Team

Fire Ecology Lab Members (left to right): Nora Thompson, Spencer Levin, John Goettl, Nell Cook, Ollie Topper, Baya Damien, and CJ MacLaughlin

Ashley Grupenhoff, PhD

I am an Assistant Professor of Wildland Fire Management at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, working at the interface of fire ecology research and management across California’s diverse ecosystems. Prior to working at Cal Poly, I completed my Ph.D. in ecology at UC Davis with a focus on fuel treatment efficacy in dry conifer forests and post-fire recovery in shrubland systems. Broadly, I am interested in understanding the impacts of fire on wildland ecosystems, as well as informing management strategies to mitigate wildfire effects.

I was immediately drawn to prescribed and cultural fire as a way to manage resources and restore ecosystem resilience. As such, I have dedicated myself to being a student of fire and am passionate about supporting community-based burning.

CV (PDF) · GitHub · Email · LinkedIn

Graduate Students

Kalina Stork
MS · 2025–present

Kalina Stork is an M.S. student in the Fire Ecology Lab in the Natural Resources Management & Environmental Sciences department at Cal Poly. She earned her B.S. in Ecological, Evolutionary, and Conservation Biology from the University of Washington in 2021. Her current research focuses on the long-term ecological effects of high severity fire on basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata var. tridentata) communities in Southern California. She is interested in type conversion, invasive species dynamics, and how changing fire regimes are shaping California’s shrublands. Outside of the field, Kalina enjoys reading, surfing, and yoga.

Nell Cook
MS · 2026–present

Nell Cook is a M.S. student studying forest recovery and shrub biomass in post-high severity burn areas across montane California. She completed her B.S. in Forestry and Natural Resources at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2023, after which she went on to work for the Stanislaus National Forest as a silviculture forester. Her research interests center around post-fire forest regeneration, reforestation challenges, and forest type conversion. In her free time, Nell enjoys sewing, rock climbing, and baking.

Undergraduate Students

  • Baya Damien — Fire Ecology Lab & ARTR Field Member
  • John Goettl — Fire Ecology Lab & CAL FIRE Field Crew Member
  • Ollie Topper — Fire Ecology Lab Member
  • Tyler Bruns — Fire Ecology Lab & CAL FIRE Field Crew Member
  • Isa Mendoza — Fire Ecology Lab & CAL FIRE Field Crew Member
  • Madeleine Colbert — Fire Ecology Lab & CAL FIRE Field Crew Member
  • Spencer Levin — Fire Ecology Lab & CARB Field Crew Member
  • Nora Thompson — Fire Ecology Lab & CARB Field Crew Member
  • Claire Pearce — Fire Ecology Lab & CARB Field Crew Member

Past Students & Alumni

Graduate Students

  • Ena McKinney (MS 2025) — Impacts of prescribed fire seasonality on vegetation structure and diversity in California Central Coast chaparral.

Undergraduate Students

  • Garrett Lee — Senior Project Advisor, “Cal Poly Evacuation Plan”
  • CJ MacLaughlin — Fire Ecology Lab Member, “Prescribed fire impacts on fuel dynamics in chaparral” (2024–2026)
  • Ella Baley — Fire Ecology Lab Member (2024–2026)
  • Tylor Westlund — Fire Ecology Lab Member (2024–2025)