Experience:

1999 Insectary Manager, Stillmeadow, Inc. Sugar Land, TX

1999-2002 Entomologist/Quality Control, ABC Pest, Pool and Lawn Services, Houston, TX.

2002-present Extension Program Specialist – Austin, TX.

IPM Unit Description:

Ms. Brown serves as Program Specialist – IPM in the Austin metroplex encompassing Travis County and surrounding counties. Austin is the 4th largest city in Texas and 13th largest in the nation. From 2000-2006 it was the 3rd fastest growing U.S. city. The climate is subtropical with hot, humid summers and mild winters. The community is racially mixed, with white and Hispanic the predominant races. The most important industries are government, computer systems and information technology, colleges and universities, and business headquarters. The music industry and blue collar industries are also important occupations. The range of political positions among Austinites spans from the very liberal to the very conservative. IPM concepts, however, bridge the political, ethnic and cultural gaps. They offer common sense solutions to pest problems that provide economic, environmental, human health and quality of life benefits to people, irrespective of their employment, ethnicity or political persuasion.

Meetings and Publications:

250 + meetings for clientele education and agent training
80+ articles for newspapers, magazines, websites and blogs
Monthly articles for 37 Central TX homeowner associations and Central Texas Nursery and Landscape Association newsletters
4 Urban Pest Management Newsletters per year
60+ TV and radio segments on pests and IPM
ISEC home pest management program development
KIDzANTS fire ant curriculum development for youth education
Lead author on 10 publications in the ISEC Home Pest Management Series with Dr. Tom Fuchs.

Selected Publications:

Brown, W. and B. Drees. 2003. Living on the Edge: Management Considerations for Imported Fire Ants in Western Texas, Near or in Recently-Infested Areas. Fire Ant Fact Sheet 40. 3 pp.

Riggs, N, P.R. Nester and E. Brown. 2003. KIDzANTS Fire Ant Curriculum for Youth. B-6140. TX A&M University, College Station, Texas, 66 pp.

Gold, R.E., G.J. Glenn, H.N. Howell, Jr., and E. Brown. 2005. Drywood Termites. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. 366. 6 pp.

Gold, R.E., K. Engler, M. Merchant and W. Brown. 2005. Cockroaches: Recognition and Control. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-359. 5 pp.

Gold, R.E., G. Glenn and W. Brown. 2005. Carpenter Ants. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-412. 4 pp.

Jackman, J.A. and W. Brown. 2005. Scorpions. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-362. 4 pp.

Brown, E. and J.A. Jackman. 2006. Tent Caterpillars. Texas Cooperative Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-218. 4 pp.

Drees, B.M., C.L. Barr, S.B. Vinson, R.E. Gold, M.E. Merchant, N. Riggs, L. Lennon, S. Russell and P.R. Nester, D. Kostroun, B. Sparks, D. Pollet, D. Shanklin, E. Brown, K. Engler, M. Keck, P.R. Nester, D. Kostroun, K. Flanders, F. Graham, D Pollet, L. Hooper-Bui, P. Beckley, T. Davis, P.M. Horton, W. Gardner, Kelly Loftin, J. Hopkins, K. Vail, R. Wright, W. Smith, D. Thompson, J. Kabashima, B. Layton, P. Koehler, D. Oi, A. Callcott. 2006. Managing imported fire ants in urban areas. B-6043. Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 24 pp.

Jackman, J.A., E. Brown, K. Engler and M.E. Merchant. 2006. Spiders. Texas Cooperative Extension. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-408. 4 pp.

Brown, W., 2007. Boxelder Bugs. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-453. 3 pp.

Brown, E. 2007. Centipedes and Millipedes. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-217. 3 pp.

Brown, W. 2007. Fire Ant Control Methods Around Pets. Texas Cooperative Extension. Pub. 014. 3 pp.

Brown, E. and N. Troxclair. 2008. Common Insect and Mite Pests of Humans. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-485. 4pp.

Merchant, M.E. and W. Brown. 2008. Pantry and Fabric Pests in the Home. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-486. 6 pp.

Brown, E. 2009. Silverfish and Firebrats. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-583. 2 pp.

Brown, E. 2009. Earwigs. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pest Series. Pub. 213. 3 pp.

Brown, E. 2010. Centipedes and Millipedes. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Series. Pub. E-217. 2 pp.

Brown, E. 2010. Scorpions. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-362. 4pp.

Nester, P., N. Riggs and W. Brown. 2010. KIDzANTS Fire Ant Curriculum for Youth. B-6140. TX A&M University, College Station, Texas, 112 pp (revision).

Gold, R.E., M. Keck, W. Brown and K. Schofield. 2010. Formosan Subterranean Termites. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-367. 8 pp.

Gold, R.E., M. Keck, W. Brown and K. Schofield. 2010. Subterranean Termites. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pests Series. Pub. E-368. 8 pp.

Merchant, M. and E. Brown. 2010. House Geckos. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Publication ENT-2006. 2 pp.

Brown, W. 2011. Boxelder Bugs. Texas AgriLife Extension Service. House and Landscape Pest Series. Pub. E-453. 2 pp

Collaborative Work:

Ms. Brown has developed strong collaborations with the City of Austin Watershed Protection and Development Review Department (Grow GREEN), City of Austin Center for Environmental Research, Texas Department of Agriculture & Texas Structural Pest Control Service, Fire Ant Community of Practice (Auburn, U. FL, U. AL, U. CA, NC State, LSU, U. GA, U. TN, Clemson, U. AR. and OSU), fire ant control programming for nursing homes, community-wide fire ant management programs, Master Gardener and Master Volunteer programming, , AgriLife Extension FCS and BLT Agents on Pantry Pest Management and Food Safety, AgriLife Agents on Youth Education projects and Roger Gold and the TAMU Center for Urban Entomology.

Ms. Brown has strong collaborations with the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association, many local homeowner associations, Texas Pest Control Association, Habitat for Humanity and others in ISEC Home Pest Management Education, and many different news media outlets (newspaper, radio, TV).

Scholarly Presentations:

10 presentations at society and other professional meetings.

Selected Presentations:

Brown, W. 2005. Interacting with Urban Clientele. Southwestern Branch Entomological Society of America. Albuquerque, NM. March 1, 2005.

Merchant, M. E., K. Schofield, E. Brown, P. Nester, C. Helpert, J. Hurley and M. Keck. 2007. Fire ants in Texas nursing homes: Staff attitudes and management options. Annual Conference, Entomological Society of America, San Diego, CA. December 12, 2007.

Brown, W. 2007. Home Pest Management Program. Southwestern Branch Entomological Society of America. Corpus Christi, TX. Feb. 21, 2007.

Brown, E. 2008. Natural and Home Remedies for Fire Ant Management: Do They Really Work?Southwestern Branch Entomology Society of America. Fort Worth, TX. Feb 25, 2008.

Brown, W. 2008. Cockroach Biology and Management. Urban Pest Management Conference and Workshop. College Station, TX.

Brown, W. and T. Fuchs. 2008. ISEC Home Pest Management. Southwestern Branch Entomological Society of America. Fort Worth, TX. Feb. 24, 2008.

Drees, B., K. Schofield, W. Brown, C. Bogran and V. Vassiliou. 2008. Management Approaches for the Florida Wax Scale, a Pest of Hollies in the Texas Landscape. Southwestern Branch Entomological Society of America. Fort Worth, TX. Feb. 25, 2008.

Schofield, K., M. Keck and W. Brown. 2008. University Based Research on Organic Pest Management for Homeowners. Entomological Society of America, Reno, NV. November 18, 2008.

Merchant, M. E., K. Schofield, E. Brown, P. Nester, C. Helpert, J. Hurley and M. Keck. 2008. Fire ants in Texas nursing homes: Survey of staff attitudes and new training materials. Southwestern Branch Entomological Society of America, Fort Worth, TX. February 25, 2008.

Brown, E. 2010. Activities to Teach Youth about Fire Ants. Entomological Society of America. San Diego, CA. Dec. 14, 2010.

Recent IPM Emphasis and Accomplishments:

Ms. Brown’s commitment to IPM education is clear. She excels in communication through the written word and through various electronic and media outlets. One of her signature programs has been her efforts with the ISEC Home Pest Management Program. She took leadership in developing this program, has used it with diverse audiences and has helped her coworkers develop programs using the concepts and materials. The program has been used for several years as a part of the training required for people going through the Habitat for Humanity program “earning” their home. In 2010 the ISEC Home Pest Management Program was provided to 34 partners of the Austin Habitat for Humanity Program. Pre and post-tests demonstrated significant learning about IPM concepts such as pest identification, sanitation, exclusion and control occurred. The participants benefit through learning low cost, ways to manage household and landscape pests. Reduced pesticide use has been documented and participants report positive impacts on family economics. Other expected program benefits are reduced risks to human health (from both pests and pesticides) and improvements in environmental conditions because fewer pesticides are used.

Community-Wide Fire Ant Management Programs are other very successful programs Ms. Brown has conducted. She has organized several of these programs over the years to communicate the effectiveness of working as a community instead of individual households to manage fire ants. In 2010 she evaluated her community-wide fire ant management program at the Wood Glen community in Round Rock, TX where 525 families participate. Her survey documented a 64% reduction in pesticide use and savings of $20.73 per household.

Publications:

Schofield, K.M., M.E. Keck and E. Brown. 2009. University based research on organic pest management for red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenopetera: Formicidae). Resistant Pest Management Newsletter. 18(2): 28-30.

Brown, E. 2011. Entomologist. In Earn It, Learn It: Teach Your Child the Value of Money, Work and Time Well Spent. A.T Weinstein, ed. Sourcebooks, Inc. Napierville, IL. pp 129-133.

Awards:

2008 Outstanding State IPM Program Award – Southern Region IPM Center

2009 Chair – Committee on Education and Outreach. Entomological Society of America

2009-2011 Director – Entomological Foundation.