Elise Ferrarese

Profile: I graduated from the PSM program at OSU with a master's in Environmental Science in 2008.  I completed my undergraduate education at the University of Oregon with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and Geography.  I then spent six years working on various ecological research projects in the academic and private sectors, gaining experience in field crew supervision, data management, and field sampling methodologies.  I chose the PSM program to further my education because I was interested in the internship component and the program's shared emphases on science and business curriculum.  My internship project with The Nature Conservancy involved coordinating a creek and wet prairie restoration feasibility study in the West Eugene Wetlands.  I am now employed as a research ecologist with the Wetland and Watershed Assessment Group at Earth Design Consultants in Corvallis. I am working on studies monitoring biocontrol agents for the invasive weed purple loosestrife in the Lower Columbia River, and assessing the habitat occupied by the invasive acquatic macrophyte Cabomba in Oregon's coastal lakes.  My responsibilities include crew supervision, data collection and analysis, report and proposal writing, and GIS analysis.