Dr. Ann Bartuska was named Deputy Chief for Research and Development, USDA Forest Service in 2003. Among the many positions she held during her 14-year Forest Service career prior to this appointment, Dr. Bartuska was the first woman and first ecologist to be named Director of Forest Management. In addition, for three years she served as the Executive Director of the Nature Conservancy's Invasive Species Initiative. Dr. Bartuska is an ecosystems biologist with a M.S. from Ohio University and a Ph.D. from West Virginia University.

Dr. Robert D. Mangold was named Director of Forest Health Protection, USDA Forest Service in 2000. He has worked as a geneticist at the Dorena Tree Improvement Center, as a tree breeder for Crown Zellerbach Corporation, and as the national nurseries and tree improvement manager for USDA Forest Service cooperative forestry. He obtained his Ph.D. from Oregon State University, and MS from the University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Ronald F. Billings is Assistant Department Head and Head of Forest Pest Management with the Texas Forest Service. He is involved in applied research, technology development, and technology transfer on southern pine beetle and other pests of southern forests. He holds a B.S. in forest management and a Ph.D. in forest entomology from the University of Washington and a M.S. in forest entomology from Oregon State University.

Dr. Werner Kurz, as Senior Research Scientist, co-leads the development of a National Forest Carbon Accounting System for Canada. His research focuses on the impacts of natural disturbances, forest management and land-use change on forest carbon budgets. He was the lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report (and convening lead author for the Special Report on Good Practice Guidance) on Land use, Land-use Change and Forestry.

Dr. Michael Wagner is Regents' Professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ. He obtained his BS, MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research focuses on interactions between trees and insects for model systems, ecology of forest pests, silvicultural and mechanical control of pests, herbivore impact on host plants, and sustainable development of natural resources worldwide.

Dr. Fred Hain is Professor of Entomology and Forestry at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. He obtained his MF from Duke University and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. His research focuses on population dynamics of forest insects; forest pest management; insect ecology; host/insect interactions. He is also very interested in issues in entomology education.

Dr. Peter J. Roussopoulos was named Director of the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station in 1992, and when the Southeastern Station was consolidated with the Southern Forest Experiment Station, he became Director of the Southern Research Station. He obtained his M.S. from the University of Minnesota, and Ph.D. from Michigan State University. In 2000, Dr. Roussopoulos was recognized as 1 of 2 Senior Executives in the Forest Service to receive the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive. Dr. Roussopoulos has been in forestry research with USDA Forest Service for more than 35 years.

Dr. H.J. “Rick” Meyer is the National Program Leader for Plant and Animal Systems with USDA CSREES in Washington, DC. He oversees funding of programs involving Entomology, Pesticides; Integrated Pest Management; Precision Farming; Horticulture; Agronomic & Forage Crops; and Biobased Pest Management.

Dr. Cameron holds a B.S. degree in forestry from Utah State University, a Masters of Science in economic entomology from Cornell University, and a doctorate in forest entomology from Freiburg University in Germany. He worked as an entomologist for the Texas Forest Service for 19 years in Lufkin, Texas where he conducted applied research on Texas leaf-cutting ants, Nantucket pine tip moths and insect pests of pine seed orchards. In 1995, he joined Union Camp Corporation in Rincon, Georgia. He currently is Forest Health Manager with International Paper Corporation in Bainbridge, Georgia.