Biography

Kevin M. Potter is a landscape ecologist and population geneticist who applies the disciplines of landscape ecology, conservation biology and population genetics to assess and mitigate threats to tree species and forest communities, particularly across broad scales.

From 2007 to 2002, he was a research professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University (NCSU), serving as a joint venture cooperator with the Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center of the United States Forest Service.

Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow with the Camcore International Tree Conservation and Domestication program at NCSU, conducting population genetic analyses on imperiled eastern North American hemlock (Tsuga) species and Central American pines. He earned a Ph.D in forestry (2006) and M.S. in natural resources (2002) from NCSU. His doctoral work focused on the population genetics and gene conservation of Fraser fir (Abies fraseri), and his master’s work analyzed the impact of land cover changes on macrobenthic invertebrate communities in North Carolina streams.

He received his B.A. degree in journalism in 1993 from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and he spent four and a half years as a reporter for daily newspapers in Indiana, Iowa, and North Carolina. From 1997 to 2001, he worked in the News Services office at NCSU. He is a native of Denver, Colorado.