Madeleine Wallace

Maddie is a second-year PhD student in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment and a member of the FunEco Lab, led by Dr. Rachel M. Mitchell. Her research focuses on how climate change affects plant community resilience and ecosystem function in arid landscapes. She currently works on the Santa Rita Experimental Range, an active rangeland research facility, to better understand long-term changes in arid plant communities and their implications for land management in the western U.S.

Maddie earned her BS in Environmental Science from the University of Portland. Before graduate school, she worked as a project manager for an ecological restoration company in the Pacific Northwest, where engaging with local communities sparked an ongoing interest in science communication. Today, she aims to bridge ecological research and public engagement to support informed, sustainable stewardship of natural resources. Outside of her research, Maddie enjoys sewing, reading speculative fiction, and spending time outdoors.