SFRTP Researchers

Meet the Researchers

	Jenny Adler earned a B.S. in Marine Biology from Brown University and moved to Florida in 2011 to work at USGS where she mainly worked with Gulf sturgeon in the Suwannee River. She is now a Ph.D. student at the University of Florida studying grazers and dissolved oxygen in Florida's springs, where she can usually be found doing research, taking pictures, or cave diving. She has worked on the Santa Fe River Turtle Project since 2013.
	Dr. Matthew Carrigan is Assistant Professor of Biology at Santa Fe College. He earned a B.S. in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Florida. He has worked on the Santa Fe River Turtle Project since 2012.
	Austin Cave is an undergraduate research assistant who joined the project in 2010 while he was a student in Dr Johnston’s General Biology class. His background in coastal free diving, scuba diving, and spearfishing developed a natural skill set towards live capture research. He currently is living in Tampa Bay and travels up to the Santa Fe to assist the team whenever he can.
	Adrienne Drennen is a senior in the Biology Department at the University of Florida. She received her A.A. from Santa Fe College and has worked with Dr. Johnston on the Santa Fe River Turtle Project since the spring of 2011. A great lover of animals, Adrienne trains horses and teaches riding lessons in addition to her work with the SFRTP research team.
	Cody Godwin earned an A.S. from the Santa Fe College Zoo Animal Technology Program and a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida. He has worked on the Santa Fe River Turtle Project since 2009. He has also conducted research on Gopher Tortoises in coastal dunes, Cuban Treefrogs in urban environments, Fox Squirrels in upland pine ecosystems, bird and rodent communities in Swaziland/South Africa, and reptile communities in Loango National Park in Gabon.
	Dr. Jerry Johnston is the Founder/Director of the Santa Fe River Turtle Project and Professor of Biology at Santa Fe College. He received a B.S. from Villanova University and a Ph.D. from the University of Miami. In 2011, he was named Florida Professor of the Year by the Association of Florida Colleges.
	Yurii Kornilev earned a B.S. in Biology from Davidson College and M.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida. His M.S. thesis topic is behavioral ecology and effects of disturbance on the Suwannee Cooter (Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis) in the Santa Fe River. He is currently a conservation biologist in Bulgaria. He joined the Santa Fe River Turtle Project in 2007.
	Anthony Lau earned an A.A. from Santa Fe College and both a B.S. and M.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida. His M.S. thesis is on seasonal activity patterns and burrow selection of the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) in coastal sand dunes. He has worked on multiple herpetological projects, including the Santa Fe River Turtle Project, since 2006. His interests lie primarily in the conservation biology of freshwater turtles and tortoises and effects of anthropogenic disturbances on herpetological communities. Anthony is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Hong Kong.
	Dr. Joseph C. Mitchell is a self-employed herpetologist/ecologist. He obtained a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1974, a M.S. in Zoology from Arizona State University in 1976, and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Tennessee in 1982. He has authored or co-authored 5 books and over 450 popular articles and scientific papers. Joe has also co-edited 2 books. He has worked on the Santa Fe River Turtle Project since 2008.
	Jordan Schmitt is an undergraduate research assistant at Santa Fe College who joined the project in 2014. He volunteers with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and mainly focuses on the ecology and natural history of Florida's rare upland snakes such as the Florida Pine Snake, Short Tailed Snake and Southern Hognose Snake. He also is doing an independent survey/study on Eastern Tiger Salamanders in the peninsular part of Florida. In his off time, he travels all over Florida and southern Georgia in search of wildlife primarily focusing on reptiles and amphibians and photographing everything he finds.
	Georgia Shemitz and Pete Butt are owners of Karst Environmental Services, Inc. a company that provides specialized water resource services and scientific diving services. They assist with field activities and provide water craft and other equipment support. Their Santa Fe River residence is used by the team as a field station. Georgia takes photographs and is the webmaster for this website.
	Eric Suarez earned an A.A. from Santa Fe College and a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida. He conducts ecological research on frogs, snakes, and turtles throughout Florida. He joined the Santa Fe River Turtle Project in 2008. Eric is currently pursuing a M.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida.
	Travis Thomas earned an A.A. from Santa Fe College, a B.S.in Natural Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida, and a M.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida. Travis’ research focuses mainly on the ecology and management of macrofauna in riparian systems. His M.S. thesis topic is status, distribution, and home range of the Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle in the Suwannee River. He is currently employed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in the Reptile and Amphibian Subsection. Travis began field research with Dr. Johnston in 2004 and was the first student to work on the Santa Fe River Turtle Project.
	William Wollman is an employee at Blue Springs. When the team is working there, his knowledge of the spring and his assistance with logistics is invaluable. William has has been with the project since 2009.