WNY PRISM would like to welcome two additional members of our 2023 Seasonal Crew! Join us in welcoming back Jason Kappan, who will be one of our Survey Technicians again this year, and Lindsay Piotrowski, who will also be one of our Survey Technicians. Jason and Lindsay will be in the field, surveying sites for early detection species and helping with monitoring and management.
Jason Kappan, Survey Technician
Jason Kappan is an attending graduate student at SUNY Buffalo State University in the Great Lakes Environmental Science Program and will graduate in December of 2023. Jason has worked with WNY PRISM on and off since 2019, starting as a Boat Steward working up to an Invasive Species Management Assistant and now on his second year of working as a Survey Technician. When not working Jason enjoys community science birding, camping, going to music concerts and hanging out with friends. Jason hopes to learn even more this season on better survey and monitoring techniques that he can carry through his career. Once Jason has graduated, he is hoping to work for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Lindsay Piotrowski, Survey Technician
Lindsay Piotrowski is a 2022 graduate of SUNY Buffalo State with a Bachelors of Science in Earth Sciences. Currently, she is getting her Masters in Great Lakes Environmental Science at SUNY Buffalo State. Her experience includes an internship with Niagara County Refuse Disposal District analyzing water quality data at landfill sites. While working there she teamed up with LaBella Associates and learned how to properly take various water samples. She also completed undergraduate research comparing granitic composition rocks in Sebago, Maine. She is excited to be a part of the WNY PRISM team this summer and to learn more about plant identification and expand her knowledge in the field. Lindsay works a second job as an event center server and bartender. When she has free time you’ll find her reading, working out, and playing with her three energetic dogs at home.