COOKS BRANCH FDP 2026 TREE CENSUS TEAM
Ryan Alexander |
Ian Jett |
Isyka Silva |
Technician & Team Lead
Ryan is from College Station, Texas, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Rangeland, Wildlife, and Fisheries Management from Texas A&M University. He has a strong interest in stewardship and land management, with experience in ecological processes, wildlife management, grazing systems, and plant identification. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys playing pickleball and mountain biking. |
Volunteer Census Intern
Ian is from San Diego, California and has a Bachelor of Science in Entomology from the University of California, Davis. He spent much of his undergrad doing field ecology, exploring insect behavior and plant-insect interactions. He has a growing interest in the impacts of insects as herbivores and disease vectors in forest systems. Some examples include the expansion and impacts of the Emerald Ash Borer on North American ash trees and the factors driving outbreaks of the Mountain Pine Beetle. As someone who is passionate about insects, Ian is pursuing a career in conservation, focusing on land management and restoration to build a world where insect biodiversity and habitat stability are prioritized and people can enjoy our natural spaces. In his free time he enjoys hiking, bird watching, climbing, and collecting insects. |
Volunteer Census Intern
Isyka earned a B.S. in Biology from Sam Houston State University and has a deep interest in ecology and environmental conservation. Their experience includes invasive species removal and hands-on fieldwork. They bring a thoughtful, reliable, and motivated approach to environmental work. |
Freya Christensen-Miller |
Sav Wartenbach |
Andrew Buckland |
Volunteer Census Intern
Freya is a recent Virginia transplant with a Bachelor of Science degree from SUNY-ESF, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She enjoys reading, doodling, and going for long walks. A passionate conservationist, she’s currently working toward an ecology career; her eventual goal is to go into habitat restoration, where she hopes to spend the rest of her life rebuilding forests and playing with dogs on her days off. |
Volunteer Census Intern
Sav is on the journey to become an ecologist. She is inspired by how ecosystems function and is very passionate about public land, land restoration, and habitat improvement. She is interested in land conservation and management and how those practices need to evolve with the progression of climate change. One of her major interests is how invasive species are changing ecosystem dynamics, especially through beneficial and detrimental allelopathy, how much change can be tolerated by the ecosystem, and if or when land management needs to happen. Lastly, she especially loves birding in her free time because it inspires her to be present and patient, even if she has an eight-hour hike to get through before dark! |
Volunteer Census Intern
Andrew is from Lehi, Utah, and has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Utah Valley University. He has a passion for forest ecosystems and is interested in pursuing a career as a forest ecologist. He hopes to work toward a future in which all forests can thrive. |
GRADUATE STUDENTS
COMING SOON!
Are you interested in joining the lab? see JOIN THE LAB tab.
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Non-Thesis Master's Degree Students
Julieta Viñas Vilá
A master's student with a Horticulture BS and French minor, who has always had a passion for conservation and restoring the environment. A firm believer in working alongside nature and not against it. During this new journey, I plan to expand my knowledge and skills to assess tropical and coastal ecosystems sustainably.
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Lab lead - J. Aaron Hogan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Forestry
Biography:
I have witnessed first-hand the effects that climate change can have on forests. Around the turn of the century, several abnormally warm years led to the outbreak of the mountain pine beetle where I grew up in Summit County, Colorado. Over the span of a decade, high rates of mortality transformed several thousand acres of forest, leaving behind a tinderbox of standing dead lodge-pole Pine trees. This completely changed the landscape of the area with potential effects on longer-term ecosystem functioning. Climate change will continue to impact and shape the forests of the Mountain West and the globe.
I am a field-experienced and academically trained forest ecologist. I use many approaches to study forest ecosystems, including community and ecosystem ecology, plant physiology, plot-based studies, functional ecology, and remote sensing. My scientific motivation is to document and better understand forest (and tree) responses to global change (e.g., disturbance, warming, increasing CO2, drought). I have a fascination with high-diversity tropical forests. I have done research in both tropical and temperate forests.
My research focuses on understanding the ecology of forests and their future functioning as ecosystems in the Anthropocene
Academic degrees:
2011 - B.S. in Ecology and Biodiversity from University of Denver
2015 - M.S. en Ciencias Ambientales de la Universidad de Puerto Rico - Río Piedras
2021 - Ph.D. in Biology from Florida International University
I have witnessed first-hand the effects that climate change can have on forests. Around the turn of the century, several abnormally warm years led to the outbreak of the mountain pine beetle where I grew up in Summit County, Colorado. Over the span of a decade, high rates of mortality transformed several thousand acres of forest, leaving behind a tinderbox of standing dead lodge-pole Pine trees. This completely changed the landscape of the area with potential effects on longer-term ecosystem functioning. Climate change will continue to impact and shape the forests of the Mountain West and the globe.
I am a field-experienced and academically trained forest ecologist. I use many approaches to study forest ecosystems, including community and ecosystem ecology, plant physiology, plot-based studies, functional ecology, and remote sensing. My scientific motivation is to document and better understand forest (and tree) responses to global change (e.g., disturbance, warming, increasing CO2, drought). I have a fascination with high-diversity tropical forests. I have done research in both tropical and temperate forests.
My research focuses on understanding the ecology of forests and their future functioning as ecosystems in the Anthropocene
Academic degrees:
2011 - B.S. in Ecology and Biodiversity from University of Denver
2015 - M.S. en Ciencias Ambientales de la Universidad de Puerto Rico - Río Piedras
2021 - Ph.D. in Biology from Florida International University
Lab Manual (for lab members and interns)
| hogan_forest_dynamics_lab_manual.pdf |