Layla Dunlap joined the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative in early January 2022 as our first Director of Finance and Operations. Layla brings with her a wide variety of professional experiences. Her educational background includes an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho where her research focused on different techniques for growing native plants for restoration. She also has a B.A. in Biology from the University of Montana. Recently we sat down with Layla to learn a little more about her and her role at SGI.
Q: How did you get interested in nature and the outdoors?
I grew up doing a lot of car camping with my parents as a kid, but once I got into high school I kind of got out of it and wanted to do my own thing. Then in college I took a P.E. class in camping because I thought it would be easy. Well, the professor had been a ranger at Glacier National Park and I asked her how you go about doing something like that. I had never lived west of the Mississippi and wanted to explore, so I applied for a position with the concessionaires at Glacier and was offered the position.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I accepted the position. I grew up in Tennessee and by the end of May it is fairly warm here. So, when I got on the train to go out to Montana I was wearing shorts and flip flops. Well, May in Montana is nothing like May in Tennessee, and I stepped off the train to find approximately 3 feet of snow on the ground! But I completely fell in love with it and my love for the outdoors really blossomed and grew there. I quickly became passionate about hiking and backpacking. Then as I was hiking and backpacking I started noticing all the flowers along the trail and wanted to know what they were, so I started learning my plants and it all just spiraled from there.
Q: What did you do prior to coming to the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative?
Immediately prior to joining SGI, I worked for the Montana Department of Agriculture where I managed multiple regulatory programs and supervised over 20 employees. Some of the things I did before that included working as a state nursery inspector, overseeing a commercial plant nursery operation, growing and propagating native plants, collecting native seeds for conservation and restoration, and conducting rare plant surveys.
Q: What is your role with the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative?
My primary role is to oversee our staff, projects, and budgets. Anyone who has been a fan of SGI for any length of time probably knows that we are always working on a lot of different projects. Most of those projects are funded through grants or private donations. So, there is a lot to oversee and keep track of. I’m also working on setting up some internal systems and infrastructures to make all of our lives easier at SGI and to allow us to be even more efficient and effective with all the behind-the-scenes logistical stuff involved with any organization.
Q: What are you most excited about when it comes to working with the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative?
Probably being part of a whole team of plant nerds and other people who are excited about native plants. It’s always nice to be around like-minded people who enjoy geeking out about plants and who just “get me.” I’m also excited to be involved in the science, restoration, and conservation communities again. I’m really looking forward to learning more about the southern ecosystems too because all of my recent experience has been out west. Overall, I’m just really excited to be part of the SGI team.
Q: What are some of your hobbies?
I’m a huge outdoor enthusiast and love backpacking and hiking. I’m really looking forward to getting out, exploring, and finding new places to backpack and hike. If anyone has any suggestions of interesting places to explore, please let me know. Other hobbies that I enjoy include reading, yoga, and cross-stitching.
