Dwayne estes ph.d., co-founder and executive director

Dwayne Estes serves as executive director at SGI. He is a Full Professor of Biology, Director of the APSU Herbarium, and Principal Investigator for the Center of Excellence for Field Biology. In January 2017, he co-founded SGI with colleague, Theo Witsell. Under his leadership as director of SGI, the young organization has raised $25 million in funding. He has been active in building diverse support for Southeastern US grasslands conservation, from national to local levels and across the Southeast he is often called the “Prairie Preacher.” Dwayne’s research interests include the biodiversity, ecology, history, and biogeography of the Southeastern U.S. with emphasis on grasslands and open woodlands.