Shannon Westlake

Dr. Shannon Westlake comes to us with a dynamic background in environmental research and conservation application, working across the public and private sectors for the past 12 years. The bulk of her conservation work has been focused on human dimensions, pollinator conservation, and stakeholder engagement on public and private lands. In the Southeast, Shannon has collaborated with academic professors, and state and federal agency conservation professionals to conduct landowner and angler surveys in Mississippi and Arkansas, respectively. These efforts were focused on better understanding the human dimensions affecting private lands and recreation decisions and applying the findings to improve future engagement efforts. In collaboration with the FWS, the RESTORE Council, and academic professors, she has also worked on co-production efforts in the Gulf Coast Region helping eight conservation organizations across the Gulf learn and apply web-based decision support tools in their land conservation efforts while capturing their feedback for tool improvements. In her current role, she collaborates with folks regionally and nationally to identify opportunities and integrate social science methods where they add value while also building social science capacity to strengthen future efforts. When she is not at work, you will find Shannon on a hiking trail with her partner and four-legged kids, or chasing pollinators with her camera!

Shannon holds a B.S. degree in Biology from the State University of New York at Potsdam, a M.S. degree in Environmental Studies from Green Mountain College, and a Ph.D. in Forest Resources, specializing in human dimensions of conservation, from Mississippi State University.