Mandy Lipinski, PhD

I grew up in Wisconsin and my love of nature and science was fostered early by my family and a high school course in Ecology. I soon found home in the Wildlife Ecology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, originally founded by Aldo Leopold whose influence is still very much evident. Aldo Leopold and his writings have been a great influence on my aspirations and philosophy on natural resources.

After receiving my B.Sc. from UW-Madison, I departed WI for the Great Plains and attended North Dakota State University for a M.Sc. in Rangeland Ecology and Management (2014), with a thesis focusing on mixed grass prairie community dynamics.

I recently completed a Ph.D. (August 2019) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the School of Natural Resources, in the Nebraska Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit. I am continuing to pursue my passions for ecological research and teaching at the university-level. I believe in student-centric teaching and am currently a member of an active research program at Montana State University in the Wildlife Habitat Ecology Lab, where I support research on sharp-tailed grouse and other grassland species.

In my spare time, I am an artist and photographer, a waterfowl hunter, and I enjoy a variety of other outdoor hobbies with my dogs.