Assistant Professor and Director of the Herbarium Congratulations to Tanisha Williams. The Botanical Society of America (BSA) recognized Tanisha with the prestigious 2025 Impact Award: "The Botanical Society of America is pleased to recognize Dr. Tanisha M. Williams as the 2025 recipient of the Impact Award. Dr. Williams is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Herbarium at the University of Georgia, where her work exemplifies the purpose of the Impact Award—bridging rigorous science with public engagement, mentorship, and meaningful contributions to diversity and equity in botany. Dr. Williams is a founding member of Black Botanists Week, a global movement launched in 2020 to amplify the voices and visibility of Black botanists. Under her leadership, the initiative has grown into one of the most prominent public-facing efforts in the plant sciences, garnering national awards and shaping broader conversations about equity and representation in STEM. At UGA, she continues to build inclusive spaces by mentoring students, forming partnerships with HBCUs, and connecting botanical science with local communities, including through ethnobotanical work with the Gullah Geechee people. In the herbarium, classroom, and field, Dr. Williams integrates biodiversity research with community engagement. She was recently honored with the Linnean Society’s Bicentenary Medal for her work on Solanum scalarium and co-authored a major study on Indigenous land stewardship in Nature Communications. Her influence spans institutions, generations, and geographic boundaries—leaving a profound and lasting impact on the field of botany." Please find the BSA announcement here: https://botany.org/home/awards/special-funds-and-awards/bsa-impact-award.html https://naturesplasticity.weebly.com/people.html
