July/August 2021
NRLI News
Director's Corner
A Sabbatical Year - Kyoto, Japan
by Jonathan Dain, NRLI Director

I joined the NRLI Project Team in 2005 and have loved working with every class of Fellows since that time. Well, to be perfectly accurate I must note that I was absent for Class X (2010-11) while away on what the University of Florida now calls “Professional Development Leave” or PDL. My family and I spent that year living and working abroad in Veracruz, Mexico. Our sabbatical was an opportunity for me to take NRLI concepts, tools, and approaches to Mexico and, together with Mexican colleagues*, adapt them for graduate students at the University of Veracruz’s Center for Tropical Research. The experience was highly impactful for me, and I was able bring new and important perspectives and ideas back to Florida, the main objective of Professional Development Leave.

It is now ten years later, and I am excited to be taking a second PDL, this time heading east, not south. Starting in the fall, my wife Karen and I will spend 8 months in Kyoto, Japan, working at Kyoto University and collaborating with Japanese colleagues. Along with struggling to learn Japanese (!!), I will be teaching and using the time to learn about new approaches for understanding and addressing situations of conflict. I will also be learning a lot about Japanese approaches to managing natural resources, from forestry/agriculture to sea level rise to conservation.

Dr. Wendy-Lin Bartels will be serving as Acting Director of NRLI while I am away on leave, joined by the other remarkable members of the project team Joy Hazell and Jocelyn Peskin. Those of you who know the three of them can attest to the fact that NRLI will be in very, very capable hands. Meanwhile, NRLI Class 21 has been selected and is ready to get started in September - yet another group of highly impressive natural resource professionals from around the state.

I plan to stay in touch by writing an occasional blog post from Japan, so keep an eye out.

Genki de (元気で)
-Jon
_________________________
 * I am forever grateful to Mexican colleagues (and NRLI Class XI alums) Citlalli Lopez, Patricia Negreros, and Eddie Ellis.
Alumni Updates
2021 JEDI NRLI Alumni Discussion Series

Thirty-three alumni from 15 different NRLI classes and 17 organizations came together in May and June to exchange understandings about Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) in natural resource management. The NRLI JEDI offering was organized into three separate discussion sessions according to different themes and scales of impact & action (figure at right). Although Wendy-Lin coordinated the series, many alumni informed its design and facilitation. For instance, several alumni were featured speakers and others shared testimonials of their experiences implementing JEDI strategies in the workplace.

The project team sought additional expertise in diversity training and partnered with consultant Jennifer Arnold at Reciprocity Consulting. Furthermore, NRLI alum Ben Christ, now at Impact By Design, offered co-facilitation expertise.
NRLI's New Home
2311 Mowry Rd

We've had a busy summer here at NRLI World Headquarters. In addition to preparing for Jon's sabbatical (see Director's Corner), facilitating JEDI trainings (see article above), and getting everything ready for NRLI Class 21 (see schedule & list of Fellows below), we also moved our offices (and All. The. Stuff.) to our new space.

Here are some of the things we are excited about:
  • All four project team members now have individual offices and we're in the same building together
  • We have a kitchen with a SINK (we can wash things!)
  • We don't have to worry about coming to work to find our office(s) flooded from either rain or the HVAC closet across the hall
  • The parking situation is dreamy (there's even easy visitor parking - hint, hint!)
  • There is enough space to store all of the NRLI stuff - and there is A LOT
  • We get to share the space with the fabulous staff from IFAS' Office of Conferences & Institutes, which is the entity that handles NRLI registration

So if you're ever in Gainesville, come visit us at the official new NRLI HQ at 2311 Mowry Rd. - you know we love NRLI visitors!
Class 21 Fellows & Schedule
Robert Aldredge Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 
Chad Allison Partners for Fish & Wildlife/Coastal Program Coordinator, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 
Christopher Altes Archaeologist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
Clayton Archey Senior Manager of Purchasing & Corporate Facilities, A. Duda & Sons Inc. 
Kelly Aue Suwannee River Partnership Outreach Coordinator, UF/IFAS Extension 
Jessica Blain Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Forest Service 
Rosezetta Bobo Diversity Director, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission 
Katherine Clements Ecology & Natural Resources Educator, UF/IFAS Extension 
Gregory DeAngelo Deputy Director, Florida Department of Environmental Protection 
Kristin Foss Biological Scientist IV, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission 
Travis Franklin Captain, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission 
Catherine Ingram Intergovernmental Liaison, Florida Forest Service, FDACS
Kristen Kosik Program Associate for the Conservation Leadership Initiative, Audubon Florida 
Jared Lanier Field Representative, Florida Farm Bureau Federation 
Jason Lawor Public Affairs Specialist, National Forests in Florida – USDA 
Chris Marble Assistant Professor, Environmental Horticulture, University of Florida 
Nathaniel Mouzon Technical Program Manager, St. Johns River Water Management District 
Greg Owen Senior Planner, Alachua County Board of County Commissioners 
Brian Pelc North Florida Restoration Project Manager, The Nature Conservancy 
Aliese Priddy Owner, JB Ranch
Jennifer Thera Environmental Consultant, Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services 
Armando Ubeda Florida Sea Grant Agent, UF/IFAS 
Savannah Winstanley Ecosystem & Asset Analyst, City of Winter Haven
Natural Resources Leadership Institute
352.294.7643
Connect with us