Mark Brownlee, Head Ecologist

Mark Brownlee leads our ecological restoration research program by inventing new methods to solve problems, discovering new plants/genotypes and discovering new uses for obscure species. Mark built the philosophical foundation of the Ecoregion-centric nursery model. He also leads our largest programs with state and federal agencies and leads our consulting and business/nursery planning services. Mark holds a BS/MS from Carnegie Mellon.

Fun facts: Mark planted his first garden at six years old and has been growing and propagating plants ever since.  If you cannot find him fiddling with plants, he’s probably in West Virginia or Virginia trying to save some obscure species.

Josh Schwartz, Project Manager

Josh is ArcheWild’s go-anywhere, do-anything guy that enjoys getting a good job done well better than almost anything else.  While Josh’s true love is building metal art sculptures, he expertly leads teams to tackle the most demanding aspects of our projects.  Strong as an ox and funny as a loon, Josh is the glue that helps keep everything together. Josh studied at the University of Colorado.

Fun facts: Josh is an accomplished wrestler and an experienced crew (rowing) competitor.

Rae Serfilippi, Restoration Specialist

Rae is an outdoor enthusiast with a passion for traveling; whether to remote West Indie islands or the Himalayas. She has worked with a wide variety of wildlife including black bears, American kestrels, and sharks, but her love of flora and all things green has guided her in many of her experiences and studies.

Rae graduated with a B.S in Ecological Restoration from Paul Smith’s College.

Iveta Gigova, Principal and CFO

Iveta Gigova is one of our founding Principals and holds a majority stake in the firm.  Iveta focuses primarily on servicing our strategic nursery accounts while managing both the finance and accounting functions.  With multiple Bachelor’s degrees and a Master’s from Princeton, Iveta provides the intellectual and analytical foundation that helps us to continue growing.

Fun Facts: Iveta has consulted for the World Bank, and helped launch a successful American-style liberal arts college in Europe.

Zach Haake, Restoration Specialist

Zach has traveled across the county working on different restoration projects from wetland delineations in Yellowstone to beachfront restoration in Massachusetts. Zach has deep knowledge of invasive plant removal and control techniques, which is a critical aspect of habitat restoration. Zach studied ecology at the University of Akron and enjoys plant identification while hiking in the mountains. At the age of 16, Zach started working on a Christmas tree farm and has loved to work outdoors ever since.

Lauren Martino, Client Manager

Lauren is a graduate from Salisbury University with a B.S. in Geography and Earth Science.  She discovered her love for geoscience on a field study of the Colorado Plateau.  Lauren is an energetic worker, always ready to take on a challenge and to learn along the way.  Lauren joined ArcheWild in the Client Manager track, helping customers to take full advantage of our services.

Fun fact: Lauren became a PADI certified Adventure Scuba Diver while traveling in Australia.  She was able to scuba dive parts of the Great Barrier Reef and even participate in a night dive.