Meet Our Team

David Giblin, Ph.D.
Project Manager, Herbarium Collections Manager, Research Scientist

David Giblin is Collections Manager and Research Botanist at the University of Washington Herbarium, Burke Museum.  His research interest is the floristics and taxonomy of Pacific Northwest vascular plants, for which he has conducted extensive field work throughout the region.  He is lead editor and co-author for Flora of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd edition, curates the Plants of Washington Image Gallery, Taxon Editor for the Flora of North America project, and co-author of several regional plant identification apps and wildflower guides.

Hayden Wright
​2025 Intern

Hayden is studying plant biology at the UW, where he has worked on plant taxonomy research with the Herbarium as a part of the Tribble Lab.  In his free time he enjoys learning about plant diversity, biking, and exploring new places outside.  His interests include plant taxonomy, and rare/narrowly endemic plants and their biogeography.

Maggie Koontz
​2025 Intern

Maggie is in her final year majoring in Environmental Science and minoring in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. She is interested in alpine ecology, mycology, and restoration work. In her free time, Maggie enjoys exploring the mountains and islands of Washington, reading, biking, and listening to music. 

Yssy Wallace-Wells
​2025 Intern

Yssy graduated from UW this past winter quarter with a BA in general biology and a BA in food systems, nutrition, and health with a minor in dance. When she isn’t working at the farmers market she enjoys backpacking, crocheting, and hanging out with her kitties. Originally from California she fell in love with the verdant forests of Washington and is excited to experience more diverse environments throughout the state this summer.

Payton Danosky 
2024 Intern​

Payton graduated from UW this past spring with a B.S. in General Biology. As a student, she completed paleobotany research in the Strömberg Lab, vertebrate paleontology research in the Wilson-Mantilla Lab, and pediatric rheumatology research with the Zhao Lab through Seattle Children's Hospital. In her free time, she loves to hike, camp, and read. Payton is excited to learn more about alpine flora and explore new research topics with the end goal of attending graduate school. 

Iris Dimpsey
2024 Intern​

Iris is in her final year at UW finishing a B.S. in Environmental Science and Resource Management with a minor in Data Science. In her free time, Iris enjoys reading, hiking, and movies. She is excited to get more field research and hiking experience over the summer! Iris is currently interested in the dynamics of urban wildlife populations and communities. 

Winston Hackett
2024 Intern​

Winston is doing a 5th year masters in CS at Brown, with a focus on Environmental Science as well. He enjoys learning about ethnobotany of Pacific Northwest Native Tribes, gardening, and woodworking. Winston is interested in pursuing a career of AI and other technology in agriculture, forestry, or something plant related.

Matthew Inthone Chao
2023 Intern

Inthone is in their final year at the UW finishing a B.S. in Environmental Science Resource Management and a minor in Music. They are excited to be in the field and contributing to research for the summer! In their free time, they enjoy reading, movies, and live music both as a spectator and performer. Inthone is currently interested in restoration ecology and its
applications in urban environments.  

Erik Ertsgaard
​2023 Intern

Erik is a fourth year student at UW majoring in Environmental Science and Resource Management and minoring in Quantitative Science. Outside of this project, he is the President of the UW chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration and manages a site on campus. His free time is spent going on walks, reading, and playing sports. Erik is hoping to embark on a research career in plant community ecology and ethnobotany.

Nicholas Gjording
​2023 Intern

Nick graduated from the UW this past spring with a B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and a minor in music. As a student, he pursued his interest in plants studying the functional evolution of flowering genes in ferns in the Di Stilio lab. In his free time, he loves playing violin, biking, and running. Nick is interested in the evolution of novel adaptations and speciation in plants and is excited to learn about the alpine flora this summer!

Brielle Canares
2022 Intern

Brielle recently graduated from UW with a B.S. in Biology and minor in Chemistry. She is excited to be spending her summer experiencing the challenges of fieldwork! While she isn't working, she loves to hike, practice judo and run with her dog, Sammy. Brielle is currently interested in paleobotany and works with the Strömberg Lab to reconstruct past environments through the use of phytoliths (plant biosilica). ​

Samantha Lieberman
2022 Intern

Sam is in her final year at UW working towards a B.S. in General Biology and a minor in Urban Ecological Design. Originally from California, she spends her free time exploring the Washington outdoors through climbing, trail running, biking, and skiing. Sam is interested in science accessibility and communication, and hopes to make this a priority in future museum research.

Sophia Ronan
2022 Intern

Sophia is a rising senior at UW studying Environmental Science and Resource Management. As an aspiring botanist, working on the 50 Peaks Project is an incredible opportunity for experiential learning in the field. In her free time, Sophia loves to read and get outside in whatever way she can. Sophia is interested in the biological implications of climate change on plant species richness and diversity, and how this might influence the restoration of ecosystems. 

Ava Jeanne Gutheil
2022-2023 Undergraduate Researcher

Ava Jeanne Gutheil is an undergraduate at the University of Washington. She is majoring in Environmental Science and Resource Management, and Art History. When not in school Ava Jeanne enjoys being outside - hiking, biking, gardening and skiing, or sewing her own clothes. She is interested in park management as well as preserving and restoring our historic landscapes and ecosystems.​

Phoebe Smurthwaite
2022-2023 Undergraduate Researcher

Phoebe Smurthwaite is graduating from the University of Washington in 2023 with a B.A. in General Biology and a minor in Environmental Science and Resource Management. She wants to be a botanist and enjoys the collection trips as it allows her to see unique plants and spend time outside. In her freetime Phoebe enjoys hiking and painting. After graduation, Phoebe has been hired as a botany intern for the Americorp in Oregon.

Ava Kloss-Schmidt
2021 Intern

Ava Kloss-Schmidt is a graduate of the University of Washington where she studied Plant Biology and minored in Microbiology and Environmental Science. She is interested in many aspects of plant biology and has enjoyed working to understand plant-herbivore interactions in the Steinbrenner lab, wildflower phenology with Meadowatch and alpine flora with the 50 Peaks Project. The 50 Peaks Project was her first field botany experience, she hopes to do more field work in the future. After interning with the 50 Peaks Project she has a new found love of being on mountain tops and hopes to climb many more in coming summers. 

Leo Linder
2021 Intern

Leo graduated from UW in 2021 with a B.S. in biology, specializing in ecology, evolution, and conservation. He is an avid hiker, birder, and most recently angler. This project was one of the highlights of his undergraduate experience and has had a significant impact on him—Leo has been totally converted to a peak summit-er and plant identifier! He is currently in law school at Seattle University.

Samuel Champlin
Research Assistant

Joey Ellis
Research Assistant

Biography & photograph coming soon

Biography & photograph coming soon

Acknowledgements
​

Financial Support:
Tony Cavalieri and Ellen Look
Jim Duemmel
Peter Dunwiddie and Liz Bell
Nole Knoke
Wendy McClure
Carol Nygren
Don and Ann Schaechtel
Peter Stekel and Jennie Goldberg
Donovan and Linda Tracy
Ann and Fred Weinmann

Backcountry Information:
Matt Below
Gary Brill
Jim Duemmel

Field Support:
Julia Bent
Peter Dunwiddie
Dick Olmstead
Tynan Ramm-Granberg
Peter Zika

Permit Support:
Shannon Batterman
Brittany Clegg
Beth Fallon
Sharon Sarrantonio
Dale Reinhart
Kacy Smith

Sampling Design Support:
Hannah Marx

Educational Support:
Berl Nussbaum

Laboratory and Database Support:
Dan Post
Crystal Shin