Andrea S. Locke

Andrea Locke has been with the Great Lakes Center since 2014 and is the Coordinator of the Western New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (WNY PRISM). The Great Lakes Center initially received a five-year $1.1 million grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to establish the regional center and has since been awarded two additional five-year contracts. The current contract, worth $4.6 million, runs through December 2028.

Andrea has over 20 years of experience in ecology, conservation, stewardship, program development, and non-profit management. She has extensive experience developing innovative methods for managing invasive species and increasing resistance to further invasion. Previously, she worked for The Nature Conservancy in Indiana where she employed methods including prescribed burning and planting design in the Kankakee Sands Prairie Restoration project. The project seeks to restore native ecosystems including the sand prairie and the black oak savanna. She did similar work restoring native woodlands, savannas, and prairies in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. She has also worked with landowners, not-for-profits, and government agencies to identify resources and coordinate efforts to promote land stewardship.

WNY PRISM has grown immensely since its establishment in 2014, but Andrea's goal continues to be the same – to get people involved and excited about invasive species management. She looks forward to continuing to grow WNY PRISM through engagement with community members, government agencies, non-profits, private-sector businesses, landscapers, the agricultural community—anybody who goes outside!