Staff
Jean Brennan, LCC Coordinator & Chief Scientist
Dr. Jean Brennan is the Coordinator and Chief Scientist/Science Coordinator for the Appalachian LCC where she has served since 2010. As an ecologist she has worked extensively internationally, conducting research on primates in Kenya; carnivores on Madagascar; Asian elephants and other endangered large mammals on Peninsula Malaysia; and orangutans and proboscis monkeys on Borneo, Indonesia. She holds graduate degrees in Population Biology and Genetics from the University of Tennessee; Forest Ecology from Yale University School of Forestry; and Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. She has taught “Conservation Biology” at the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environment, and “Air Resources” at the University of California Davis.
Before joining the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Jean worked as a Senior Climate Change Scientist, most recently with a DC-based environmental NGO, and previously as a Senior Conservation Scientist for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Jean also served as a staff scientist for the U.S. State Department, Office of Global Change. Her work as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) earned her recognition and she was recognized for her contributions and selected by the IPCC to share the honor the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Her current interests focus on the application of science at a landscape-scale and synthetic research into the impacts and adaptation to climate- and major land-use change.
Matthew Cimitile, Conservation Communications and Public Affairs Specialist
Matthew Cimitile worked for the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center prior to joining the Appalachian LCC team as a writer and multimedia specialist where he produced press releases, feature articles, online content, and helped develop a video podcast series that went on to win a USGS Shoemaker Award in audio and visual communications. Matthew earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Tampa and a master’s in environmental journalism at Michigan State University. During his time at Michigan State, Matthew interned with The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Health News, and was part of the initial team that started the environmental reporting website Great Lakes Echo. If you have any questions regarding the Appalachian LCC or this website, please contact Matthew.
Jessica Rhodes, GIS Analyst and Information Manager
Jessica Rhodes is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in a joint position with the Appalachian LCC and the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. She began her tenure in 2002 as a student in the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) for the Pennsylvania Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University. Upon graduation in 2004, she continued to work for the Pennsylvania Field Office in the Conservation Planning Assistance Program. In 2005, Jessica transferred to the Virginia Ecological Services Office in Gloucester, Virginia as a Fish and Wildlife Biologist in the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program. Jessica joined the Appalachian LCC team in her current position in December of 2014. She works on habitat restoration projects throughout Virginia, conducts GIS analysis for strategic planning and prioritization activities, manages the Virginia Field Office website, and provides IT support for the Virginia Field Office. She completed her master’s degree in Geographic Information System from The Pennsylvania State University in 2013 and continues to develop and refine her GIS skills.
Gillian Bee, Landscape Conservation Fellow
Gillian Bee is the new Appalachian LCC Landscape Conservation Fellow, stationed at Clemson University. In her current role she will be working with partners in the Tennessee River Basin to provide science-based decision support. Prior to her new role, Gillian was the Stewardship Director for the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. For the past five years she has focused her efforts on the collaborative conservation of private working lands. She is passionate about building relationships that encourage proactive conservation for natural resources and rural culture. Gillian received her bachelor’s in wildlife biology from the University of Vermont and her master’s in wildlife biology from Clemson University.
