Manuel Anderson
Manuel studied political science at the University of Chicago and worked as a paralegal and as a teaching assistant abroad before rediscovering a deep connection to plants. Many outdoor volunteer experiences and participating in the Michigan Conservation Stewardship Program led him to work as a field research technician in southeast Michigan and as an environmental educator in Paraguay before earning an MS in applied ecology at Michigan Technological University. His research experiences include vegetation surveys to assess the impacts of chronic deer browse and of introduced earthworms on understory plant communities, forest health monitoring and inventory, and qualitative surveys and interviews. During graduate school, Manuel also had auspicious opportunities to support field research campaigns in Costa Rica and Isle Royale National Park in addition to field work conducted throughout the western Upper Peninsula for his thesis. Manuel loves gardening, visiting new parks and preserves with his dog Osa, and is diving into learning more about birds and herps.