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.