As Senior Manager of Ecological Restoration, Brandon works to plan, implement, and manage projects related to improving the ecological health of Pittsburgh’s parks. Through the establishment of restoration sites, Brandon and his colleagues manage invasive plants, re-introduce native species, monitor project success, and steward these sites for the wildlife and people who benefit from them.

Brandon was first introduced to the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC) as a college intern with the Horticulture and Forestry team. He spent that summer removing invasive plants, tending to public gardens, and leading volunteers in caring for the parks. This formative experience helped cure his “plant blindness” and ignited a passion for understanding and restoring our local ecosystems. He went on to graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Environmental Studies.

Brandon has learned a lot since returning to the PPC in 2021, working alongside some of the same staff who showed him the ropes as an intern. He knows that the challenge of ecological restoration in urban parks is immense. It is also extremely rewarding, important work with the potential to bring people closer in community with each other, and closer to the communities of organisms that have thrived in this region for thousands of years.

Outside of work, Brandon finds joy in soccer, birding, biking, and iNatting (https://www.inaturalist.org/).