Andrew Esterson
Program Director, Habitat Restoration Program
(541) 753-3099 x 707
Andrew Esterson is Program Director of the Habitat Restoration Program at IAE. He has over twelve years of experience working in plant conservation and ecology, and nine years of experience specifically working with threatened and endangered plants and pollinators in the Willamette Valley. He is responsible for overseeing habitat restoration projects, management plan development, landowner and partner relations, recovery projects, application of current restoration research, coordination and supervision of subcontractors, and grant and report writing. He received his B.S. in environmental biology with an emphasis in ecology from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, a M.S. in Botany and Plant Pathology from Oregon State University and is recognized by the Society for Ecological Restoration as a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner (CERP).
Originally from Virginia, and formerly a resident of Colorado, Costa Rica (only for 3 months, but it was fantastic) and southern California, Andrew has experience working in many diverse ecosystems. As an undergraduate at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Andrew studied population dynamics of Atriplex hymenelytra (desert holly) in the Mojave Desert, and co-founded and managed Pomona organics, a 5-acre organic farm owned by the university. While attending graduate school at Oregon State University, Andrew examined the role of plant-soil feedback in the invasive grass Brachypodium sylvaticum (false brome) and was the chair of bolstering undergraduate development and success program.
When out of the office, Andrew enjoys spending time with his wife and their three children. Typically they can be found hiking in the coastal range, enjoying the windy coastline, at a music festival or at their home cooking a delicious meal.
