Stephen R. Hodges
Research Associate
hodges@regionalconservation.org

The son of missionaries, Stephen grew up in Bangladesh, Thailand, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia and Missouri; he has resided in South Florida for more than ten years.

In 2004, Stephen received a B.S. with honors in Biological Sciences from Florida International University (FIU). He received the Outstanding Academic Achievement award in Biological Sciences during his final semester. While at FIU he participated in the FIU-National Science Foundation-funded Undergraduate Mentor in Environmental Biology (UMEB) program, which included biological training and field work in South Florida, the Bahamas and Panamá. In collaboration with the Center for Ethnobotany and Natural Products (CENAP) at FIU, he also conducted a survey of the uses and biology of Pluchea carolinensis, also known as “cure-for-all,” in the botánicas of Miami, Florida. This research was presented to the Society for Economic Botany in 2003, and was recently published in the Journal of Economic Botany.

From 2001-2004, he was grounds supervisor, naturalist and biologist for the Miami-Dade College Environmental Center where he did numerous lectures both for adults and children. Stephen joined IRC as a field biologist in 2004 following his participation as the Zeller Summer Scholar in Medicinal Botany, a grant awarded by the Garden Club of America. As part of this program, he traveled for two months to the Jaqué region of Darién, Panamá in order to study the medicinal plants of the area. He also serves on the board of advisors for the non-profit Bridges Across Borders to give advice on their projects in Darién. In 2005, he was promoted to biologist and assisted with many IRC research projects in Florida, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. In 2006, Stephen moved to Panamá to begin work on the Floristic Inventory of the Darién region of Panamá, a long-term project of IRC. In 2007, Stephen relocated to the Florida Keys, where he continues to work with IRC on projects in South Florida and Panamá. He works full time at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden, where among many other duties, he helps coordinate IRC's activities at the Garden.