President  Jessica Moon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Watershed Studies Institute at Murray State University. She received her M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, and her Ph.D. in Ecology from Penn State University. She worked on ecological modeling projects as an ORISE postdoctoral fellow at the USEPA Pacific Coast Ecology Branch, and the University of Arkansas. Before moving to Murray in 2019 she was a Visiting Assistant Professor in Biology at Franklin and Marshall College. As an ecologist with an interest in hydrogeomorphology, she combines field measurements with geostatistical analyses to understand the patterning and linkages between microbial and plant communities from the submeter to the watershed scale. Her work has highlighted a loss of within wetland and among wetland microbial heterogeneity, variation in soil and carbon accretion rates, and shifts in vegetative quality across landscape context and land use gradients. She has also studied the effects of hydric soil type and wetland condition on nitrogen cycling in surface and subsurface wetland soils. Working with students and collaborators from Murray State, the University of Memphis, and the University of Arkansas she is currently exploring carbon sequestration and the role of tree stems and exposed woody root structures in methane emissions from bottomland hardwood systems. (Board term 2024-2027)

President-Elect and Historian Marilyn Akins (ex-officio) is a professor at Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC), where she has been on the faculty since 2012. She teaches physics and astronomy. Prior, she taught in New York State for 30 years at a community college and a state university (SUNY) college. Marilyn earned her BS and MS in Math-Physics from SUNY College at Cortland and her PhD in Science Education from Cornell University.As part of the Kentucky Association of Physics Teachers (KAPT), Marilyn as served as secretary/treasurer, VP of Community Colleges and President. While at BCTC, Marilyn has served as Parliamentarian of the Faculty, as chair of the Promotion Committee, a Senator to the KCTCS Senate and on the KCTCS Rules committee, including vice chair of the committee. She has also served on the America Associate of Physics Teachers Local Engagement Taskforce. Marilyn has also been involved in outreach, including Director of the Lexington Regional Science Olympiad tournament. She is the area coordinator for physics and astronomy, which includes hiring and working with adjuncts and overseeing staffing and the area budget. For KAS, Marilyn has served as the Chair of the Physics and Astronomy Section and as Historian. In addition to the duties of these positions, she has served as a reviewer for awards; worked on By-Law revisions, the new job description for the Executive Director and participated in the work to develop the Strategic Plan. (Board term 2025-2028; Historian is an ex-officio position)

Vice-President  Ben Brammell is a full Professor of Biology in the Department of Biology and Chemistry at Asbury University. He received his B.S. in Biology from Eastern Kentucky University, his M.S. in Biology from Tennessee Technological University, and his Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Kentucky. He maintains an active research program in molecular ecology at Asbury which trains undergraduate students in molecular biology techniques, preparing them for careers in science and medicine. His research interests include the ecology and conservation of aquatic organisms and the application of molecular techniques to the field of ecology. His lab has developed and published molecular tools for use in detection of a number of southeastern salamander species utilizing environmental DNA (eDNA). Recent work has focused on the application of next-generation sequencing in biodiversity quantification. His lab has conducted eDNA surveys of aquatic biodiversity in locations such as the Sierra Nevada, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and high-elevation streams on San Cristóbal, Galápagos. His lab is currently working on projects utilizing metabarcoding to analyze the diet of invasive hogs in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and environmental pathogens in urban stormwater. Ben has served as the chair of the Ecology Section of KAS several times and serves as an advisory editor for Environmental Biology of Fishes. (Board term 2026-2029)

Science Communication Specialist Melissa Dougherty joined our team in April 2024. Melissa manages our social media, works on the newsletter, and helps us shine a spotlight on the innovative education and ground-breaking research that is happening right here in our Commonwealth.  Melissa is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Hopkinsville Community College (HCC). Born and raised in northwest Ohio, she earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Otterbein University in Westerville, OH in 2014 and an M.S. in Chemistry from Miami University in Oxford, OH in 2016. She has been teaching and making science understandable and accessible to students at HCC since 2017.  Melissa has been a member of KAS since 2018.

Science Policy Specialist Austin McMasters joined our team as Science Policy Specialist in August 2025. Austin  is an Immunology PhD candidate in laboratory of Haribabu Bodduluri at the University of Louisville. Austin started as a lab technician in 2020 at UofL after completing his undergraduate degree in 2019, working and taking graduate level courses until being accepted as a candidate. He has worked in the lab of Dr. Hongying Hao, whose work includes developing a scoring system for node-negative melanoma patients and the role of tumor-derived exosomes in promoting melanoma progression. From there, he moved to the lab of Dr. Jun Yan, where he investigated trained innate immunity and its impact on cancer. As a PhD candidate he investigates BLT1, a receptor for the potent chemoattractant LTB4, and how it can be leveraged to improve the overall response rate of treatment strategies involving transfer of T cells to patients, including TIL and CAR T cell therapies. Additionally, Austin served as the policy director of the Science Policy and Outreach Group (SPOG) at University of Louisville for 2 years between 2023 and 2025, where he oversaw several policy initiatives supported by students and staff.