This CoP includes Extension specialists, Extension agents, and academics from 1862- and 1890-Land Grant Universities. It also includes state department of agriculture employees, employees of USDA APHIS and USDA ARS, agrichemical industry employees, administrative personnel from state colleges and universities, emplyees of county and vector control districts, as well as participants in Extensión en Espanol. The CoP is inclusive, involving individuals and institutions that wish to participate, regardless of resource levels, provided they have a commitment to providing unbiased information on imported fire ants.

The subject matter component of our CoP has been in existence for at least 25 years. It is a sustainable group with participants from every affected state and territory. Each year, these experts meet to exchange ideas and information at the Imported Fire Ant Management Conference. The fire ant expert community has a long history of sharing material, while respecting the need for individual recognition. That will be continued as Imported Fire Ant eXtension is developed, according to the Guiding Principles of eXtension and Philosophy of Communities of Practice.

CoP Membership – U. S. A.

Alabama

Auburn University, Alabama Cooperative Extension System - Anne M. Adrian, Jeffrey Bastuscheck, Robert Boozer, Chuck Browne, Danny Cain, Jerri Caldwell, Doug Chapman, Willie Datcher, Henry Dorough, Rachel Dykes, William East, Kathy Flanders, Wayne Ford, Glenda Freeman, Tommy Futral, Ted Gilbert, Fudd Graham, Jonathan Gladney, Tony Glover, Gary Gray, Tinsley Gregg, Warren Griffith, Shane Harris, Taylor Hatchett, Charles Hesselein, Ping Hu, Ellen Huckabay, James D. Jones, Ken Kelley, David Koon, Willie Lampley, Maggie Lawrence, Sallie Lee, Mario Lightfoote, Janet Lovelady, Paul Mask, Charlie Mason, Gerald (Mike) McQueen, Danny Miller, M. Virginia Morgan, Charles Pinkston, Dan Porch, Timothy Reed, Kelly Ridley, Stan Roark, David Robinson, Sergio Ruiz-Córdova, Terry Shackelford, Donna Shanklin, Kerry P. Smith, Jimmy Smitherman, Lewis Tapley, Jimmy Todd, Carol A. Whatley, Anthony Wiggins

Alabama A&M University - Rufina Ward, Ken Ward

Alabama A&M University, Alabama Cooperative Extension System - Eddie Wheeler

Tuskegee University - William Hodge, George Hunter, Rory Stephens

Arkansas

University of Arkansas - Kelly Loftin, John Hopkins

University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension System - Ed Brown, Jerry Clemons, John Gavin, Mike McCarter, Amy Simpson, Doug Petty, Tony Windham, Rebecca Thomas

California

California Department of Food and Agriculture - Mohammad Azhar

Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District - Philippe Boeing, Bobbye Dieckmann, Jim Saulnier, Victor Teran, Jeremy Wittie

County of Los Angeles, CA - Greg Creekmur, Katherine Takata

Riverside County Agriculture Department, CA - Bill Oesterlein

County of San Diego Agriculture Weights & Measures - Tracy Ellis

Orange County Vector Control District, California - Charlie Cassidy

University of California, Davis - John Kabashima, Bob Sams

University of California, Riverside - Les Greenburg

Delaware

University of Delaware - Dewey Caron

Florida

University of Florida - Rebecca Baldwin, Daniel Culbert, Kiley Harper-Larsen, Phil Koehler, Faith Oi, Roberto Pereira

University of South Florida, St. Petersburg - Deby Cassill

Georgia

University of Georgia - R.J. Byrne, William Carlan, Lisa Craigue, Sharon Dowdy, Louise Estabrook, Wayne Gardner, Ray Hicks, Hal Peeler, Mary Carol Sheffield, April Sorrow

Hawaii

University of Hawaii - Arnold Hara

Kentucky

University of Kentucky - Lori Bowling, Ivelin Denev, Suellen Zornes

Iowa

Iowa State University - Lynette Spicer

Louisiana

Louisiana State University - Denyse Cummins, Frankie Gould, Carol Pinnell-Alison, Tom Merrill, Robert Turley

Louisiana State University, AgCenter - Keith Fontenot, Stuart Gauthier, Dale Pollet, Carlos Smith, Bobby Fletcher, Linda Hooper-Bui

Mississippi

Mississippi State University - Blake Layton

Montana

Montana State University Extension Service - Kara Schile

New Mexico

New Mexico State University - David Thompson

North Carolina

North Carolina State University - Steve Bambara, Mark Blevins, Silas Brown, James Choate, J.B. Coltrain, Jr., Anne Edwards, Wendi Hartup, Gary Pierce, Jenifer Reynolds, Jeff Rieves, Cliff Ruth, Scott Shoulars, Frank Winslow

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry - Jeanetta Cooper

Oklahoma State University - Richard Grantham, Eric Rebek, Wayne Smith

South Carolina

Clemson University - Brian Beer, Vicky Bertagnolli-Heller, Bob Bett, Tim Davis, Russell Duncan, Paul (Mac) Horton, Ray McCauley

Texas

Prairie View A&M University, Cooperative Extension Program - Rene McCracken

Texas A&M University System's Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Research - Brent Batchelor, Carlos Bogran, Wizzie Brown, Alejandro Calixto, Allan Cranfill, Bart Drees, Tom Fuchs, Wade Hibler, Joe Janak, Mark Johnsen, Molly Keck, Neal Lee, Darlene Locke, Michael Merchant, Paul Nester, Rebecca Parker, Kimberly Schofield, Bradleigh Vinson, Bob Whitney

Texas Department of Agriculture - Awinash Bhatkar

Texas Tech University - Harlan Thorvilson

Tennessee

University of Tennessee - Frank Hale, John Skinner, Michael Wilson, Karen Vail, Emily Gonzalez

University of Tennessee CES - Ron Blair, Ray Burden, Ruth Correll, Mike Dennison, John Goddard, Jerry Lamb, Heath Nokes, Grant Palmer, Sheldon Barker

United States Department of Agriculture

USDA Forest Service, Emeritus - John Moser

USDA APHIS Plant Protection & Quarantine - Charles Brown, Carol Russell, Stacy Scott

USDA APHIS Plant Protection & Quarantine, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology - Anne-Marie Callcott

USDA ARS Center for Medical. Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology - David Oi, Sanford Porter, Robert Vander Meer

Virginia

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - Karen Carter, Peter B. Schultz

Virginia Cooperative Extension - Susan French, Dan Nortman

West Virginia

West Virginia University - Aine Slabaugh

CoP Membership – Outside U. S. A.

National Taiwan University - Chin-Cheng "Scotty" Yang

Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries - John James, Keith McCubbin

Queensland, Australia Biosecurity - Marion Lawie

Sponsor Representative

Nate Royalty, Bayer Environmental Science

Industry liaisons

Sherman Trimm, FMC

Lee Greer, Valent U.S.A. Corp.

William D. McClellan, Dupont Crop Protection