National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis

Interim Director (2025-2026); Prescribed Fire Program Manager

Valentijn is currently serving as the Interim Director of the FireCenter. He has been involved in wildland fire management for 27 years, 16 of those at the FireCenter. Valentijn works with scientists, natural resource managers, students, and landowners on the intersection of fire management, science, and workforce development. He also teaches remote sensing and prescribed fire classes in the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. He is the FireCenter Training Officer and frequently serves in the planning section of a Complex Incident Management Team.

Budget Operations Manager

Jami administers all aspects of grants and agreements for FireCenter Principal Investigators, along with overall program management. She has also been active as both Initial Attack and Aircraft Dispatcher at Missoula Interagency Dispatch.

Interim Associate Dean (2025-2026); Director & Professor of Fire Science

Carl is currently serving as the Interim Associate Dean for the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. Carl studies fire and fuel pattern-process relations using an array of active and passive remote sensing techniques and applies emerging quantitative methods to map and model wildland fuels. Applications for his research include forest inventories, carbon assessments, fire behavior modeling, prediction of fire effects, and design/implementation of fuel treatments. His fire career spans more than 30 years including time as a hotshot and smokejumper. He oversees the fire and fuels management activities of the Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station, and directs the research and workforce development efforts of the FireCenter. Carl remains active in operational fire as a practicing burn boss and incident commander in an effort to link academic activities and fire management.

Research Affiliate

Chris characterizes the fire environment at fine to broad scales trying to understand the pattern-process dynamics of fuel and fire behavior. The intended outcomes of his research are to increase the safety, efficacy, and quantity of fuel treatments, especially prescribed fire, understand and mitigate wildfire risk, and to catalyze strategic land management planning. He has been at the FireCenter since 2015, first as a PhD student in Forestry and then as a staff member upon graduation in 2019.

Research Scientist

Joe currently serves as a Research Scientist. He recently worked at the Center for Spatial Ecology and Restoration at Florida A&M University, while studying for his PhD in Environmental Science. Joe’s research interests are in applying advances in statistics and computer science to address questions in Landscape Ecology, Forestry, Wildfire, Geoinformatics (GIS) and Geography. Current projects include prioritization of fuels management, fine resolution land cover classifications, and relating forest characteristic sampling to remotely sensed imagery.

Fire Management Specialist

Jacob is a Fire Management Specialist, where he specializes in the planning and implementation of prescribed fire, student workforce development, and UAS operations. With a broad background in natural resources, he brings hands-on experience in both prescribed fire and wildfire management. Jacob also serves as the advisor for the University of Montana Student Association of Fire Ecology and Management (Fire Club) and as a staff senator on the University of Montana Staff Senate. In addition to his work at the FireCenter, Jacob is developing a qualitative study related to Montana landowners' use of prescribed fire. He has previously conducted studies on waterfowl, and separately, he has also researched professional development opportunities within higher education. Driven by a passion for community engagement and conservation, he is an active volunteer and enjoys mentoring students.

Fire Analyst

Marta completed her M.S. in Forestry in 2025, focusing on fine-scale fire line interactions using UAV thermal and visual imagery. She characterized fire behavior from different ignition patterns/fuels treatments for the purpose of informing prescribed burns by directing energy flux to get mixed-severity effects.

Fire & Fuels Specialist

Jaiden is a Fire & Fuels Specialist supporting the prescribed fire program. She has a strong background in forestry and wildland fire management with a bachelor’s degree in Forestry from the University of Montana in 2024. Jaiden spent three fire seasons as a wildland firefighter, where she developed a deep passion for forest management and fire ecology. Her experience also includes forest and fire policy work through internships with a U.S. Senate Committee and The Nature Conservancy’s North America Policy and Government Relations Team. She has also worked as a Data Analyst at the FireCenter.

Ph.D. Research Assistant

Maggie is a Ph.D. student with a focus on wildland fuels. Her current work focuses on machine learning approaches to monitoring canopy fuels through time on pyrologically active landscapes in the Northern Rockies. She received her Bachelors of Science in Rangeland Ecology and Natural Resource Management at Montana State University and her Masters of Science in Forestry at the University of Montana. Her favorite part of working at the FireCenter is that she gets to solve problems through science while staying engaged in practical fire management. During the summer, Maggie is on a wildland fire rappel crew. She is also a member of a Complex Incident Management Team in the planning section and works at St. Patrick's Hospital as an EMT in her free time. Outside of work Maggie enjoys trail running and skiing.

M.S. Research Assistant

Eva has been an M.S. student since 2023. Her research focuses on building a more comprehensive and spatially explicit database of prescribed fire across ownerships in Montana and Idaho using satellite optical and thermal data. Her interest in fire science stems from seven seasons as a wildland firefighter in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

M.S. Research Assistant

Noah started his M.S. in the Fall of 2025. Noah previously was a Geospatial Analyst whose work focused on creating more fire-resilient landscapes using LiDAR and remote sensing tools. He began as an intern at the FireCenter and now applies advanced geospatial methods to map vegetation, analyze forest structure, and develop datasets that support research on fire behavior and forest management. His deep appreciation for wild and remote places is grounded in six field seasons as a wilderness forestry technician and wilderness ranger. During that time, he supported trail maintenance, backcountry and Leave No Trace education, and invasive species management through local nonprofits, the U.S. Forest Service, and the University of Montana.

M.S. Research Assistant

Anna started her M.S. in the Fall of 2025.

M.S. Research Assistant

Judah will be starting his M.S. in the Spring of 2026. Since 2023, he worked in the prescribed fire program developing burn plans, prepping prescribed fire units, and putting fire on the ground on university and partner properties. He graduated in 2025 with an undergraduate degree in Forestry, minoring in Fire Sciences and Management as well as Ecological Restoration. In the summers, he works seasonally as a wildland firefighter for the Forest Service. Additionally, he was involved in the UM Forestry Club, Student Association of Fire Managment and Ecology, the student chapter of Society of American Foresters, and the Foresters’ Ball Committee.

Fire & Fuels Technician

Elle is a third-year undergraduate student. She is studying Forestry with a minor in Fire Sciences and Management. She works in collaboration with other FireCenter employees and local partners to develop prescribed fire burn prescriptions, prepare forest units for burns and utilize software to create maps and analyze spatial imagery data to support safe and effective fire management and planning.

Fire & Fuels Technician

Leo is a third-year undergraduate student. Collaborating with other students, he works to develop prescribed fire burn plans for local partners and prepares the units for burn seasons. He is currently working on a remote sensing project, identifying the development of canopy gaps in pre and post prescribed fire units using LiDAR analysis.

Retired Professor of Forest Management

LLoyd joined the University of Montana in 1995, and founded the FireCenter in 2001, serving as its director until his retirement in 2025. Under his leadership, the FireCenter became a key bridge between fire science and technology, securing research funding and contributing significantly to the fire management community through national collaborations and innovative projects. LLoyd advanced cutting-edge technologies, including laser scanning and unmanned aircraft, to push the boundaries of fire science. He also mentored numerous students who have gone on to lead in fire and natural resource management. Through his dedication to teaching, particularly in remote sensing and fire science, LLoyd has made lasting contributions to the education and development of future professionals in the field. His leadership, expertise, and commitment to both research and education have left a profound impact on the University of Montana and the broader fire science community.