Current members
Dr. Carlos Portillo-Quintero
Biologist with a PhD in Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and postdoctoral work. Currently, working as an Assistant Professor of Geospatial technologies in the Department of Natural Resources Management at Texas Tech University. I am interested in understanding physical and biological dynamics in time and space at temporal and spatial resolutions relevant for efficient ecosystem management, plant physiology and/or ecological studies. I apply techniques in GIS and Remote Sensing such as geodatabase design and analysis; hyperspectral, multispectral and high-spatial resolution image analysis, time-series trend analysis, geostatistics and spatial modeling.
Daniel Raleigh (MSc candidate)
I was born and raised in Orlando, FL, and graduated Wake Forest University with a B.S. in Biology. I spent over two years working at various internships across North America. I interned with the California Condor Recovery Program andVentana Wildlife Society in southern California and Big Sur, respectively, to assist in the management of the endangered California Condor.
My most inspiring fieldwork was on Kodiak Island in Alaska where I interned with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on a variety of projects, including surveys of breeding Kittlitz’sMurrelets, trapping and banding Harlequin Ducks, and grizzly bear surveys within Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.
I spent time conducting Wood Thrush demographic surveys in Indiana with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Institute in addition to volunteering at the Atlantic Bird Observatory in Nova Scotia. My interests broadly include avian ecology, but with a focus on the restoration and further protection of endangered and threatened species. After graduating with my MS degree, I hope to work towards further conservation of threatened species and habitats.
Sylvia de la Piedra (MSc candidate)
I was born in Caracas, Venezuela but have lived most of my life in Ossining, New York. I have a BS from Cornell University in Interdisciplinary Studies and received a Graduate Certificate from CUNY Hunter College in Animal Behavior and Conservation. I have worked on a wide range of projects, some of which include: savannah community ecology in Kenya, coyote population ecology in New York City, dolphin cognition and communication in The Bahamas, and lemur behavior in Madagascar. Though in the past I have primarily studied mammals, I have recently become somewhat of an avid birder and I hope to expand my ornithological skills while at Tech. I am broadly interested in using ecological models to monitor ecosystem health and assess anthropological disturbances on wildlife and their habitats. After completing my MS I would like to pursue a PhD and continue to answer research questions that inform wildlife management decisions and advance conservation efforts.