High Altitude Revegetation

Tag: Executive Committee

  • Secretary: Jayne Jonas

    Secretary: Jayne Jonas

    Biography

    Jayne Jonas is an assistant professor in the Biology Department at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She holds a PhD (Biology) and MS (Entomology) from Kansas State University and a BS in Life Sciences from Wayne State College. At UNK, she teaches a variety of courses, including ecology, general biology, graduate biostatistics, grassland ecology, and rangeland management. Her research interests lie at the intersection of grassland and restoration ecology, focused on seed-based grassland restoration, plant-insect interactions, and contributions of conservation grassland networks to ecosystem goods and services.

    From 2010 to 2021, she was a Research Scholar in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University (Fort Collins, CO) where she taught courses in rangeland science and natural resources management in addition to conducting research as a member of the Restoration Ecology Lab. Prior to that, she conducted post-doctoral research with the USGS on Great Plains plant community responses to fire and grazing management. Jayne has been a member of HAR since 2018.

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  • Vice Chair: Kate Graves

    Vice Chair: Kate Graves

    Biography

    Kate Graves brings over 25 years of experience in environmental stewardship, with a diverse background spanning reclamation, revegetation, erosion control, and environmental compliance across mining, oil and gas, energy infrastructure, and agricultural sectors. A graduate of Colorado State University, Kate holds both a B.S. in Soil and Crop Sciences and a Master of Natural Resource Stewardship (MNRS) in Rangeland Science.

    Kate is a well-rounded environmental generalist with a focused passion for soil health, native grasses, and ecosystem function. A lifelong resident of Colorado’s northern Front Range, she has deep roots in the region, having managed operations for her family’s reclamation services company and hay/cattle enterprise, Native Seeders, until 2021. Her career includes serving as HSE Advisor – Reclamation & Stormwater at Anadarko/Oxy, and she now leads the Reclamation, Stewardship, and Environment division at Fortress Development Solutions in Greeley, CO.

    Kate offers a unique and valuable perspective through her ability to connect industry professionals, landowners, and construction teams. She champions practical, ground-level education in restoration practices and advocates for increased cross-sector collaboration. Her mission is to bridge stakeholder understanding of the “why and how” behind successful revegetation efforts, ensuring that projects are not only compliant—but ecologically meaningful and sustainable.

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  • Chair & Treasurer: Cini Brown

    Chair & Treasurer: Cini Brown

    Biography

    Cynthia (Cini) Brown, PhD, is a professor of Agricultural Biology at Colorado State University and has almost 20 years of teaching experience alongside 35 years of research experience. She holds MS and BS degrees in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, and was awarded her PhD from the University of California Davis in 1998. Cini’s reasearch has explored grasslands, pest management, invasive species, and native plant restoration.

    Cini’s career has taken her across the US, from California to Minnesota, and most recently to Colorado, where she has resided since 2002. She joined HAR in 2009, became the committee’s secretary in 2012, and now serves as both Treasurer and Chair.

    For a comprehensive look at Cini’s research and published works, please visit the CSU College of Agricultural Science’s web directory.

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