Russ Parsons is a GIS Specialist doing fuels research and modeling with the Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Program at the Fire Sciences Lab. Russ received a B.S. in Forestry from the University of California, Berkeley.  After graduation, Russ worked in fire and resource management with the California Dept of Forestry. Russ then worked as a fire monitor and fire monitoring crew leader at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. After a two year stint in the cloud forests of Ecuador as a Peace Corps Volunteer, Russ attended the University of Idaho, receiving an M.S..  Russ started working at the Fire Lab in 2000 as a remote sensing and GIS specialist. Russ is currently finishing a Ph.D. in forestry, with an emphasis on fuel modeling at the University of Montana.