About Us

Our Mission

We are a team of interdisciplinary researchers and students at Virginia Tech.
Our aim is to improve the outcomes of ecological restoration through cutting edge research and capacity building.
We value strong ecological curiosity, tenacity in pursuit of knowledge, clear and honest communication, compassion, and mutual support.

Our Team: The Cecropias

Las Cecropias, August 2025. Left to right: Nate Duerr, Nicola Andrzejewski, Phoebe Judge, Sophia Vrh, Gabrielle Ripa, Sebastian Aparicio Vera, Mariel Fitzgerald, Leighton Reid, Ezra Staengl, Ben Sapperstein, Nisha Polk, Pika MacDougal. Not pictured but still part of the gang: Desiree Shelley, Quin Campbell

Leighton Reid

As a restoration ecologist, I aim to improve restoration outcomes for biodiversity conservation, climate stabilization, and human livelihoods by providing better answers to the question How and where can we best restore damaged ecosystems? My students and I approach this question through ecological and socio-ecological research in tropical forests in Ecuador and in temperate forests, woodlands, and grasslands in the southeastern US. I lead Virginia Tech’s Ecological Restoration major, advise the Society for Ecological Restoration student association at Virginia Tech, and coordinate Virginia Tech’s Biocultural and Ecological Restoration Initiative. I cofounded and edit a blog, Natural History of Ecological Restoration, and am a coordinating editor for Restoration Ecology. When not doing work stuff, I like hanging out with my kids, getting outside, and living in a cohousing community.

Phoebe Judge

Phoebe is a Research Associate with the lab and the Project Manager for the Southside Native Seed Project. She will be working with native seed stakeholders across southern Virginia to increase the availability of native Piedmont grassland seed for restoration. Outside of grassland conservation and restoration, her academic interests include plant ecophysiology and community ecology.

Desiree Shelley

Desiree is a PhD student and George Washington Carver Scholar. Her current research interest focuses on Indigenous historical land use and food forest gardens in Appalachia and how these land use practices can be used in restoration planning efforts. In her master’s research, Desiree has explored community-based system thinking approaches for seeking Indigenous food sovereignty alongside cultural and language revitalization. Desiree has also spent many years as an urban forestry conservation analyst, environmental educator and community organizer. She enjoys many things outdoors (especially gardening and wild foraging) with her husband and three kids.

Nathan Duerr

PhD student with interests in tropical forest ecology and restoration.

Sophia Vrh

Sophia is a PhD student studying plant-animal interactions and restoration of high-elevation communities. Her broader research interests include using interdisciplinary methodologies, such as distribution modeling and population genetics, to investigate wildlife ecology in anthropogenic environments. She intends for her research to help elucidate ecosystem function and inform conservation management efforts.

Mariel Fitzgerald

Mariel is an undergraduate studying Ecological Restoration. Her interests in the field are dendrology, avian seed dispersal and temperate woodland restoration. In the Restoration Ecology Lab, Mariel is studying seed predation in tropical forest restoration in western Ecuador.

Quin Campbell

Quin is an undergraduate studying Environmental Data Science with minors in GIS and Wildland Fire Ecology. She is interested in wild and prescribed fire, as well as data management and analysis. In the Restoration Ecology Lab, Quin leads a population study on the federally endangered Peters Mountain Mallow.

Nisha Polk

Nisha is an undergraduate in Ecological Restoration, with minors in Forestry and Wetland Science. With previous experience monitoring wetlands and streams, they will be working to conserve the Peters Mountain Mallow by studying past environments using stable carbon isotope analysis of soil organic matter. Outside of academics, their hobbies include foraging for edible plants and mushrooms, hiking, and gardening.

Graduate Alumni

Gabrielle Ripa (PhD 2026), Postdoctoral researcher, North Carolina State University
Pika MacDougal (MS 2026)
Sebastián Aparicio Vera (MS 2025), Rainforest Awareness Rescue & Education Center, Iquitos, Peru
Jordan Coscia (PhD 2025), Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator, Southeastern Grasslands Institute
Harry Stewart (MS 2025)
David Bellangue (MS 2023), Horticulturist at Piedmont Discovery Center
Michael Beall (MS 2022), PhD student at Virginia Tech (Hotchkiss Lab)
Crislaine de Almeida (Visiting student 2020)
Frederico Domene (Visiting student 2018, MOBOT)
Matt Hill (Visiting student 2017-2018, MOBOT), Executive Director, Green Again Madagascar
Estefania Pilar Fernandez Barrancos (Visiting student 2016, MOBOT), GAIA AI