FNR Names 2025 Alumni, Career Award Recipients

The Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources has named the recipients of its five alumni and career award recipients for 2025. Ted Cable (MS 1980, PhD 1984) has been named as the Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Kristen Floress (PhD 2008) was tabbed as the FNR Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, while Zachary Feiner (PhD 2015) was chosen as the FNR Outstanding Young Alumni Award winner.

In addition, Dean Zimmerman (BS 1971) and Geriann Albers have been selected for the Chase S. Osborn Award for Wildlife Conservation and Chase S. Osborn Early Career Award respectively. The Osborn Award, which was established in 1952 by former Purdue President Edward C. Elliot, is presented to an individual who, by writing, research, teaching or other personal accomplishments has made distinctive contributions to wildlife conservation in the state of Indiana. The award has been presented 40 times since its inception in 1953.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Ted Cable, who earned his master’s degree in wildlife ecology from Purdue in 1980 and PhD in forest recreation management in 1984, made his impact on the field of natural resources through his work as an educator, advisor and researcher in the parks and recreation interpretation community throughout the world. The Lansing, Illinois, native has written 15 books and published more than 250 articles on topics from nature interpretation to birding to travel, while also acting as a professor and administrator at Kansas State University for nearly 35 years. He has contributed to the design and development of many interpretive trails at local, state and national parks, while also training travel and tour guides across the world in heritage interpretation. He has served the broader natural resources community as a journal editor, board member, consultant and advisor. In 2020, Cable received the Legend Award from the American Academy of Park and Recreation Administrators. He also has been recognized by the National Association for Interpretation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Association of Missouri Interpreters among others for his contributions to interpretation, research and teaching.

"I was astounded, but thrilled, when I learned I would be receiving this honor,” Cable said of receiving Purdue FNR’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “I never thought I would receive such a prestigious award from such a prominent institution—the university that profoundly shaped me as a person and professional.”

FNR Distinguished Alumni Award

Kristen Floress, who earned her PhD in natural resources social science from FNR in 2008, started her career as a faculty member and extension specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Long Grove, Illinois, native moved on to a career with the U.S. Forest Service, where she has spent the last 11 years as a research social scientist at the Northern Research Station. Floress has worked on projects related to landowner engagement strategies for oak conservation, cross-boundary adaptive management strategies for forest restoration, wildfire crisis strategies, agricultural diversification in the Midwest and more. She also served as an editor in chief for Society and Natural Resources journal for four years. In 2024, Floress received the William R. Freudenburg Award of Merit from the Rural Sociological Society of Natural Resources. She also has been recognized by the Forest Service with several performance awards, including the Chief’s Award in 2019.

“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor, as was attending Purdue under the mentorship of my advisor Linda Prokopy,” Floress said. “I have had a number of amazing mentors who I credit with training me well, providing opportunities for me to learn and supporting collaborative, community-based work that makes a real difference in natural resources management. This award is an honor for me as an individual and for showing this type of work is valued by others.”

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Zachary Feiner, who earned his PhD from FNR in 2015 and spent two additional years in West Lafayette as a postdoctoral scholar, began his career as a research scientist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Since 2020, the Spring Green, Wisconsin, native has served as an assistant scientist in the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a dual position which allows him to advise students and work as a fisheries research scientist with the Wisconsin DNR. His work has involved Wisconsin panfish, walleye, yellow perch and bluegill, angler behavior and values, and general climate effects and ice phenology in lakes. Feiner is a leader on climate impacts and adaptation in Midwest fisheries, including his role as co-chair of the Wisconsin Initiative of Climate Change Impact’s (WICCI) Fisheries Working Group. He also serves on multiple research and management groups, including the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership Science and Data Team and as co-PI of the Center for Limnology’s North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research Program. To date, Feiner has 65 publications to his credit and has brought in more than $3.2 million in grants. In 2022, Feiner received the Excellence in Research Award from the Wisconsin DNR’s Office of Applied Science.

“I’m incredibly honored to be chosen for this award – my experiences at Purdue have helped shape me personally and professionally, so this recognition also speaks to the opportunities for growth that FNR provides to students,” Feiner said. “Thanks especially to Tomas Hook and Carolyn Foley for nominating me, they are mentors from my time at FNR that have turned into great colleagues and friends.”

Chase S. Osborn Award for Wildlife Conservation

Dean Zimmerman, who earned his bachelor’s degree in wildlife science in 1971, spent 44 years working with the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife, including 42 as a district wildlife biologist, before his retirement in 2015. His work involved the development of wildlife habitat on private lands and annually conducting pheasant, quail, wild turkey, mourning dove, woodcock and deer surveys. The Albion, Indiana, native was a key part of the reintroduction of wild turkeys to the state and the implementation of deer management and regulation policies. Zimmerman also made a lasting impact through the development of the 4H and FFA Wildlife Habitat Education Program in Indiana. He also mentored several interns, laborers and naturalist aides over the years and founded the Continuing Education Program of the Indiana chapter of The Wildlife Society in 1993 and led the program until his retirement. For his work, Zimmerman has been honored with the Appreciation Award for Reestablishment of the Wild Turkey by the Indiana Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (1985), the Hoosier Wildlife Award from The Wildlife Society (1999) and the Indiana Governor’s Long-Term Service Award (2011 and 2015) among others.

“I am honored to be nominated and selected for the Chase Osborne Award in 2025,” Zimmerman said. “I am humbled when I consider how many students Purdue has turned out that majored in wildlife science or management over the years. I am very grateful for this recognition.”

Chase S. Osborn Early Career Award for Wildlife Conservation

Geriann Albers, who earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois and her master’s degree from West Virginia University, has made her impact on the state of Indiana through her work as the furbearer and turkey program leader with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Prior to joining the Indiana DNR in 2017, the Germantown, Illinois, native was an assistant furbearer ecologist and trapper education coordinator for the Wisconsin DNR and the assistant furbearer and black bear biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Over the last eight years, Albers has helped manage Indiana’s populations of furbearers and wild turkeys, conducting surveys and research, developing data collection and outreach materials, and drafting and reviewing regulations. Specifically, she has improved research on species like bobcat and fox and contributed to Indiana’s Technical Assistance Committee for mammals. She also has mentored several Purdue undergraduate and graduate student projects on species ranging from gray fox to river otters and fishers. Albers has served as a board member for the Indiana chapter of The Wildlife Society and is currently the chair of the editorial advisory board for The Wildlife Professional magazine. Previously, she has been honored for her work by the Wisconsin Trappers Association, West Virginia Trappers Association and North Carolina Trappers Association.

“This award means a lot to me. I’m not a Purdue grad, but I feel like I’ve adopted Purdue University,” Albers said. “It means a lot to be recognized by this wonderful university I’ve come to care about and work closely with.”