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Stephanie Valdez

2014 graduate in

As an undergrad, Stephanie helped for three years organizing and communicating with citizens volunteering with the seabird watch-group where she most liked “interacting with all ages – from kids as young as 4 to volunteers in their late 80s.” Today she’s putting that experience to work on-the-job for a research project at Hood Canal organizing citizens, tribal shellfish biologists and shellfish hatchery personnel.

Hillary Burgess

2013 master’s in

While earning her master’s, Hillary recruited landowners across Snohomish County who were willing to keep detailed logs regarding the pollinators visiting their gardens. Unexpectedly, her project led to the documented sighting of a white-bottomed Western bumble bee, the first confirmed sighting in the state in two decades.

Rachel Whitehead

Senior, and

Rachel joined July’s foray collecting specimens for the , gaining experience in recognizing and identifying angiosperm plants as well as the process of collecting and pressing plant specimens. She is also one of the botanical illustrators working on the illustrated manual Flora of the Pacific Northwest.

Tessa Forbes

Senior, and

As part of the , Tessa (right) learned about bee ecology and plant-pollinator interactions, what goes into experimental design and has conducted data collection and data analysis. The opportunities have “helped me learn more effectively than in many of my classes,” she said.

Jessica DaBell

2011 graduate in

Jessica participated in the 2011 UW Herbarium foray learning to voucher plant specimens while working with a diverse group of professional botanists. At the herbarium in the months that followed, she used technical keys to identify some of the specimens brought back. She went on to do botanical field work for the Bureau of Land Management and is currently applying to graduate school in plant biology.

Julia Parrish

• Founder of