Michelle Prysby, VMN Program Director
Michelle helped launch the Virginia Master Naturalist program in 2005 and served as the statewide coordinator until 2012. She returned in 2014 to serve as the Special Projects Coordinator, and became the director of the program in 2015.
She is a Senior Extension Specialist faculty member in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech, but her office is in Charlottesville. She provides assistance to the state’s 30 VMN chapters; teaches basic and continuing education courses; leads development of new training resources and program initiatives; and engages with sponsoring agencies, partnering organizations, and national organizations to support the program’s mission.
Michelle loves working with the amazing cadre of VMN volunteers to benefit Virginia’s natural resources. She has a particular interest in citizen science, and, as part of her Master’s research in ecology at the University of Minnesota, she started the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. Michelle’s other professional roles have included Citizen Science Director at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont and Director of Science Education and Public Outreach at the University of Virginia. She is also an active Virginia Master Naturalist volunteer in the Rivanna Chapter. For her VMN volunteer service, she assists with stream cleanups in Charlottesville, monitors a site on the Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, conducts vernal pool monitoring, and gives talks on frogs and other topics for local community groups.
Tiffany Brown, VMN Program Assistant
Tiffany Brown is the volunteer and administrative support for the Virginia Master Naturalist Program. She serves as a liaison with volunteers by advising them on program policies and best practices, and responding to public and volunteer inquiries. Tiffany supports the VMN program by updating and maintaining program documents and assisting volunteers with the use of the online volunteer management system, Better Impact. She also handles logistics and planning for statewide and regional conferences and meetings, collects and compiles annual reports, and manages program budgets and accounts.
Tiffany works out of the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. She resides in Christiansburg with her two daughters, Amalie and River, whom she enjoys dragging out to go on adventures.
VMN Communications and Volunteer Engagement Intern
Info on the intern here.