Melanie Kay Vanderhoof

Jefferson Academic Center, Room 220

950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610

mevanderhoof@clarku.edu

CLARK UNIVERSITY Current GPA: 4.05 Worcester, MA

PhD Student, Geography Department 8/10 – Present

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY San Francisco, CA

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  Concentration: Natural Resources and Environmental Planning
  
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  Thesis: Distribution Patterns of Perennial Pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium, in the San Francisco Bay
  

CORNELL UNIVERSITY Ithaca, NY

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  Honor: 2004 Award of Academic Excellence in Biology and Society – Highest Cumulative
  

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  Semesters Abroad: School for Field Studies, Kenya (Fall 2002), Massey University, New Zealand
  

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  Dean List: Spring 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, College of Agriculture and Life Science 11/09
  

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

CLARK UNIVERSITY, GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT Worcester, MA

SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY, URBAN STUDIES PROGRAM San Francisco, CA

CORNELL UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY Ithaca, NY

RESEARCH INTERESTS

I am interested in the affect of disturbance events and climate change on forest ecosystems, particularly in terms of carbon, energy, and water dynamics, and seek to utilize field work, modeling, remote sensing, and the eddy covariance technique to answer relevant research questions.
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Vanderhoof, M., C.A. Williams, J.W. Munger, J. Hadley & D.R. Fitzjarrald. 2011. Comparative analysis of carbon, water, and energy exchanges post clear-cut, Harvard Forest, MA. Association of American Geographers, 12-16 April, Seattle, WA.
Vanderhoof, M. , B. Holzman & C. Rogers. 2009. Predicting the distribution of perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium, San Francisco Bay Area, California. Invasive Plant Science and Management. 2(3): 260-269.
Vanderhoof, M. & C. Rogers. 2007. Distributional patterns of perennial pepperweed, Lepidium latifolium, in the San Francisco Bay, a CalFed project. CAL-IPC Symposium, 20-22 September, San Diego, CA.
Vanderhoof, M. 2006. Disturbance trends for harbor seals, Phoca vitulina richardii, at PRNS, CA: 1997-2005. 8^th Annual Conservation Biology Symposium, 4 February, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA.
AWARDS
2011 NASA Earth and Space Science (NESSF) Fellowship (C. Williams, P.I.)

“Albedo and evapotranspiration consequences of bark beetle outbreaks as detected by remote sensing in coniferous forests, Rocky Mountains, USA” $30,000

“Woody debris decomposition dynamics in a post-harvest chronosequence”

MICHAEL BAKER JR., CORPORATION Moon Township, PA

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  Maintained compliance with relevant federal, state and local environmental policies and regulations by assessing the health of aquatic resources, monitoring water quality, and surveying flora and fauna at active project sites.
  
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  Successfully managed environmental review processes for multiple projects. Obtained relevant permits, allowing multiple projects in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Iowa to proceed as planned.
  
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  Managed field survey teams and served as biological task manager for projects up to 1200 acres in size.
  
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  Prepared budgets and scopes of work in response to Requests for Proposal (RFP). Successfully secured contracts of up to $500,000 for the provision of environmental services.
  

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATES (ESA) Oakland, CA

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  Analyzed the biological impacts of commercial and utility development projects. Worked with clients to mitigate impacts and bring projects into compliance with applicable federal, state and local environmental regulations.
  
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  Conducted protocol level surveys and habitat assessments for special status wildlife species including: San Joaquin kit fox, burrowing owl, California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, and northern spotted owl.
  
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  Delineated aquatic resources for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and California Department of Fish and Game.
  

POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE / AMERICORPS Olema, CA

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  Supervised park-wide monitoring of harbor seal and northern elephant seal populations. Analyzed the data collected during monitoring and published a report on the breeding success, and impact of human-caused disturbances, on those populations.
  
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  Recruited, trained and coordinated volunteers for the park’s marine mammal monitoring program.
  

NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION Stony Brook, NY

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  Monitored least tern, common tern, and piping plover populations on behalf of DEC biological researchers. Performed intensive population management to maintain the viability of vulnerable shorebird populations.
  
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  Conducted public outreach activities and responded to public concerns regarding wildlife issues.
  

SCHOOL FOR FIELD STUDIES Kenya

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  Completed an on-going research project which assessed the feasibility of a community-run wildlife sanctuary to be located adjacent to Amboseli National Park in Kenya.
  
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  Performed fieldwork with fellow student researchers to address issues crucial to Kenya’s wildlife and communities.
  

TRAININGS AND SKILLS

COMPUTER SKILLS: ESRI GIS applications including ArcView 9.1- 9.3, MatLab, SPSS, SAS, and Dreamweaver.