Keynote Speakers

NAISMA hosts the only conference to bridge geographic divides across North America in invasive species management. Network with natural resource managers, researchers, and leaders in the invasive species field. 

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Keynote Speakers

The NAISMA board of directors, staff, and planning committee are thrilled to bring our expert keynote speakers to Nebraska, a state with unparalleled invasive species concerns.

Dr. Patricia Baiao

Island Conservation

October 17th

Dr. Janette Davis

Science is Everywhere, LLC

October 18th

Platte River Timelapse

Conservation Photography in the Great Plains

October 19th

Dr. Patricia Baiao

Island Conservation

October 17th

Managing Invasions: What’s Worked, What Hasn’t, and What Might

OCTOBER 17
A problem managing invasions is early detection. Use of citizen scientists and smartphones is aiding this effort, as is the advent of eDNA. Populations of many species have been eradicated, especially but not only when detected early; technologies to do so are improving. Many invaders have been maintained at low levels, even after widespread establishment, usually by physical, chemical, and biological methods. Non-target impacts are a persistent problem of the latter two approaches. New technologies based on molecular genetics to eradicate or manage animal invasions are being developed, although there is notably little activity on research and development of such tools for invasive plants.  Gene-silencing is already used to manage invasive insects and is being developed for other species. Oxitec’s genetically engineered Aedes aegypti mosquito, though controversial, has been massively released in nature in the wake of the zika epidemic, and gene-editing projects employing CRISPR Cas 9 gene drives to eradicate invasive species are under development despite substantial controversy regarding potential unintended consequences.  All in all, the means are already in hand to lessen greatly invasions and problems wrought by them, and further advances are likely.  The problems in developing and employing them are primarily socioeconomic.

Patty Baiao

Patty Baiao Ph.D., Director of Partnerships at Island Conservation: Patty received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her doctoral work focused on the evolution of phenotypes in seabirds and she conducted extensive field work in the Galapagos Islands and in Brazil. She currently serves as Director of Partnerships at Island Conservation supporting partner engagement in all IC’s programs and advancing enabling conditions for project implementations. She is dedicated to fostering multi-stakeholder processes and to the use of best available science, including traditional knowledge, to support meaningful conservation interventions and outcomes. She previously led IC’s US portfolio working with local partners to implement eradication projects. Prior to IC, Patty occupied various leadership roles at Conservation International between 2009 and 2015, directing the Amazon Program and serving as the Director of Governance and Policies. She has worked extensively with NGOs, governments, and conservation networks to advance conservation on the ground.

Dr. Janette Davis

Science is Everywhere, LLC

October 18th

Building Community in Invasive Species Management

October 18

Invasive species cause billions of dollars in ecological and economic damage each year impacting industries such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, real estate and international trade. While there are several approaches to prevent and respond to invasive species, building diverse communities in both expertise and experience is essential for effective invasive species management. Through storytelling, Dr. Davis delivers policy experience and scientific understanding to encourage audiences to make real-world connections to invasive species and concerted efforts towards building diverse teams to help mitigate invasive species.

About Dr. Jeanette Davis

Dr. Jeanette Davis (Dr. Ocean) is a Marine Microbiologist, 2X Amazon bestselling children’s science book author, and served as the Invasive Species Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Davis earned a B.S. in Marine and Environmental Science from Hampton University and a Ph.D. in Marine Microbiology from the University of Maryland. Davis is recently cited in Science where she ultimately helped discover a marine microbe associated with a Hawaiian sea slug and its algal diet that helps fight cancer.


Davis has integrated her scientific knowledge and policy experience to help manage invasive species which led to the 2020 North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA) – Rita Beard Visionary Leadership Award. Davis helped develop a blueprint for how to manage invasive species across multiple NOAA departments, programs, and geographically distant facilities. She has built and engaged with diverse teams within NOAA, across several federal and state governments, and has served as the US representative on two international committees to help mitigate invasive species. Davis championed the use of environmental DNA tools to better track invasive species and helped lead a team of federal scientists that produced a highly cited technical report in the Management of Biological Invasions Journal: Strategic considerations for invasive species managers in the utilization of environmental DNA (eDNA): steps for incorporating this powerful surveillance tool. Davis continues to be a strong supporter of building diverse teams to manage invasive species. You can find out more at www.drjeanettedavis.com

Platte River Timelapse

Conservation Photography in the Great Plains

October 19th

Platte Basin Timelapse

October 19

Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT) has been in motion since early 2011. Currently, the project has more than 60 timelapse camera systems placed throughout the 90,000 square-mile basin, from its headwaters along the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rockies to the river’s confluence with the Missouri River on Nebraska’s eastern border. Our cameras capture change over time on a diversity of landscapes including places where management has been used to control invasive species. Like chapters in a book, each timelapse camera tells one part of the story of that proverbial drop of water as it journeys roughly 900 river miles through the heart of North America. The PBT team creates innovative multimedia content to tell the myriad stories of the Platte: web-based journalism, blending art and research, STEM-based educational curriculum, university-level courses, and documentary films.

Learn more at: plattebasintimelapse.com 

Dakota Altman

Dakota Altman grew up in the North Bottoms of Lincoln, Nebraska. His backyard was where he first fell in love with nature. Family trips in the summers took him across the vast western states through some truly beautiful landscapes. Dakota always yearned to live somewhere else; but all along his home of prairie, woodland, and wetlands had been waiting, tugging him closer, revealing ever so slowly the fascinations of our unique natural world. Dakota answered that call, and as a graduate student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, he studied to become a conservation storyteller. His work focused on the dynamic story of the “Wetlands Among Us”. Dakota is now a full-time producer with Platte Basin Timelapse. He hopes that by sharing what makes a place special, others will be in awe of the beauty right under their noses.

Ethan Freese

Ethan started at Platte Basin Timelapse as a production intern in 2015. After completing his undergraduate degrees at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) in Fisheries and Wildlife and Grassland Ecology and Management, Ethan started a Master’s of Applied Science project at UNL, which he completed in August 2020. Growing up, Ethan’s summers were spent exploring the prairies and waterways of Southeast Nebraska. Ethan has developed a deep appreciation for the prairies of Nebraska and he hopes to use the power of photography to show others the beauty and importance of these undervalued ecosystems.