Jess is a PhD Candidate in the Silviculture and Applied Forest Ecology Lab in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. Her research interests are adaptive silviculture, applied forest management, and climate change impacts on forests. Her dissertation focuses on understanding and quantifying forest structure, composition, and function, and how these play into climate adaptation and resilience in forests. More specifically, she is examining outcomes of a large-scale co-produced experiment testing out adaptive silviculture for climate change strategies.

Prior to attending UVM Jess was a forest management fellow at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, instructor in forest management, and manager for Yale’s Quiet Corner Initiative, after earning her M.S. in forestry at Yale. She also spent several years as a consulting forester and led programs in youth environmental education in western Massachusetts.

Advisor: Tony D'Amato

Dissertation Title: Structural, Compositional, and Functional Outcomes of Forest Adaptation in Northern Forest Ecosystems