About ISAC

The National Invasive Species Council’s (NISC) high-level policy and planning activities benefit from the technical input provided by Federal agency staff,  and Federal inter-agency bodies working on invasive species issues, as well as non-Federal stakeholders. The Invasive Species Advisory Committee's (ISAC) primary duty is to “provide information and advice for consideration by the Council” on invasive-species related issues. ISAC members include representatives of state, territorial, tribal, and local governments, as well as academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. 

ISAC is chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and administered according to its bylaws. ISAC typically holds two meetings per year. All meetings are open to the public, and minutes of each meeting are publicly available. 

Since its creation in 1999, ISAC has provided valuable input to NISC on a wide range of Federal priorities and emerging issues. ISAC advice and other resources are available. ISAC was deactivated in May 2019, and reauthorized in October 2021. ISAC members are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior with extensive input from the other NISC members.

The current ISAC members were appointed on December 26, 2024.  Total membership includes 13 voting members appointed by Secretary Haaland, and five non-voting, advisory members representing stakeholder non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Current Membership List

Voting Members

Jacob Barney, Virginia Tech

Dr. Jacob N. Barney is Professor of invasive plant ecology in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Director of the Invasive Species Collaborative at Virginia Tech. He studies the causes, impacts, evolution and expansion, mitigation, and policy of invasive species.

Learn more about Jacob

Meghan Brown, Nevada Department of Agriculture

Meghan Brown has a strong understanding of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federal and state natural resource policy, and western agricultural issues – as well as her expertise evaluating federal policy and practices related to their value to western ecological systems. She has worked over her career on invasive species management including the Western Weed Action plan.

Learn more about Meghan

Leah Elwell, Conservation Collaborations (representing Invasive Species Action Network)

Leah Elwell is a non-profit collaborator working to create AIS prevention strategies that result in positive outcomes. Her approach is science-based, nature informed, and process driven.

Learn more about Leah

Leigh Greenwood, The Nature Conservancy

Leigh Greenwood works for The Nature Conservancy as a specialist in invasive forest pests and pathogens, with a focus on bringing multiple stakeholders together to achieve common goals. Her diverse portfolio includes work on firewood movement, solid wood packaging regulations, shipping container cleanliness, tree breeding, genetic modification, and more.

Learn more about Leigh

Edwin Grosholz, University of California, Davis

Dr. Edwin Grosholz has been working on the ecology and management of invasive species in coastal ecosystems for the past 30 years and is currently a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Swantz Endowed Specialist in Cooperative Extension at the University of California, Davis.  He has extensive research experience with the native and introduced flora and fauna in salt marshes, oyster beds, seagrasses, kelp forests and other coastal ecosystems.  He has also maintained a cooperative extension program providing information to a range of stakeholders regarding the pathways and impacts of invasive species in coastal systems.

Learn more about Ted

Mark Hoddle, University of California, Riverside

As Biological Control Specialist and Principal Investigator, Dr. Hoddle has headed biocontrol research in the Hoddle lab at the University of California, Riverside since 1997 and is primarily involved in the identification of pest problems where biological control could be a successful approach. The location, release and evaluation of natural enemy impacts on population growth features strongly in his research. The evaluation of biological control agents are conducted primarily in the field and, when necessary, aspects of both pest and natural enemy biology and behavior are studied in the laboratory.

Jiri Hulcr, Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, University of Florida

Jiri started on a farm in the Czech Republic, and ended up as the University of Florida’s Forest Entomologist. On the research side, he leads a team of young researchers – from software developers to molecular biologists to artists – investigating the 100-million-year-long interplay between trees, insects, and fungi. On the extension and outreach side, he is working with stakeholders worldwide to increase the understanding of how this story has been abruptly dramatized by the global homogenization of plants, pests and diseases and intensified by plantation silviculture. His ultimate goal is to use research, policy and media to build our understanding of, and respect for, the requirements of trees and forests to grow in the right places at their own pace.

Learn more about Jiri

Hon. Sylvan Igisomar, Secretary of Lands and Natural Resources, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Mr. Igisomar currently serves as the Secretary of Lands and Natural resources for the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. He has worked in every level of this specialized field, first as a Quarantine Inspector and later as a Brown Tree Snake Technician with the CNMI Divisions of Agriculture and Fish and Wildlife in the 1990s.

Learn more about Sylvan

Deah Lieurance, The Pennsylvania State University

Deah Lieurance is an Assistant Professor of Invasive Species Biology and Management at Penn State where she works on improving invasive species prevention and management through horizon scanning, risk assessment, and pathway analysis. Other research areas include investigating how rising temperatures and increased CO₂ levels affect invasive plants in forests.

Learn more about Deah

Christy Martin, Pacific Cooperatives Studies Unit/Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species, University of Hawai'i  (Vice Chair) 

Christy Martin is the program manager for the Coordinating Group on Alien Pest Species (CGAPS), a partnership of agencies and organizations working to fill the gaps in Hawaii’s invasive species prevention, response, and control programs. Christy is also one of the co-founders of the Pacific Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (Pacific RISCC), whose aim is to focus research and communications on the confluence of invasive species and climate change in the Pacific Islands region.

Learn more about Christy

Laura Van Riper, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Laura Van Riper has been the Terrestrial Invasive Species Program Coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Invasive Species Unit since 2010. Key responsibilities include improving invasive species prevention, management, and mapping as well as coordinating and developing invasive species projects and policies with outside organizations.

Learn more about Laura

Dennis Zabaglo, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency

Dennis Zabaglo leads the Lake Tahoe Aquatic Invasive Species Program which has become a national model for prevention, control, and monitoring. He believes the fostering of private-public partnerships is a critical investment in fighting the battle against invasive species and looks forward to bringing his experience to support the goals of the ISAC.

Learn more about Dennis

Paul Zajicek, National Aquaculture Association

Paul Zajicek is the Executive Director of the National Aquaculture Association, the only national non-profit trade association that represents and advocates for U.S. aquaculture.

Learn more about Paul

Advisory (non-voting) Members

Nicole Angeli, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA)

Nicole Angeli is the Director of the U.S. Virgin Islands Division of Fish and Wildlife, working with staff across the USVI to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife stocks. Dr. Angeli worked closely with senators in the USVI to pass the 2022 Invasive Species Eradication Community Program, certifying members of the public to manage invasive species of wildlife responsibly. She has presented at regional and national conferences, provides scientific information for the Government of the Virgin Islands, and has co-authored over 40 journal articles and outreach publications.

Learn more about Nicole

Steven H. Long, National Plant Board (NPB)

Steven Long is first an active member of the National Plant Board where he has served in numerous leadership capacities in pursuit of solving pest and pest program issues with partner states and federal partners. He looks forward to utilizing his Clemson education and vast work experiences with private South Carolina agriculture, Clemson Regulatory and Public Service Programs, and volunteer time with South Carolina Farm Bureau to support the ISAC committee as an ex-officio member in problem solving, solution finding, and experience sharing. 

Learn more about Steven

Mitzi Reed, Native American Fish and Wildlife Society (NAFWS)

Mitzi Reed is the Invasive Species Coordinator for the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society. She is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, where she served as Director/Biologist of the Choctaw Wildlife and Parks.

Learn more about Mitzi

William Simshauser, National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD)

Bill Simshauser represents the National Association of Conservation Districts. He farms and ranches on a fourth generation farm in southwest Kansas in the heart of the 1930s dust bowl area.

Learn more about Bill

Christie Trifone Millhouse, North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA)

Christie Trifone Millhouse is the Executive Director of the the North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA). She oversees the management and financial stability of the organization, identifies new and creative ways to fulfill NAISMA's mission, ensures that activities align with the Board of Directors' goals and organization strategic plan, and supports the organization culture. 

Learn more about Christie                                                                                                                                                                           

ISAC Member Archive