Welcome, Two New Staff Members

NEW EXTENSION WILDLIFE SPECIALIST JOINS NREM

Dr. Rebecca Christoffel has joined the natural resource ecology and management department as Extension wildlife specialist. She enjoys setting up interactions between humans and wildlife, and studying the human response to those interactions. For people who have had little or only indirect contact with wildlife, these encounters are often the first step to nurturing an appreciation for natural resource conservation. Read more in the ISU news release or on Rebecca's web page.

NEW EXTENSION HORTICULTURE SPECIALIST JOINS HORT DEPT

Jennifer Bousselot (soon-to-be-Dr.) joined the ISU Department of Horticulture as the State Master Gardener Coordinator and Lecturer in the Horticulture Department. Jennifer is originally from DeWitt, IA where she grew up with seven siblings (including a twin sister). After completing both her BS (Plant Health and Protection in 2001) and MS (Sustainable Agriculture in 2003) at ISU she moved to Colorado to become a county coordinator for their Master Gardener program for more than 3 years. In 2007 she started her PhD in Horticulture at Colorado State University and will graduate this May. Her PhD research focused on plant species and growing media for green roofs.

 

When asked what she most look forward to seeing again in Iowa, Jen commented that she missed the fertile Iowa soils and the friendly people. When asked what she likes most about working with Master Gardeners she replied "That is a hard one – I guess I like their almost limitless inspiration and enthusiasm. Where else can you find a group so enthusiastic about a specific subject and interested in helping the greater good of their community?" We expect great things from Jen this year – look for more educational opportunities and communication across county lines in the next few months…and check out the new Iowa Master Gardener Facebook fan page (search with those keywords on Facebook.com) that Jen created her first day on the job. I am also sure we will all become great fans of Jen and her work for the Master Gardener and horticulture programs at ISU. Welcome back to Iowa, Jen!

New ISU Horticulturist, Jennifer Bousselot

New ISU Horticulturist, Jennifer Bousselot

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