Susan J. Prichard, PhD, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS), University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
Dr. Prichard is a distinguished fire ecologist and research scientist at the University of Washington’s School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. She earned her PhD in Forest Ecology from the University of Washington, where she has also been a research scientist for over 25 years. Dr. Prichard's academic journey began with a bachelor's of science at the Evergreen State College and a Master's degree in forest ecology at University of Washington. Her work is centered on understanding the impacts of fire and climate change on forest ecosystems, focusing on adaptive management strategies to enhance forest resilience. Dr. Prichard resides in Methow Valley, Washington, where her personal experiences with wildfires further inspire her applied research. She is an active contributor to scientific literature and holds roles in several key ecological and fire management organizations. Dr. Prichard is also a Fire Ecology editorial board member.
Michelle Bester, PhD, Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Dr. B
ester is a postdoctoral appointee in the Electric Power Systems Research Department at Sandia National Laboratories. Her primary research focuses on remote sensing analysis and modeling of fuel characteristics and vegetation treatments for wildfire grid resilience. Dr. Bester earned her PhD in Geography from West Virginia University in 2022 and received the ASPRS William A. Fischer Memorial Scholarship for her innovative uses of remote sensing data and techniques. She also holds a postgraduate degree and a B.Sc. in Geoinformatics from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. Dr. Bester has previous experience with AI and community-driven wildland fire innovations via the WIFIRE commons NSF project and SERDP-funded 3D fuel characterization for evaluating physics-based fire behavior, fire effects, and smoke models.
Michael R. Gallagher, PhD, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, New Lisbon, NJ, USA
Dr. G
allagher is a research ecologist and team leader at the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. He earned his PhD in Ecology and Evolution, specializing in Remote Sensing of Fire Effects and Burn Severity from Rutgers University in 2017. Dr. Gallagher's research uses remote sensing techniques and direct field measurements to study wildland fire behavior, fuels, and fire effects, with a particular interest in prescribed fire. He is also lead of the Silas Little Experimental Forest, a ~600-acre facility in the New Jersey Pine Barrens focused on research, demonstration, and training related to wildland fire and ecology.
Andrew T. Hudak, PhD, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, ID, USA
Dr. Hudak, a research forester at the USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station, earned his PhD in Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado in 1999. His current research focuses on assessing forest biomass, carbon sequestration, and the relationships between forest canopy structure, wildlife habitat, and coupled carbon-water cycles using advanced remote sensing techniques like LiDAR. Dr. Hudak also collaborates on fire science projects, studying postfire effects and the effectiveness of fuel treatments. His earlier work included research on bush encroachment in South African savannas, and he continues to explore fire ecology in both forest and rangeland ecosystems. Dr. Hudak is an active member of the Fire Ecology editorial board.
Maureen C. Kennedy, PhD, University of Washington, Tacoma, WA, USA
Dr. 
Kennedy is an associate professor at the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Division of Sciences and Mathematics in the University of Washington. She earned both her MS and PhD in Quantitative Ecology and Resource Management from the University of Washington. Dr. Kennedy collaborates with researchers from the Fire and Environmental Research Applications team at the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station and an interdisciplinary team at UC Santa Barbara. Her research employs various quantitative methods to advance the understanding of landscape fire ecology, fuel treatment effectiveness, fire spread modeling, and the interactions between hydrology, fire, carbon, and climate change.
Russell A. Parsons, PhD, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, MT, USA
Dr. Parsons is a research ecologist with the Fire, Fuels, and Smoke research program at the USDA Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana. He holds a PhD in Forestry from the University of Montana. Since joining the Fire Sciences Lab in 2000, Dr. Parsons has focused on modeling and mapping wildland fuels, understanding how fuel heterogeneity affects fire behavior, and assessing the impacts of beetle outbreaks on fuels and fire dynamics. His research also aims to improve fuel treatment assessments, contributing to safer fire management strategies. Dr. Parsons's work spans various scales, from landscape-level fire simulations to detailed 3D fuel and fire modeling, all with the goal of enhancing fire science and firefighter safety.
Nuria Sánchez-López, PhD, Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
Dr. Sán
chez López is a forest remote sensing researcher dedicated to developing methods for monitoring forest ecosystems and disturbance dynamics using new technologies such as remote sensing, GIS, and spatial analysis. Currently a visiting scientist at the USDA Forest Service since July 2023, she previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Idaho from October 2020 to June 2023. Dr. Sánchez López earned her PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho in 2019. Her current research focuses on developing spatially explicit methods to wall-to-wall mapping canopy, surface, and ground fuels that are key for fire ecology and carbon modeling by integrating field data, 3D remote sensing data, machine learning techniques, ecological concepts, and process-based models.
Nicholas S. Skowronski, PhD, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Morgantown, WV, USA
Dr. Skowronski is a research forester and project leader in the Northern Research Station’s Physical and Ecological Fire Processes, Interactions, and Applications Research Work Unit. His work is focused on prescribed fire science including the quantification of fire dynamics on operational prescribed fires, prescribed fire planning and monitoring, emissions, and the quantification of fuels in three-dimensions. Dr. Skowronski is also the Principal Investigator of the North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange and an adjunct professor in the Department of Geography at West Virginia University. Previously, he worked as a research technician at the USDA Forest Service Northeast Research Station (2003-2009) and as a forester at Fort Dix, NJ (2001-2003). Dr. Skowronski's work in these roles included wildfire management, silviculture, and leading remote sensing efforts, contributing significantly to understanding forest dynamics and wildfire mitigation.
