Beginning on January 4, 2017, Ashley Gramza will become the first National Bird Conservation Social Science Coordinator.
The National Bird Conservation Social Science Coordinator, based in Dr. Ashley Dayer’s Human Dimensions lab at Virginia Tech, will help to better link bird conservation practitioners with social science resources. The Coordinator will help to identify issues in bird conservation that are priorities for social science research, develop a directory of social science resources related to bird conservation, and connect bird conservation partnerships with social scientists. For the first two years of the position, the Coordinator will also work specifically to address social science questions as they relate to private lands and bird conservation.
Ashley Gramza brings an ideal mix of social and wildlife science to this position; she holds a BS in Wildlife Ecology from University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.S. in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources from Colorado State University, and is currently finishing a dissertation at Colorado State University that uses social and biological science data to understand the ecological role of free-ranging domestic cats. She has worked as a Private Lands Wildlife Habitat Specialist in Iowa and led human-wildlife interaction research with the National Park Service.
The Social Science Coordinator will also serve as the Co-Chair for NABCI’s Human Dimensions Subcommittee. She will be supervised by an Advisory Team consisting of Ashley Dayer (her primary supervisor), a federal representative (Natalie Sexton, USFWS), a state representative (Scott Anderson, NC Wildlife Resources Commission), an NGO representative (Tammy VerCauteren, Bird Conservancy Of the Rockies), a Joint Venture/Partnerships representative (Todd Fearer, Appalachian Mountain Joint Venture), and a NABCI representative (Judith Scarl, NABCI/Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies).
This position is funded by the Farm Service Agency, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, US Forest Service State and Private Lands, and Virginia Tech.