Cortney graduated from FNR with her B.S. in Forestry in 2003 and her M.S. in 2005. Upon graduation, she moved to northern Indiana to work for a natural resources communications company. She returned to Purdue in 2007 to serve as project coordinator for the departmental Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment. She then spent seven years working as a research analyst for a firm that focuses on fishing and hunting economic research. In 2016, she returned “home” to FNR to focus on educating and mentoring the next generation of natural resource professionals.

Cortney has the distinct responsibility of coordinating the zoology and dendrology labs in which undergraduate students in the department hone their identification skills. She also acts as curator of the departmental study collections and as director for the department’s 5-week Summer Practicum-FNR 370.