Erin Manzitto-Tripp

Erin is a research scientist and educator whose work has focused on plant and lichen biodiversity and conservation, both across the United States and internationally, particularly in the Neotropics and Africa. She is an Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Botany at the University of Colorado-Boulder’s Museum of Natural History. Her research has produced descriptions of hundreds of species new to science, along with checklists documenting what plants grow where, and why, and popular regional field guides.

Erin brings ample board and administrative experience, along with a career of community outreach, to LightHawk. She is also a Commercial Pilot and a first officer with SkyWest Airlines, and volunteers as a LightHawk pilot. For fun, she flies her Cessna Cardinal across the country, exploring, camping, scoping out new airstrips, and collecting plants and lichens to document biodiversity and promote conservation of Earth’s most remarkable biota.