As habitat loss, invasive species, climate change and numerous other challenges threaten Western Pennsylvania’s native wildlife, plants and landscapes, the role of conservationists becomes ever more critical. And museum preservationists play a crucial role in managing and protecting resources that tell the story of our region’s land, culture and people.
In recognition of Women’s History Month, join us for a free webinar featuring a panel discussion with five women from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Fallingwater. They’ll discuss their work and the value of female presence in community greening, land conservation, conservation science and watershed conservation as well as historic preservation and collections.
Whether you’re seeking a meaningful and impactful career, are an established professional or are simply interested in conserving and preserving our region’s beauty and biodiversity, we welcome you to join us for this interesting discussion. Upon registration, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to submit questions, if desired. You can also submit questions during the webinar.
Can’t attend in person? Register, and within two days after the webinar you will receive a link to watch the recorded webinar at your convenience.
About the Presenters
Claire Ciafre, Ecologist, Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program
Claire has worked as a field botanist and ecologist since 2013, and has been with WPC since 2021. As part of the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, she conducts rare plant surveys, collects and interprets data on plant communities, and develops plant identification trainings. Claire also serves on the Vascular Plants Technical Committee of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, which proposes changes to legal statuses of rare, threatened, and endangered species to DCNR.
Hannah Ciocco, Collections Manager and Archivist
Hannah has been with WPC since 2023. As a Latrobe native, she has a deep love and appreciation for the Laurel Highlands and its history. Hannah oversees Fallingwater’s collection and archive, ensuring that its history is preserved and maintained for future generations. Her daily duties include working alongside fine art, woodwork and object conservators, overseeing the detailing, conditioning and cleaning of the collection on a regular basis, maintaining and organizing all archival material, assisting in research requests, accessioning and acquiring new pieces, and overseeing the Housekeeping team. Hannah earned her Masters of Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University and previously served as the 2021 Fallingwater Archive Intern.
Marah Fielden, Director of Community Greening Projects
Marah Fielden is originally from Pittsburgh, but currently resides in Tionesta Pennsylvania. She attended Slippery Rock university where she earned a BS in Geography and Environmental Studies. Marah serves as the Director of Community Greening for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Community Greening program. Since 2013, she has led the Conservancy’s urban greening work including tree and garden plantings, school grounds greening projects, stormwater management implementation, and other community based beautification projects. In her free time she enjoys hunting, paddling on the Allegheny River and hiking with her husband, dog and two children.
Jane Menchyk, Land Protection Manager
Jane has been with WPC since 2008. Jane’s work includes developing and implementing land acquisition (including donation) and outreach strategies based on conservation planning efforts, working with landowners and their advisors, navigating the sometimes complex due diligence tasks and information associated with a real estate transaction and funding grant programs. Working in the Laurel Highlands, Jane enjoys collaborating with prospective landowners and conservation partners on land protection projects. Jane received a B.S. in Biology at Slippery Rock University (SRU). During her time at SRU, she studied myxomycetes, slime molds, including those occurring at WPC’s Wolf Creek Narrows Natural Area in Butler County. One of her earlier land conservation projects with WPC involved adding protected land to this Conservancy legacy natural area where her appreciation of the natural environment and conservation grew to lead her to her role at WPC today.
Alysha B. Trexler, Watershed Project Manager
Alysha has a bachelor of science degree in biology and a minor in chemistry from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She has more than 19 years of experience with water quality and biological monitoring, physical stream habitat assessment, abandoned mine drainage remediation, agriculture best management practices and nutrient management, riparian habitat improvement design and installation, public education and outreach, and watershed project management and implementation.