Southern Pine Beetle Information Meeting

Speaker Bios

Dr. Kevin Dodds, Entomologist, US Forest Service, Eastern Region, State, Private and Tribal Forestry, Forest Health Protection, Durham, NH - Kevin provides assistance to state, federal, and tribal partners on all aspects of forest insect problems.  Kevin’s expertise is in forest insect ecology and management with a focus on woodboring insects and bark beetles.  He has worked on Asian longhorned beetle, sirex woodwasp, winter moth, spongy moth, SPB, and other insect pests across New England and New York.
 

Polly Weigand, Fire Projects Manager, Forest Stewards Guild and North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange, Hampton Bays, NY – As the Northeast Fire Projects Manager, Polly connects science to wildland fire management within the northeast and beyond. Polly holds a MS in Urban Ecology from Hofstra University, and her expertise is focused on holistic ecosystem management and restoration; mitigating the effects of urbanization, development and invasive species; the production and distribution of ecotypic (genetically native) plant materials and building prescribed fire programming.

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Caroline Kanaskie, Assistant Professor of Forestry, University of Maine at Fort Kent, ME - Caroline earned her master’s and PhD from the University of New Hampshire studying southern pine beetle from New York to Maine. She now serves as an Assistant Professor of Forestry at the University of Maine, Fort Kent, Maine.

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Jessica Cancelliere, Forest Health Section Chief, NYS DEC’s Division of Lands and Forests Albany, NY - Jess has worked on southern pine beetle since it was first detected in New York in 2014, contributing to both research and management efforts. The team’s work, in recent years, has been focused primarily on preventative management through thinning and prescribed fire, aimed at reducing SPB impacts, restoring pitch pine barrens on Long Island, and lowering wildfire risk. 

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​Robert Cole, Forester, NYS DEC’s Division of Lands and Forests Albany, NY - Rob is a forester and certified arborist with the NYS DEC. He applies his 20 years of forestry and 10 years of southern pine beetle experience to help improve health and resiliency of pine barrens by advancing restoration and management of these globally rare ecosystems.

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Felicia Hubacz, Forest Health Specialist, Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation, Division of Natural Resources, West Boylston, MA - Felicia Hubacz began her career with a local nonprofit before working as a landscape designer, where she developed an understanding of native plants and drivers of commercial plant availability within the plant industry. Felicia graduated in 2010 from UMass Amherst and has since worked as a forester with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation addressing many forest health related issues including the Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, spongy moth, white pine needle disease, and many others.  Felicia further applies her passion for conservation, especially forest and open space protection by serving on the board of directors of the Northeast Forest Pest Counsel and Massachusetts Envirothon.

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Jacob McCumber, Natural Resources & Training Lands Manager, Massachusetts Army National Guard - As a conservation biologist, Jake has focused on rare species and natural community conservation for the last 20 years, much of this time has been focused on southern pine beetle and related species.  He and his conservation team restore and manage healthy pine barrens and sandplain habitats using forestry, fire, and extensive research and monitoring to support these unique natural communities.

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Mark Faulkenberry, Forest Health Specialist, Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation,
Division of Natural Resources, Forest Health Specialist, West Boylston, MA - Mark has 20 years of
experience in forest health, working for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, New Hampshire Division of
Forest and Lands, and MA DCR.  He has a BS in Natural Resource Management from Western Carolina
University, a MS in Forest Science and a PhD in Entomology from Clemson University.  In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, watching college football and international soccer, and collecting rare beer.

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