Alumni

'He really saw education as the answer'

Martha Love May and Jack May
Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

Professor Jack May was a man of his word, with a strong desire to connect people with education. “He really saw education as the answer—everybody deserves it,” says Marianne Causey, one of the former Warnell professor’s eight children. “And, they deserve equal and good education. And I appreciate that.”

Rooted in revelation: A researcher's dogged quest aims to reveal the genetic diversity of a mysterious tree

A small panda can be seen inside a growing container.

William Bartram was struck by the beauty of the trees he found along the banks of Georgia’s Altamaha River in 1773.

The trees, Bartram noted, had flowers that “are very large, expand themselves perfectly, are of a snow-white colour, and ornamented with a crown or tassel of gold coloured refulgent staminae in their centre.” Bartram had encountered the same trees when he and his father, John Bartram, went on their first expedition in 1765 to catalog the flora and fauna of the southeastern area of the North American colonies at the request of King George III.

USDA program helps Langdale Center bring underrepresented students into forestry field

Audrey Ballou
Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

The threads connecting Audrey Ballou’s life seemed disjointed at first: A love of the outdoors, the drive of a student athlete, an undergraduate degree in parks and recreation.

But over time, experiences began to weave together and a pattern emerged. A natural resources law class sparked an interest in legal studies, but the tuition was a heavy burden to carry. Then Ballou saw a flier for the National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship Grants program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Change of plans: Novel data from Warnell researchers informs the future of North Georgia Trout

Hailey Yondo works in a stream
Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

The fish writhed and splashed inside the plastic bucket as Kevin Thomas hustled down the pathway. He ducked off to the side, steadied his load over the water’s edge, and emptied its contents into the chilly waters of Smith Creek.

The rainbow trout shimmied into the deep and disappeared. Although, perhaps, not for long—several anglers out enjoying the crisp, sunny day at Unicoi State Park eyed Thomas and his truck, fresh from a Georgia Department of Natural Resources hatchery, with anticipation.

Rans Thomas: Blending ‘big data’ with wildlife needs

Rans Thomas
Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

There are three words that can create anxiety in the mind of any wildlife professional or researcher: trail camera survey.

After decades of managing and consulting for private hunting lands, Rans Thomas (BSFR ’99) knew this feeling all too well. Trail camera surveys, a method for understanding wildlife populations and creating management plans, are tedious and inefficient largely due to the manual process of viewing thousands of images, keeping track of results in spreadsheets or handwritten notes and processing data.

Yenie Tran: Better investments through teamwork

Yenie Tran headshot
Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

On its surface, the timber industry can seem simple: Trees grow, they’re harvested, they’re replanted.

But if you dig a little deeper, you uncover layers of intricacies. There are state and federal policies, international influences, asset distributions, planning, data collection and more. It’s these details that inspire Yenie Tran (BBA ’02, PHD ’15), allowing her to fully embrace the field and her role as senior economic analyst at Resource Management Service, a timberland investment management organization based in Birmingham, Alabama.

Brian Simmons: Part of a small crowd with big changes

Brian Simmons
Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

As a high school student, Brian Simmons (BSFR ’93) landed a summer job at a local fish farm.

It began as a way to earn some cash, but then Simmons began to meet other professionals—including Jay Shelton, who at the time was working for UGA Extension’s Griffin office. He kept with the job through his early years at Middle Georgia College, and began working there full-time after graduating from Warnell.

Ashley Turner: ‘Healthy agriculture is good for everybody’

Ashley Turner
Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

As a graduate student, Ashley Turner (MS ’05) cut her teeth in game management by studying red-tailed hawks inhabiting the historic quail hunting grounds of the Jones Center at Ichauway. Her first job after graduating was a good fit, managing for game populations at the sprawling W.C. Bradley Farms outside Columbus, Georgia.

Double Dawg finds path to connect love of outdoors with forestry business

Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

If part of being successful is asking the right questions, then Shelda Owens got off to an early start.

In middle school, inspired by a television show that featured daring mountain rescues, she wrote a letter to the U.S. Forest Service to learn more about working in forestry. The Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, native knew she liked being outside and was curious what a career in forestry might look like.

‘It keeps you busy’: Decades managing East Texas forests connect alumnus with the land

Communications Director

Contact Information

Contact Kristen Morales

Phone:
706-206-3055
kmorales@uga.edu

Campus address

Office:
Building 1-202

About

Education:
B.A., Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2002
B.S., Print Journalism, Syracuse University, 1998
Biography:

Kristen comes to Warnell after spending five years as communications manager at the UGA College of Education. At Warnell, she oversees the production of The Log, the college's alumni magazine, as well as regular news releases, website updates and social media content. Before working for UGA, Kristen spent more than 15 years in the newspaper industry as an editor, writer, copy editor and designer at newspapers in New York, Massachusetts, California, Florida and Georgia. 

It’s been 40 years since Rex Benham (BSFR ’82) traded the rolling hills of Georgia with the open skies of East Texas, but he feels he got a good deal in the end.

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