An Online Conference
Pathways to Success: Partnerships and Purpose

Plenary Speakers

UMISC plenary sessions bring all attendees together (virtually) to showcase national luminaries in invasive species leadership, management, policy, and research. We are thrilled to announce our plenaries for 2020:

 Dr. Daniel Simberloff
Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science, University of Tennessee - Knoxville 

Dr. Simberloff's talk will be "The State of Invasive Species Science in 2020 & Beyond,"
Monday, November 2nd, at 9:00AM CST
 
Dr. Daniel Simberloff is a biologist and ecologist who earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1969. For his PhD dissertation, he was the first to test the theory of island biogeography experimentally in Floridian mangrove systems, producing the seminal 1969 paper, “Experimental Zoogeography of Islands: The Colonization of Empty Islands.” Daniel is very active on the issues of invasive species, studying the susceptibility of ecosystems to invasion from exotic species, the practical implications of these invasions, and the potential interactions between invasive species including the potential for invasional meltdown—in which the introduction of exotic species facilitates the establishment and invasion of other exotics. Daniel has received several awards, including the Eminent Ecologist Award in 2006 from the Ecological Society of America, the Ramon Margalef Prize in Ecology in 2012, and the Wallace Prize of the International Biogeographical Society in 2015. He serves as the Editor in Chief for the journal Biological Invasions and has authored books and more than 350 articles in scientific journals. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012.


Dr. Mamie Parker
President, MA Parker & Associates
Former Assistant Director of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
 
Dr. Parker's talk will be "Closing Gaps & Building Bridges in our Socially Distant World," Wednesday, November 4th, at 9:00AM CST

Dr. Mamie Parker is a well-known fish and wildlife biologist and distinguished motivational speaker. Mamie made history when she the first Black person appointed as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director (of Region 5 - the Northeast). She advanced as an agency leader to become Assistant Director of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation.  Mamie continues in leadership of conservation organizations and serves on the Boards of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Virginia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Duke University School of the Environment Visitors Board, Student Conservation Association, the National Wildlife Refuge Association, Brown Advisory Sustainable Investment, Defenders of Wildlife, the Potomac Conservancy, and the Chesapeake Conservancy. She is a co-author of the American Fisheries Society’s 2014 book, The Future of Fisheries. Mamie has spoken to millions of listeners through her work as a motivational speaker and executive coach. She has also made appearances on the Steve Harvey Show and Stand Up with Pete Dominick on Sirius Radio.
​

Dale Burkett
Sea Lamprey Program Director, Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Mr. Burkett's talk will be "Actions Taken & Lessons Learned along the Journey: Six Decades of Sea Lamprey Control," Tuesday, November 3rd, at 9:00AM CST

Mr. Dale Burkett is a seasoned environmental program manager and leader, having served at the state level as the Assistant Director of the Office of Resource Management at the Illinois Department of Conservation (now DNR). Later in his career, he served as the Assistant Director for Fish and Water Conservation at the U.S. Forest Service. Today, Dale leads the program to reduce the populations and impacts of invasive sea lampreys on the Great Lakes. This integrated program has been a huge success. It is the only program that has successfully controlled an aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes basin-wide, to the benefit of an extremely valuable commercial and recreational fishery. Today, the program focuses on making sure that sea lamprey numbers remain low throughout the Basin. Dale received his Masters in Environmental Biology from Eastern Illinois University.   

---