University of Georgia professor Kris Braman has been named one of nine cohorts in the 2018-2019 Women’s Leadership Fellows Program at UGA.

The Women’s Leadership Fellows are chosen from nominations submitted by deans and other senior administrators, as well as self-nominations. During the yearlong program, fellows will attend monthly meetings to learn from senior administrators on campus and visiting speakers from academia, business and other fields. The program, which was created in 2015 as part of the university’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, also features a concluding weekend retreat for more immersive learning.

Braman, who heads UGA’s Department of Entomology,  joined the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences faculty in 1989, working on the college’s campus in Griffin, Georgia. Her early research focused on pests and beneficial insects of turfgrasses and ornamentals in urban settings.

In 2011, Braman was named director of the university’s Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture in Griffin, working with the state’s green industry and UGA Cooperative Extension agents in urban areas to share research-based recommendations from UGA. Braman also taught undergraduate and graduate general entomology and biological control classes. She served as interim assistant dean of the UGA Griffin Campus from October 2014 through October 2015.

Since being named department head in 2016, Braman continues to conduct research to keep her “grounded and cognizant of issues faculty face on a regular basis.” Now her research is entirely focused on pollinator health and conservation.

“Leadership just became a natural extension of wanting to help other people and programs grow and succeed,” she said.

Braman has served as president of both the Georgia Entomological Society and the Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America. Her numerous honors include the society’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Horticultural Entomology, the Georgia Green Industry Association’s Environmental Friend of the Industry Award and being named a “Distinguished Alumni” of the University of Kentucky’s Department of Entomology.