Brooke Byerley Best, Ph.D.

I’ve had the great privilege to work at BRIT (now FWBG|BRIT) for over a decade. In January 2023 I was appointed to the newly formed position of Director of Texas Plant Conservation (TPC). Prior to this appointment, I served as the Director of Research Programs (2019-2022) where I managed the comings and goings of daily life within the Research Department.

I originally started as a volunteer in the herbarium just after finishing my PhD and moving back to Texas in 2007. A temporary position with BRIT Press became available soon after my arrival, and I’ve been working with either the Press, Herbarium, or Research Department ever since! Working at FWBG|BRIT has provided me the opportunity to exercise all my botanical muscles as I’ve been able to work with students, teachers, volunteers, interns, the public, research colleagues, and the literary community. It’s truly a great place to be!

As of the new appointment in 2023, I look forward to returning to research. Over the past decade I’ve led two research programs as time allowed: one on the ecology of green roofs (within the Urban Ecology Program) and one on natural resource management, ecology, native vegetation, and stewardship of prairie and rangeland habitat. In terms of mentoring potential students, I have specialized research experience in floral morphology & evolution, pollination biology, plant hybridization/reproduction/breeding systems, invasives/competitive theory (e.g., ant-plant interactions), and pollinator systems and behavior. I also welcome opportunities to engage in projects that center around natural history collections. In all my interactions with students, I strive to kindle or keep warm the fires of natural curiosity while promoting critical thinking, training in best practices and techniques, and increasing overall science literacy.

Bio Snippet: Brooke earned a PhD in Botany from Colorado State University, where she studied floral morphology and evolution in the genus Phlox (Polemoniaceae) and the impacts of native and invasive ant-plant interactions. She joined BRIT in 2007, originally working as a volunteer in the herbarium. She served as a general botanist with Research, a liasion with the Education team, and an Assistant Editor with BRIT Press for 15 years. In 2023, she was apponted Director of Texas Plant Conservation and currently leads the team conducting field work on — and seed banking of — rare and threatened native species in Texas. In her free time, Brooke enjoys camping and collecting plants from the Rolling Plains region near Scurry County, Texas, birding, and indoor soccer. Follow her on Twitter @BotanyBrooke (all tweets her own/not representative of the views of FWBG|BRIT).