Maria Zondervan obtained a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida in 1996. She worked for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for 3 years as a Biological Scientist before taking a position with St. Johns River Water Management District. While working for the District, Maria defended her thesis, Expanding Protection of Ecosystem Services on Agricultural Lands in the U.S., in 2011 to obtain her master’s in Environmental Policy and Management through the University of Lund in Sweden. Maria worked for the District’s Bureau of Land Resources for 23 years, managing multiple wildlife programs and serving as Land Manager for Lake Apopka North Shore. Her favorite projects include red-cockaded woodpecker translocation, scrub-jay habitat restoration, prescribed burning, and longleaf pine reforestation. Maria is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and has been an active member of FLTWS since 1996.

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Larame Ferry graduated from Florida State University with a B.S. in Biology and has worked in the field of land conservation and planning with the state for over 20 years. She is now the Land Conservation and Planning Administrator with FWC and throughout her tenure has been leading conservation planning efforts and coordinating land acquisitions for FWC. She has been active in various roles of the Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society and is now serving as President-Elect.

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Monica Folk has been an ecologist for over 25 years. She has degrees from Southern Illinois University, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. Her training is in wildlife ecology and management with a specialty in endangered species conservation. She has managed projects in Florida and throughout the Southeast, working primarily with red-cockaded woodpeckers (RCWs) and Florida scrub-jays (FSJs), but also Key deer, wood storks, gopher tortoises, bald eagles, Florida sandhill cranes, wading birds, several bat species and wetland restoration projects.

After 18 years working as an ecologist for The Nature Conservancy in central Florida, in 2010 she started her own consulting company, Wild Folk, LLC. Since then, she has focused on recovery of RCWs and FSJs through state, federal and private contracts to survey, monitor, band and manage habitat for critical populations. She also manages several important wetland restoration projects in South Carolina. She is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and has been a member of The Wildlife Society (TWS) since 1986 and of the Florida Chapter of TWS since 1992.

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Kimberly Tillman is a wildlife biologist with 17 years of experience in natural resource management, conservation, and education. Kimberly was a Land Management Specialist with the St. Johns River Water Management District where she specialized in habitat management and population recovery of threatened and endangered species like the Red-cockaded woodpecker and Florida Scrub-jay. As a private contractor she has collaborated with federal and state agencies and private landowners focusing on land conservation, habitat management, population management for listed species, and educational program development. Kimberly worked with the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville Florida to develop a program that brings butterfly gardens to Florida schools and promotes habitat and wildlife conservation with outdoor learning. Most recently, Kimberly coordinated the Ocala to Osceola Wildlife Corridor Program and Partnership. Where 26 organizations have joined together under the mission of protecting and connecting a 100-mile-long wildlife corridor to support plant and animal diversity, room to roam, clean air and water, recreation, military buffers, working lands, and resilience in the northeast portion of the state of Florida. Kimberly has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. She is a certified prescribed burn manager, aerial ignition operator, authorized gopher tortoise agent, a trained bander for Red-cockaded woodpecker and Florida Scrub-jays as well. Kimberly and her husband have two young children that love to be outside.

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Elizabeth is a dedicated conservationist with a robust background in environmental science. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Conservation Biology and a certificate in Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019. In 2023, Elizabeth completed a Master of Science in Nature Management, focusing her thesis, on which she collaborated with World Wildlife Fund, on the effects of marine protected areas on fish species and the factors that contribute to their success. Currently, Elizabeth serves as a Land Conservation Planner with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and is an active member of the Conservation Committee for the Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society.

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Tyler Mostellar graduated from the University of Florida in 2008 with a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation specializing in land management. During that time, he was an active member of the TWS student chapter and has been a member of the Florida Chapter of TWS since 2013. Tyler became a Certified Prescribed Burn Manager in 2010 and has been a Certified Wildlife Biologist® since 2014. Throughout his career, he has gained experience in both the public and private sectors. He has worked as a wildlife biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Lykes Bros. Ranch, as well as a consultant with Carter Environmental Services in St. Augustine, FL. Currently, Tyler is employed by the St. Johns River Water Management District as a regional Land Manager. Tyler’s areas of expertise are prescribed burning, wildlife habitat management, wildlife population survey design and implementation, and management planning. Additionally, Tyler has extensive experience in permitting, alligator egg harvest oversight, endangered species impact assessments, gopher tortoise relocations, and invasive species control. During his free time, Tyler likes spending time in the outdoors and fishing with his son and daughter near their home in Clay County.

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Jodi Slater is currently an environmental scientist with the St. John’s River Water Management District (SJRWMD) with 26 years experience working with wildlife and in habitats of the southeastern coastal plain. She has both a bachelor’s from UF in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and a Master’s from Clemson in Wildlife, Aquaculture, and Fisheries. She’s has worked for UF, FWC, SJRWMD, and consulting firms. She is a long-time member of FLTWS (joined in 2003) and had previously assisted with registration and served as the co-chair of the membership committee. Jodi brings some institutional knowledge from past FLTWS experience and is excited to serve as Member-at-Large.

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Holly Ferreira currently works as a Fish and Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the Vero Beach Ecological Services Field Office. She previously worked as a Biological Science Technician for Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. While she lived in North Carolina, Holly was actively involved with The Wildlife Society (TWS) on the student chapter, state chapter, and national levels. Holly founded the student chapter of TWS at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington (UNCW) while she was a graduate student there. Members of the student chapter were able to enjoy field trips, many guest speakers, a beast feast, and attending state chapter and national conferences. As part of her current position with USFWS, Holly serves as a liaison between USFWS and the UNCW student chapter of TWS and Student Conservation Association. Holly has also served in various roles for the North Carolina chapter of TWS, including being on the membership committee, planning the annual conference, and being an assistant editor for the newsletter. Since moving to Florida, Holly has joined the membership committee for the Florida chapter of TWS and has continued to serve as an assistant editor for the newsletter for the North Carolina chapter. In addition, Holly volunteers for Coastal Connections, Inc. and Friends of the Carr Refuge doing sea turtle nest surveys, nest excavations, outreach, and stranding response. She has also volunteered for Pelican Island Audubon Society doing bird ID hikes, student outreach, and participating in the Christmas Bird Count. In her remaining free time, Holly enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs, playing softball, and finding new places to explore and view wildlife in Florida.

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