BotanistPronouns: He/Him/Él
Dan joined Sky Island Alliance in 2026 and works as a botanist out of the Tucson office. Before joining SIA, he worked at Saguaro National Park for over 12 years as a field technician and botanist in their Science and Resource Management division. His main interests include natural history, plant geography, rare species, springs, floristic inventories, and community science. At Saguaro National Park, he had the pleasure of leading exploratory rare plant surveys into remote corners of the park’s Rincon Mountain Wilderness. He hopes to soon publish an updated flora of the Rincons to summarize all the recent findings and research on this remarkably diverse sky island range.
Originally from the Philadelphia area, Dan has a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He briefly worked as a middle school teacher/tutor on the East Coast before following a whim and joining the “Desert Restoration Corps,” a Student Conservation Association crew. Working with the BLM for eight months all over the California desert (Mojave and western Sonoran), Dan fell in love with field work, Joshua trees, and desert landscapes, setting him on an unexpected path that eventually brought him out to Tucson. While working at Saguaro National Park, he had the opportunity to enroll at Pima Community College for two years and take classes in biology, geology, botany, and GIS to supplement his self-directed and field-based learning.
Outside of work, Dan loves backpacking, singing, reading, supporting local music, and biking around town. He loves being outside exploring and enjoying this beautiful region as much as he can.
Email: dan@skyislandalliance.org