Meet the LERS Board!
Kevin L. Erwin – LERS President
Kevin L. Erwin is a professional wetland scientist and Certified Senior Ecologist with over four decades of experience in large-scale ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, and watershed evaluation. Since 1974, he has evaluated, designed, managed, constructed, and monitored numerous ecological restoration, water management and biodiversity projects for governments, UN agencies, industry, and NGOs around the world. He currently serves as the president and principal ecologist at Kevin L. Erwin Consulting Ecologist, Inc. and is also a faculty member at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), where he is currently leading a research initiative in the oligotrophic wetlands of the historical Everglades. Kevin is recognized as an international authority in wetland restoration, and provides expertise to UN Agencies, and organizations like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His work has been honored by creating the Erwin Environmental Ecology Collection at the FGCU Library Archives. You can contact Kevin by email: klerwin@environment.com
Virgil Alexandru Iordache – LERS President-elect
Virgil is an Associate professor and a Senior researcher at the University of Bucharest, teaching several environmental management and sustainability science classes in the Department of Systems Ecology and Sustainability. He is also the director of the “Dan Manoleli” Research Centre for Ecological Services – CESEC of the University of Bucharest. His main research interests are in the biogeochemistry of heavy metals, sustainability science, and the philosophical foundations of socio-ecological research. As part of his applied research, Virgil has worked on Danube’s floodplain restoration, riparian wetlands management and mining area remediation Europe. For more information, visit his website: https://virgiliordache.com/
Nehemiah Tettey Odjer-Bio – LERS Secretary
Nehemiah Tettey Odjer-Bio is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner-in-Training (CERPIT) and a member of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER). He holds a Master of Science in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management degrees, both from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He was a member of the Society for Ecological Restoration- Online Member Community ad-hoc Committee that first piloted the SER Connect platform. Most recently, he has reviewed abstracts for the 11th World Conference on Ecological Restoration (SER2025).
He coordinates the Forest and Biodiversity Program of Friends of the Earth Ghana, and he is leading the team in restoring mangroves in the Keta Lagoon Complex Ramsar Site located on the southeastern coast of Ghana. He is a professional with over ten (10) years of experience in project management, lobbying and advocacy, community engagements & consultations, and forest operations planning. Nehemiah has a keen interest in ecological restoration, sustainable and inclusive forest governance, environmental water quality monitoring, environmental research, and conservation.
Charles Smith – LERS Treasurer
Charles is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) with over three decades of experience in natural resource management, ecological restoration, large-scale project coordination, policy development, and public speaking. He has worked in public lands management overseeing natural resource inventory, planning and management, for systems as large as 23,000 acres. Throughout his career, Charles has worked on various biomes, including forests, grasslands, wetlands, as well as riverine systems, and riparian corridors. He also has a broad background in wildlife management, water quality assessment and monitoring, as well as regulatory review and permitting. He works extensively with non-profit organizations to support research, natural area preservation, local and state policy revisions, outreach and education. Charles previously served on the SER Marketing and Outreach Subcommittee and was a LERS at-large board member from 2023-2025.
At-Large Directors
Vera Smith
Vera Smith has worked in land management and conservation for three decades, with a focus on conserving and restoring large landscapes in the United States. She currently serves as the Director of National Forests and Public Lands Program for Defenders of Wildlife, a non-governmental organization based in Washington DC, where she promotes policy and planning frameworks for protecting and restoring large landscapes that will support native biodiversity. Her restoration experience straddles science and policy. She has designed and managed restoration projects for the National Park Service, participated in numerous large-scale land planning endeavors, and developed policy frameworks for the advancement of large landscape restoration, conservation, and assessment. She works extensively with NGOs throughout the US to advance science-based land management practices and conserve biodiversity. She completed her graduate work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she focused on watershed restoration and the intersection of policy and practice. She is enthusiastic about engaging citizens in restoration and conservation especially on publicly owned lands.
Tim Graham
Tim heads up the new business unit looking at large scale restoration, nature finance and Biodiversity Net Gain, as an Associate Director at RSK Wilding (UK). He has spent twenty five years in the nature conservation and restoration sector . Most recently Tim spent time developing an ecology focused team and sett up of the Office for Environmental Protection (England and Northern Ireland environmental watchdog). Before that, over the previous five years, Tim was CEO of two Wildlife Trusts (local nature recovery NGOs in the UK). He is active with the UK based Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) where is he lead author on their guidance for large scale restoration and nature recovery, and British Ecological Society. Tim’s main area of expertise is in landscape-scale restoration and planning for biodiversity net gain in England, Wales and Scotland. More recent experience extends into Nature Finance and national policy developments. Previously he has led regional nature recovery projects, peatland restoration partnerships, and government restoration schemes. Tim’s interest has expanded internationally with RSK, mainly expanding to Republic of Ireland and the EU Restoration Law, but also wider RSK Group work (e.g. Africa and Australia) developing approaches to match large scale restoration needs to new finance mechanisms and corporate business risk investments.
Martina is a marine biologist and ecologist with underwater work experience in marine environments, microbial ecology, GIS and habitat mapping applied to environmental conservation. Martina is passionate about ocean literacy, restoration, and addressing issues like marine pollution and coastal habitat degradation. She has coordinated many citizen science initiatives both in freshwater and marine ecosystems, including two Blue School Projects in the Circeo MaB Reserve and surrounding areas, in Italy. She has also worked as a scientific diver and contributed to several restoration initiatives, mainly operating in the Mediterranean Sea and in tropical regions. Martina is currently appointed as the leading scientist of the transboundary initiative “TRASH TALK IN ACTION” and has already trained hundreds of people on marine sciences and diving. Martina also serves the National Decade Committee of the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences, the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC), the Climate Crisis Commission (CCC) and EMSEA, and is a reviewer for several open-access journals, including the role of expert for IPBES and MedECC reports. Martina’s goal is to create an ocean-literate society. Learn more about Martina’s work: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martina-g-113b8597/ ; https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martina_Gaglioti
Zulukumzuk Pongen
Mr. Zulukumzuk Pongen is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP) who holds a four-year BSc degree in Forestry and a postgraduate in Advanced Project Management. He possesses 14 years of experience working with government and multinational donor projects. He has extensive experience in projects related to Project Management, Silviculture, Social Forestry, Agroforestry, Forest Management, Biodiversity Conservation and Management, Tree Breeding, Ecological Restoration, and Capacity Development. He worked for seven years with the UNDP as a Programme Specialist under the UNDP-GEF project titled ‘Sustainable Land and Ecosystem Management in Shifting Cultivation Areas of Nagaland for Ecological and Livelihood Security in Nagaland, India. Currently, Mr. Zulukumzuk is affiliated with the Forest and Biodiversity Management in the Himalaya Nagaland project under the Nagaland State Biodiversity Board in India. He brings along all the relevant skills necessary to technically support and lead a project focused on community conservation areas. He has a proven track record in the implementation of participatory rural appraisal methods, Ecological restoration, community-based conservation planning. You can connect with Zulukumzuk Pongen on LinkedIn.
Krishan Kaushik
Krishan Kaushik is a PhD candidate at the University of Pecs – Hungary with a research focus on vegetation dynamics and invasion ecology in temperate forests of Europe and the USA. He holds degrees in Plant Biotechnology and Botany, with a M.Phil and a M.Sc. from the University of Delhi, India. Krishan actively contributes to organizations like SER Global, IAVS-EVS, and IUCN-CEM, and has completed certificate courses in ecosystem restoration and forest landscape restoration management by the UNDP, and FAO. He has practical experience in working with NGOs on various social and environmental causes and possesses strong skills in science outreach and digital media. Krishan aims to apply his diverse portfolio in restoration ecology and ecopreneurship to support the mission of LERS. He is also a board member of the IBS education committee, and an affiliated member of ERA-India. Learn more about Krishan’s work: Tweets / Ask@Rgate / Share@LinkdIN
Pal Martin Eid
Pål Martin Eid is a restoration practitioner with an M.Sc. from the agricultural University of Norway. He is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practioner (CERP) by SER. He has been working with nature restoration and nature management for the past 20 years, and is specialized in restoration of damaged wetlands. He has been a project leader for the restoration of wetlands in Norway for the past 6 years, and has been involved in all the parts of restoration, from mapping and surveying to planning, implementation and supervising projects. He has seen more than 100 wetland restoration projects over the whole country, including restoration work in boreal forests and taiga, riparian systems, fens and swamp forests. He is currently working with nature restoration in SWECO Norway.
Lindsay Teunis
Lindsay Teunis is a Principal Restoration Ecologist and Mitigation Program Specialist at SWCA, based in Colorado, United States. She has more than two decades of experience in ecology and restoration, primarily managing complex multi-benefit natural resource projects. Lindsay’s expertise lies in wetland habitat assessment, as well as restoration design, implementation, and monitoring. Since completing her graduate work at San Diego State University in 2005, where she focused on seagrass ecology and restoration, Lindsay has transitioned to the land/water interface working in rivers, estuaries, vernal pools, and wetlands in general. She focuses on habitat assessments and is currently one of the lead CRAM (California Rapid Assessment Method) trainers. Due to her work on functional habitat assessments, she was invited to join California’s Level 2 Committee in 2012 where she remains an active member. Lindsay is also a board member for the California Society for Ecological Restoration (SERCAL) and co-lead of their diversity committee.
Mahdi Kolahi
Mahdi Kolahi is an environmental sociologist and Associate Professor at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. His work focuses on large-scale ecosystem restoration, environmental governance, and the human dimensions of conservation. He has contributed to national and international initiatives on landscape restoration, biodiversity protection, and social-ecological resilience. Mahdi serves as a Lead Author for the UN’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) and previously contributed to the IPBES Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific. He also holds leadership roles within IUCN’s Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM) and leads Atazis, a national NGO focused on participatory conservation and environmental education. Through extensive fieldwork and applied research, Mahdi bridges science, policy, and community engagement. He brings a strong interdisciplinary approach and is passionate about advancing restoration strategies that are socially inclusive, ethically grounded, and ecologically sound.