Career Builder Workshop Series

Shannon Lemieux (she/her)

Shannon graduated summa cum laude from Oregon State University with her B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences. During her studies, she was awarded a position as a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates intern at the Bermuda Institute if Ocean Sciences (BIOS). At BIOS, she collaborated with reef biologist Dr. Eric Hochberg to continue research being done on coral phenology and helped compile benthic surveys for Bermuda Electric Light Company. Shannon has also traveled to Chile where she worked alongside University of Chile students to collect field data for ongoing ecological research. As she continues to pursue a research based career post-graduation, Shannon will also continue her career as a professional dancer. Some of her credits including projects such as Paula Abdul’s Straight Up Paula Tour, The Price is Right, and Broadway to the Rescue’s Big Fat Christmas Show. With dedication and passion for both of her careers, Shannon hopes to push the boundaries both in the field and on stage.  

Lizzi (Elizabeth) Meisman (she/her/hers)

Lizzi grew up in rural Colorado and moved to Northern California over a decade ago to attend Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt) where she completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation Biology in 2016. She has done research on habitat use of mesocarnivores, impacts of anthropogenic landscape change on osprey nesting success and nest site selection, and blood parasites in osprey nestlings. She is extremely active in the local community and contributes to long-term monitoring in the area in a variety of ways including volunteering at the Humboldt Bay Bird Observatory, the California Bumble Bee Atlas, and leading birding trips with the Redwood Region Audubon Society. During the hunting season, she can be found in the woods/mud hunting for birds with her fiancé and three dogs. Lizzi works as a wildlife biologist for Dudek, an employee-owned environmental consulting firm. She is also currently an NSF Graduate Research Fellow joining Dr. Matt Johnson's Habitat Ecology Lab at Cal Poly Humboldt to continue one of the longest running raptor projects in North America, the Butte Valley Swainson's Hawk project, for her graduate studies.

Lizzi grew up in rural Colorado and moved to Northern California over a decade ago to attend Humboldt State University where she completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation Biology. She has researched habitat use of mesocarnivores, impacts of anthropogenic landscape change on osprey nesting success and nest site selection, and blood parasites in osprey nestlings. She is dedicated to mentoring early career professionals and students whenever possible. Lizzi works as a wildlife biologist for Dudek, an employee-owned environmental consulting firm. She is also currently an NSF Graduate Research Fellow joining the Johnson Habitat Ecology Lab at Cal Poly Humboldt to continue one of the longest running raptor projects in North America, the Butte Valley Swainson's Hawk project, for her graduate studies.

Being a big sister is deeply ingrained in her and she is dedicated to mentoring early career professionals and students whenever possible. She is an active member of the Raptor Research Foundation (serving on the Early Career Raptor Researchers Committee and Code of Conduct Committee) and at The Wildlife Society (serving on the California North Coast Chapter board, as well as on the Western Section board in a number of capacities including leading monthly virtual workshops for students and early career professionals, and is a recent graduate of TWS's Leadership Institute). She is always eager to share resources and collaborate, so feel free to reach out at any point.

Katie Rock (she/her)

Katie Rock graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 2021 with a B.S. in Biological Sciences. During her time in college she was an officer of the Cal Poly SLO student chapter of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society for three years. In her senior year she was the Cal Poly SLO student chapter representative and was thus able to act as a member of the section board. After graduating, she had to step down from her student representative role, and began working at HDR as a biological consultant where she has been able to broaden her experience working as a wildlife biologist. After a year break settling into her post college life Katie has rejoined the section board as a student affairs committee co-chair. She hopes to help students find their place in the wildlife field just how the section helped her when she was still a student. Katie has a particular interest in herpetology and has two pet snakes herself named Udon and Soba (after the noodles). She hopes to continue to broaden her knowledge of herpetofauna while also gaining experience with a wide variety of wildlife including, bats, fungi, and mosses. She plans to apply to wildlife conservation Master’s programs in the near future once she feels ready to take that next step.