BA Forest Management, University of California, Berkeley, 1985
MS Range Management, University of California, Berkeley, 1989
Ph.D. Ecosystem Science, University of California, Berkeley, 2001

Ayn has over 30 years of experience integrating ecological processes and multi-landowner values into scientifically-based resource management decisions. Working for the US Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, and the Bureau of Land Management, she variously led the modeling of reference conditions for the LANDFIRE project, completed a multilateral global scientific assessment of fire regime conditions, trained staff in the use of state-and-transition models for National Forest Plan revisions, and led a high-level interdisciplinary team to plan dry forest restoration across over one million acres in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon and Washington.  As a Research Associate for INR, Ayn contributes to a greater understanding of how natural disturbances and land management alternatives are likely to affect vegetation and related resources.