Meet the Board

Rhett Barker is the founder of Wild Green Future and of Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends. He has a BS in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida and an MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking from Montana State University.

Rhett’s career centers around using new technologies to explore and protect the natural world, and his interests include ecology, conservation, memes, kayaking, tennis, and listening to too many podcasts.

Dr. McKenzie Young is a moderator for Wild Green Memes and runs the Wild Green Memes Instagram. Dr. Young graduated with a DVM from the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine and a BS in Biology from the University of Florida, where she met many of the other moderators. She was introduced to ecology and conservation by volunteering with the Florida Museum of Natural History’s herpetology department.

While in veterinary school, she developed an interest in wildlife and conservation medicine. While she works with small and exotic companion animals in practice, she plans to remain involved in local conservation initiatives. Her other interests include cultivating a pollinator-friendly vegetable garden and scientific illustration.

Io Hennessy is a moderator for Wild Green Memes and a co-host on the Wild Green Streams podcast. They graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and have worked in research, animal care, land management, and outreach and education.

Their career interests include science communication, and they currently work in higher education in pursuit of this goal. Their other interests include wildlife photography, insect collection, and searching for wildlife wherever it can be found.

Dr. Leroy Nuñez is a moderator for Wild Green Memes and a co-host on the Wild Green Streams podcast. He has a BS in Biology, a MS in Interdisciplinary Ecology from the University of Florida, and a PhD in comparative biology from the American Museum of Natural History, where he studied the evolution of North American watersnakes. Dr. Nuñez's main career goal is to become a curator at a major natural history museum, overseeing a collection, and conducting his own research with a lab where he could mentor students and early career scientists so they could have their own successful careers.

His main research interests are to determine what drives adaptations and variations throughout the natural world using an interdisciplinary approach utilizing genomic, geographic, ecological, paleontological, and morphological data to answer such questions. His other interests include music, the cinema, the great outdoors, creative writing, photography, and chaotic energy.

Court Harding is a moderator for Wild Green Memes. Court has a BS in wildlife ecology and conservation from the University of Florida. They are currently pursuing a master's degree in biology at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a focus on ecology and conservation of the Honduran endemic Utila spiny-tailed iguana.

Court has previously worked for federal, state, and private agencies on a variety of biological and environmental projects. Their main career goals center around the study of ecology and conservation of reptiles as well as outreach. In their spare time, Court can be found birding, herping, and enjoying board games with friends.

Curtis Sarkin is a content creator for Wild Green Memes and a co-host on the Wild Green Streams podcast. Curtis has a BA in Writing in Natural History and Cultural Perspectives from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a major that he designed through the school’s Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration Program. His BA included many international programs, with studies in tropical field biology in Costa Rica and Panama, ecology and indigenous spirituality in Peru, and geography and indigenous history in Australia.

Over the course of his career, Curtis has worked as an educator for numerous environmental nonprofits, both online and in person, teaching about freshwater, forest, and marine ecology, whale behavior, and herpetology. His interests include prehistoric life, meme evolution, tidepooling, creating nature art, and writing ecological science fiction.

Dr. Danielle Russell is a moderator for Wild Green Memes. Danielle has a BS in Animal Science, a minor in Entomology & Nematology, and a Certificate of Medical Entomology from the University of Florida. She obtained her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, with an interest in animal behavior and exotics/wildlife medicine.

Dr. Russell’s professional goals include exotic pet health, canine behavior consultations, and assisting with local wildlife research projects. She also hopes to contribute to research on improving care of species kept for conservation purposes. Specific interests include identifying causes for neurologic disease in tarantulas, reptile behavioral response to enrichment, and using biomarkers to evaluate stress response in cooperative care trained vs untrained zoological species. Dr. Russell’s hobbies include hiking, photography, arts and crafts, dog training, reading, and adventuring with friends.