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School of Natural Resources and Environment

School of Natural Resources and Environment

UF SNRE Graduate Student Council

The SNRE Graduate Student Council plans events and coordinates travel grant distributions for the School of Natural Resources and Environment. In the past, the SNRE GSC has assisted with planning the yearly SNRE Research Symposium, sold SNRE t-shirts, organized a qualifying exams panel,​​ and hosted a soup and trivia night. 

Council members are elected at the end of the spring semester by nomination. If more than one person is nominated for the same position, a ballot is sent out, and the candidate with majority vote will serve in the position. Officers are not eligible to serve more than a single consecutive term in the same position. Officers assume their official duties at the beginning of the last general meeting of the academic year and serve for a term of one academic year and/or until their successors are elected or appointed.

Students can get involved with the SNRE Graduate Student Council by attending general body meetings, attending SNRE-sponsored events, and nominating themselves and their peers for positions in the upcoming spring election. Interested students can connect with the SNRE GSC through its Facebook page and Microsoft Teams page, or email current SNRE GSC president Jenna Reimer.

Natalia SNRE Grad Student Council
Natalia Uribe-Castañeda
President

Natalia Uribe-Castañeda is Interdisciplinary Ecology Ph.D. student and a Colombian Fulbright Scholarship recipient with a background in marine management and 12 years of experience working with coastal communities. Her research is focused on community engagement in coral reef restoration. She is currently working with coral reef restoration groups in Colombia, Belize and the Florida Keys.

Shelby Kucharski

Shelby Kucharski
Vice President

Shelby is an Interdisciplinary Ecology Ph.D. student with a background in plant science. Her research interests are biogeochemical modeling, hyperspectral analysis of the rhizosphere, and amendment-based soil carbon stabilization. Prior to becoming a Ph.D. student, Shelby was working on her undergraduate degree and volunteering at the Wilmot Botanical Gardens and at UF’s Field and Fork Farm and Gardens.
Silvia de Melo Futada
Silvia de Melo Futada 
Treasurer

Silvia is a Ph.D. student from Brazil. She holds an M.S. degree in Ecology and a B.S. degree in Biological Science both from Campinas University (São Paulo, Brazil). In the last 20 years, she has worked in academic research programs as well as in government and civil society on issues of conservation and socio-environmental justice, both in research and management roles. For her Ph.D. research Silvia plans to build on an existing collaboration with the Waimiri Atroari, studying interdisciplinary and political ecology. The Waimiri Atroari are an indigenous group from Brazilian Amazonia. Their population, way of life, and traditional territory have been severely impacted by infrastructure projects developed under the Brazilian military dictatorship. She proposes establishing a collaborative, decolonizing research process that documents their history of territorial management and social arrangements that have helped them resist genocidal policies. In her free time, Silvia enjoys spending time reading, cycling, sunbathing, gardening, cooking and contemplating.