Chief, Forest Ecology Branch
National Wetlands Research Center
U.S. Department of Interior
Dr. Virginia Burkett has worked at the National Wetlands Research Center since 1990. She also serves as an Associate Regional Chief Biologist for the USGS Central Region. She supervises a team of wetland ecologists, forest scientists and landscape modelers who conduct research related to the ecology, management and restoration of forested wetlands. Her expertise includes wetland forest ecology and restoration, coastal wetland ecology, invasive species, coastal management and wildlife and fisheries management. Dr. Burkett has served as Director of the Louisiana Coastal Zone Management Program and Assistant Director of the Louisiana Geological Survey. She has served as Deputy Director and, subsequently, as Director and Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
During 1998-2001, Dr. Burkett was a member of the U.S. National Assessment Synthesis Team that was responsible for developing a synthesis report on climate change and its impacts in the U.S. She also represented the U.S. government as a Lead Author on the United Nation's IPCC Third Assessment Report (2001) of global climate change and its impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems. She has served as a member of the Louisiana Forestry Commission, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Burkett received a B.S. in zoology and an M.S. in botany from Northwestern State University of Louisiana; her doctoral work in forestry was completed at Stephen F. Austin State University in 1996.