DR. ALAN BYRD
Dean of Admissions, George Mason University
Alan Byrd began his tenure as Dean of Admissions at George Mason University in November 2020. With over 20 years of experience in enrollment management and community engagement, Dr. Byrd has a long, successful track record of leading, planning, and coordinating student recruitment and retention initiatives. He brings a team-oriented, data-driven recruitment approach to Mason that prioritizes exceptional service and commitment to student success.
Prior to Mason, Dr. Byrd was the chief enrollment officer at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He led UMSL to several new milestones for enrollment growth, diversity of the student body, the academic profile of incoming students, and graduation rates. Removing financial barriers for students was central to his work in St. Louis, where he developed innovative financial aid programs such as the “UMSL Grant” and “Finish Your Degree Scholarship” that reduced the average student loan debt at graduation by 12% and earned UMSL national recognition as a top 100 institution for social mobility according to U.S. News & World Report.
Dr. Byrd received his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at UMSL. He earned a B.A. in Communication and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Southeast Missouri State University.
DR. ALAN BYRD
Dean of Admissions, George Mason University
Alan Byrd began his tenure as Dean of Admissions at George Mason University in November 2020. With over 20 years of experience in enrollment management and community engagement, Dr. Byrd has a long, successful track record of leading, planning, and coordinating student recruitment and retention initiatives. He brings a team-oriented, data-driven recruitment approach to Mason that prioritizes exceptional service and commitment to student success.
Prior to Mason, Dr. Byrd was the chief enrollment officer at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He led UMSL to several new milestones for enrollment growth, diversity of the student body, the academic profile of incoming students, and graduation rates. Removing financial barriers for students was central to his work in St. Louis, where he developed innovative financial aid programs such as the “UMSL Grant” and “Finish Your Degree Scholarship” that reduced the average student loan debt at graduation by 12% and earned UMSL national recognition as a top 100 institution for social mobility according to U.S. News & World Report.
Dr. Byrd received his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at UMSL. He earned a B.A. in Communication and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Southeast Missouri State University.
Renee Grebe is Nature Forward’s Northern Virginia Conservation Advocate. With a background in user-experience design, she brings her ability to see issues from many sides in order to determine the best path forward to the field of environmental advocacy and education. She serves on Fairfax County’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council, leads invasive plant removals through Fairfax County’s IMA program, installed a rain garden on her homeowner association’s common property, and has been certified as a Virginia Master Naturalist since 2014.
As the Curator of Large Carnivores (and Kids’ Farm) at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Craig Saffoe is responsible for the overall care and management of 18 species and more than 50 individual animals. He works with a team of animal keepers to not only care for, but facilitate breeding with most of the Zoo’s large carnivores – which includes one of the most critically endangered species (Sumatran tigers) managed at the National Zoological Park. Craig started his career as an intern in 1994 and worked his way up to Animal Keeper, Biologist and now Curator. In that time, he has been a part of many successful teams including the team that managed, bred and successfully produced the first two cheetah litters ever born at the Smithsonian. Craig now leads a team that has been incredibly successful at breeding large carnivores – boasting multiple successful litters of lions and tigers and yes bears….Oh my!
Michael Latimer attended WYSE in 2012 and later studied Environmental Science with a concentration in Conservation at George Mason University, graduating in 2017. During his time at GMU, he interned with the Washington Scholars Program and studied abroad in Belize to learn about ecosystems. He also attended the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation, working with endangered birds.
Doni Nolan has been at Mason since 2010 when she started as an undergraduate student studying biology and volunteering as the president of the GMU Organic Gardening Association (GOGA). She joined University Sustainability in 2013 as the summer intern for the Potomac Heights Organic Vegetable Garden (PHVG) and later as the assistant coordinator for the Permaculture Design Certification Course (PDCC). After working all summer in the garden, she knew that growing food was her passion. In 2014, she was hired part time to start the hydroponic greenhouse program at the President’s Park Greenhouse. The facility is still going strong today, hosting hundreds of volunteers every semester, and growing lettuce, microgreens, and culinary herbs year round, which are served in the dining halls and sold to customers on campus. She became full time staff in 2016 when she combined the greenhouse and gardens into a single program. Doni received her Master’s of Science in plant science and pest management in 2018 and began teaching sustainability courses as adjunct faculty for the School of Integrative Studies. She is now pursuing her PhD in Biosciences with the College of Science, studying beneficial microbes that treat Pythium root rot disease in hydroponic systems. Her passion and joy are contagious as she engages and educates the community about sustainable food production, composting, herbal medicine and so much more.