographer, and writer, and I’m always blown away by the photos and tidbits of knowledge and wisdom that she shares.
Parting message to girls and women?
I would like to express gratitude for all the women that came before me, for those that taught and nurtured me, and for those more experienced women scientists here at the Garden who work towards creating a more equitable and welcoming environment for younger women in this field. I wouldn’t be here without you and your accomplishments!
What do you do at the Garden?
In my role at the garden, I study plant organism interactions, particularly looking at soil microbial communities by assessing DNA in soils. I also work to understand the pollination biology of rare plants, and the role bee pollinators play in plant population persistence.
What’s been a highlight of your career?
The highlight of my career thus far has been discovering a new behavior never seen in Halictus sweat bees. By assessing their behavior during pollination, I was able to determine that this particular bee does something other sweat bees don’t do in order to extract more pollen from plants!
Who’s been an inspiration to you?
Rachel Carson is my absolute favorite female inspiration. She not only went against the social constructs of her time to be a woman conservationist and ecologist, she was one of the first people to describe the detrimental affects of the overuse of pesticide and herbicides, something we still are dealing with today.
Parting message to girls and women?
To any girls or women interested in science, dive head first, all in! There are so many facets of our world that are unexplored, and who better to do it than you!
What do you do at the Garden?
I work as the Lab Manager and also conduct research at the Plant Genetics Conservation lab. Also I take care of GIS (Geographic Information System) requests for the Science and Conservation Division, preparing maps and doing IUCN assessments for publications.
What’s been a highlight of your career?
It is rewarding to contribute with my work to conserve rare and endangered plants. It was very exciting to help to rediscover and analyze the assumed to be extinct Dracaena umbraculifera from Madagascar.
Who’s been an inspiration to you?
Jane Goodall, the world’s first chimpanzee expert. She did tremendous environmental and conservation work!
Parting message to girls and women?
Working in science is wonderful because you never stop learning new things!
What do you do at the Garden?
I study how we can cost-effectively restore tropical ecosystems.
What’s been a highlight of your career?
Being able to work and design restoration projects with local communities in multiple countries!
Who’s been an inspiration to you?
My PhD advisor, Dr. Jennifer Powers. Besides being a wonderful scientists and mentor, Jennifer has advocated for the inclusion of underrepresented groups in academia through her career.
Parting message to girls and women?
Don’t be afraid of dreaming big! You can all accomplish all those little and big dreams.
What do you do at the Garden?
I lead the conservation genetics program in the Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development.
What’s been a highlight of your career?
Building a lab and getting the opportunity to work with and mentor a lot of great staff, students and postdocs has definitely been the highlight! I am continually amazed by the great things that they discover and accomplish.
Who’s been an inspiration to you?
My PhD advisor, Pam Soltis. She’s an academic powerhouse and a great mentor and role model!
Parting message to girls and women?
As a woman, building a career in the sciences is still challenging, but definitely possible. The keys to success are finding good mentors that can help you navigate the ups and downs that occur in the world of science and a lot of persistence, hard work and determination.
Thanks, ladies! Stay tuned throughout the rest of Women’s History Month for more highlights from our women in science.
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Thanks to contributing experts.
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