Governor Bill Lee has recognized Rachel Greene of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) with the Governor’s Excellence in Service Award.
Greene was named Assistant State Forester, Director of Forest Management in the TDA Division of Forestry in February of this year. In this role, she oversees the Forest Inventory and Analysis, Forest Health and Sustainability, Reforestation, and State Forests Units. She manages the division’s budget, grants, contracts, and staffing. Additionally, her purview includes fire suppression and prevention data, tree nursery operations, and the division’s unmanned aircraft systems programs.
She began her career with the division in 2020 as the Forest Data and Analysis Unit Leader where she was responsible for managing the data systems connected to forest health, reforestation, wildland fire, state forests, communication, and forest data. Her work as Unit Leader earned her a Special Achievement in GIS (Geographic Information System) Award at the 2022 Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. User Conference, the world’s largest GIS conference.
Greene holds a B.S. in Biology from Stetson University in Florida and a M.S. in Forestry and Environmental Resources from North Carolina State University.