Field Inclusive Names 2024 Fall Travel Award Recipients

August 20, 2024 | FIELD INCLUSIVE

For immediate release

Contact: Field Inclusive; info@fieldinclusive.org

Deandra Jones (she/her), a Ph.D. student at the University of Arizona School of Natural Resources and Environment, and Hannah Clipp (she/her), a postdoctoral researcher with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station are the recipients of a Field Inclusive 2024 Fall Travel Award.

The travel awards, each in the amount of $2000, help to support applicants (undergraduate, masters, doctoral, or postdoc) to attend a scientific conference, training, or workshop taking place in the Fall 2024 year. This year’s awards are sponsored by Conservation Nation (CN, $2000) and Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS, $2000); because of these generous sponsors, FI is able to distribute 2 awards in total.

Deandra Jones

Deandra Jones is prepared to use the award to attend The Wildlife Society Conference in Baltimore, Maryland this October to present a poster on her Ph.D. research, which will be her first time ever doing so. Jones identifies as Kinłichíí’nii, born for Ashįįhí (she is of the red house people and born for the salt people). Currently in the third year of pursuing a Ph.D. in wildlife conservation and management at the University of Arizona, her research centers on the black bear population within the Navajo Nation. Her work aims to estimate the black bear population, mitigate increasing human-bear conflicts, and interweave Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) from Navajo culture with scientific understanding of this species. Bears hold deep spiritual significance in Navajo beliefs, and Jones is dedicated to passing down this Traditional Knowledge to future generations. Her research blends ecological study with cultural heritage while providing important data to support local wildlife management and community safety efforts.

Hannah Clipp

Hannah Clipp is prepared to use the award to attend the American Ornithological Society Conference in Estes Park, Colorado this October to present on her Ph.D. research. Clipp is currently working in a postdoctoral position with the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. She is collaborating with scientists from the Landscape Change Research Group to conduct research on climate change impacts on birds and forest pests. Clipp graduated last year with a Ph.D. in Natural Resources Science from West Virginia University, where she worked with the West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Her dissertation research focused on long-term responses in bird communities and abundance to forest management and climate change in the Appalachian Mountains.

“Both applicants are compelling, set the bar high, and fit the mission and goals of Field Inclusive perfectly,” says Lauren D. Pharr, co-founder and Field Inclusive CFO. “We are looking forward to highlighting more about their work, and are excited that these awards will help towards offsetting costs so they can both focus more on their professional development.”

Field Inclusive plans to open the next call for applications in Summer of 2025.