Krishna Tiwari, Conservation Resource Specialist
Krishna was born and raised in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, where he developed a love for the environment, nature, and wildlife. He attended Western Carolina University, where he majored in Environmental Science with a minor in Anthropology. He then completed a dual master’s program in Environmental Science and Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Krishna has worked for a variety of environmental organizations, including the NASA DEVELOP National Program and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Natural Resources Department, where he conducted wildlife surveys. He also has experience working at the Bald Head Island Conservancy as a Sea Turtle Intern. He joined INHS as a Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Field Specialist in October of 2023.
M.S. Environmental Science and Public Administration, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
B.S. Environmental Science, Western Carolina University, Minor: Anthropology
Anne Hughes
Anne was a Conservation Resource Specialist for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) until 2023.
Allison Bryant
Allison was a Conservation Resource Specialist for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) until 2023.
Jake Lux
Jake was a Conservation Resource Specialist for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).
Lisa Demeule (Beja)
Since 2005, Lisa has served as a GIS specialist for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) at various agencies, including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of ACES, Lewis and Clark Community College NGRREC, and INHS. At INHS, Lisa led a team of six field scientists who assisted IDNR with CREP Easement Monitoring. Lisa is now a GIS Mapping Specialist II with the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Lauren Hostert
Lauren was the project manager for the CREP Aquatic Life Monitoring project from 2018 to 2022. Lauren’s research is available on Google Scholar or upon request via email. Lauren is now the Field Operations Manager for Domain 11 at the National Ecological Observatory Network.
Sara Ashcraft
Sara’s research focus at INHS was modeling habitat suitability for Illinois’ Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). Her projects included modeling Eastern Sand Darter habitat and River Redhorse in Illinois. She also assisted with the CREP Aquatic Life Monitoring project. Sara is now working as a Freshwater Research Initiative Ecologist at Susquehanna University. Email her at ashcraft@susqu.edu
Ashton Lyon
Ashton started at the Illinois Natural History Survey in summer 2018 as a field technician and was hired in December 2019 as a Visiting Scientific Specialist. He primarily worked on the CREP Aquatic Life Monitoring and Assessing Population Viability projects. He also helped develop a field experiment to test the burial preferences of the Eastern Sand Darter in Illinois streams.
Emily Feng
Emily is currently a Research Assistant with the Lincoln Park Zoo Alexander Center for Population Biology. She will be transitioning to a Graduate Teaching Assistant position at SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry in the fall of 2021.
Bridget Henning-Randa, Ph.D.
Bridget Henning-Randa, Ph.D., is now an Endangered Species Consultant with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Patrick Wilken
Patrick Wilken was a graduate student in the stream ecology lab from 2010 to 2012, during which they conducted statistical analyses, including multidimensional scaling and generalized linear regression models, to help evaluate trends among water quality, aquatic organisms, and transportation infrastructure. Since their time in the stream ecology lab, they have worked in data and analytics and now serve as a data science manager at McDonald’s.
Levi Drake
Since leaving the stream ecology lab, Levi has focused his career on applied fermentation science and science communication, using a systems-thinking design approach. He is now Executive Vice President at Glacier Tanks, a company that builds large vessels and piping systems for sanitary food and beverage applications. Levi leads research and development efforts to improve energy use, environmental performance, and system efficiency in food and beverage production facilities across North America.
Jian Huang
Jian Huang was a graduate student studying environmental sciences with the stream ecology lab from 2009 to 2011. Since then, they earned their master’s and Ph.D. in statistics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. They are now a full-time analytics manager at IQVIA.
Tim Edison
Tim Edison served in the stream ecology lab as the Large River Ecologist from 2010 to 2014, with a primary focus on the Wabash, Ohio, Kankakee, and Iroquois rivers. Since their time at the lab, they have been a Land Reclamation Specialist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and then became the site superintendent at the Kickapoo State Recreation Area in 2017.
Field Crews
2023: Noah Finney, Katarina Glueck, Mary Rimm, Brendan VanAntwerp
2022: Rylee Cook, Elliot Hoogerland, Tim Legare, Renee Leon, Moshe Piltz, Randi Valtman
2021: Zoe Brandt, Emma Hakanson, Hannah Palacios, Briana Sebastion
2020: Rafal Banas, Andrew Crozier, Katie Lauder, Chris Miller, Bradlee Sheredy
2019: Kaitlyn Busch, Hannah Holmquist, Brian Lukaszczyk, Clayton Moubry, Aaron Muehler, Monica Proulx, Isabella Sadler
2018: Paul DeRolf, Ashton Lyon, Elise Snyder, Matt VanBemel, Julia Vigil
