Current Students

Don Spence

I learned about the DPM program in 2004 and have been interested in it ever since.  I have had part-time adjunct faculty positions at Stetson University, Deland, Fl and Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, Fl. and enjoyed that work immensely.  Both of these institutions require a doctoral degree for full time employment. So….here I am.

I am a Certified Municipal Arborist and I own Native Florida Landscapes, LLC.  I have been specializing in health assessment of Florida’s trees, plant communities, and home landscapes for 12 years. I started my consulting career as a wetland biologist doing wetland delineations and mitigation projects.

I have a Masters degree in Biology from the University of Central Florida.  For my graduate thesis, I looked at the change in vegetation of nine maritime hammocks in east central Florida from data collected twenty years earlier. I earned my undergraduate degree from Stetson University where my primary focus was on plant anatomy and taxonomy.

I am a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and had the wonderful opportunity to travel quite a bit.  I developed an interest in working with my community leaders and have been a member of the Volusia County Code Enforcement Board, and the Tree Ordinance Review Committee for Volusia County along with their Green Ribbon environmental minimum standards review panel.   I am also active in the Florida Native Plant Society and am a former V.P. of Administration.  

I am currently filling an elected (yes, I was actually on a ballot!) state agency position as a member of the Volusia County Soil and Water Conservation District.   I was the Chair of the organization from 2007 through 2008 where we had our budget cut 100% and we lost all of our staff, a difficult time for us all.

I was born and raised in the greater Daytona-Ormond Beach area on the east coast of Florida.  And, I have recently learned that I am a descendent of one of the original Mayflower colony members.

Having a family (a wife and seven year old son), a business, teaching positions, volunteering for the native plant society, and a house to keep up doesn’t leave much time for recreation.  However, I do try to get out for a hike, go canoeing, or surf session when possible.

 

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