Congratulations & Happy Birthday Tabitha Rossman!

Tabitha Rossmass has been the Photography Blog Director for one year at EWLS. She has been a strong advocate for the EWLS mission. “She is in inspiration really” said Lisa Bauman, EWLS President. “Tabitha operates more like a advocate than a blogger. She is so dependable and wonderful and she truly cares about people.” Tabitha has donated countless hours to inspire people on social media but she also contributes on the field. In 2015 she volunteered as a trip leader at the EWLS annual event, arriving days early to help with the event preparation. She finds contributors for EWC in the annual magazine and coordinates with local caving and community organizations as a volunteer.

“I am working to build a community of women cave photographers and create a place where we can learn from each other.” Tabitha said.

Tabitha graduated from New Mexico State University (NMSU) in 2014 with a BS in Agriculture with an emphasis in Wildlife Science and have over three years of experience with monitoring and conducting research for various and sensitive wildlife species. In college she served as the secretary for the Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society for NMSU. And today she conducts research and monitor the health, diversity, and productivity of US forests and desert ecosystems.

In 2010 she began by caving career after volunteering with the U.S. Forest Service at a bat workshop and later as an intern in Carlsbad, NM with the Bureau of Land Management doing wildlife surveys. This is when she became a member of Mesilla Valley Grotto and the National Speleological Society (NSS) and found a strong passion for cave photography. “When I first started as a photographer, I took a documentary photography class in college to improve my skills. For my final project, I published a documentary photo book about Research Museums called The Afterlife. It was designed to help promote research museums and give a behind the scene look of what takes place in museums.” Tabitha also worked for the NMSU Wildlife departments research museum.

As a member of the Mesilla Valley Grotto, she partners with the U.S. Forest Service & Bureau of Land Management in cave biology, restoration, and surveys for data collection. She is also a member of The Wildlife Society Early Career Professional Working Group, The Wildlife Society Professionals, and The Wildlife Society. She volunteers as a photographer with non-profit groups including the Asombro Institute for Science Education and the NSS.

Photo: David Melthorn
www.ewls.org/tabitha-rossman.html