By: Sara Santiago
Congratulations to the forestry students in the class of 2025. The School graduated 13 Master of Forestry and 6 Master of Forest Science students this spring. Many of these graduates are on their way to the field, near and far, as forest managers and technicians.
Julianna Latynski samples a Bradford pear trees in South Wheeling, West Virginia.
Nearby, Kate-Regan Loomis joined Great Mountain Forest as natural resource manager. She is leading the intern program, teaching undergraduates about the practice of forestry through commercial thinnings, removing invasive species, and selecting bat habitat trees. Hannah Vase completed her forest apprenticeship in Forest Crew at Yale-Myers Forest and is looking forward to joining New York City Parks as an urban forester. Julianna Latynski returned home to Wheeling, West Virginia, where she is an urban ecosystem manager practicing community forestry and happy to be stewarding public trees with her community. In neighboring Virginia, Baboucarr Joof is joining the Virginia Department of Forestry as a field forester. Across the country, Jackson Cooper is a conservation forester for the Jefferson Conservation District in his home state of Colorado. There, he is working with private landowners to develop and implement forest management plans for ecological restoration, wildfire mitigation, and watershed protection.
Owen Klein participates in a prescribed burn in Florida.
Others have taken on more technical positions. Nate McMullen is serving as a forest management technician with the Oregon Department of Forestry, focusing on fuels management projects in the historically fire-adapted forests on the eastern slopes of Mt. Hood. Owen Klein is completing a temporary position as a fire ecology technician at Tall Timbers Research Station & Land Conservancy in Tallahassee, Florida. He will return to the School in December as the forest manager for Yale Forests. Cindy Cifuentes has conducted urban forest health and restoration field work on invasive species and beach leaf disease in New Haven, under the supervision of lecturer Marlyse Duguid, this summer. After completing field work, Cifuentes is starting as a forest wildlife specialist with the Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society in Kentucky.
Jamila Jaxaliyeva supports rangelands in western Wyoming.
Jamila Jaxaliyeva is working as a natural resource technician with the Sublette County Conservation District in western Wyoming. Her work supports the surface water program, the range program, and the wildlife and habitat program. In her free time, she helps move cattle through the Bridger-Teton Forest. Leah Snavely has accepted a position at the Savanna Institute as the agroforestry technical assistance provider for Minnesota. Finally, Jack Hatajik has joined the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station as a forest technician, studying the effects of harvest on tree regeneration and of beech leaf disease on tree growth and mortality.
Before starting her position with the Savanna Institute, Leah Snavley enjoyed summer vacation in Europe.
Graduates are also continuing research and policy work. Sophie Roberts is continuing as a research assistant for Yale’s Tropical Resources Institute, while Landry Guillen is conducting forest policy research for the Society of American Foresters. Sam Tower is continuing research studies from the MFS to a PhD in forest entomology at the University of New Hampshire. Others are interviewing, traveling, and contributing to ongoing projects. We wish all students the best in these next steps!
