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Dr. Gabriella Rossetto-Harris joined the staff at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in 2024 as the second full time paleontologist. She first was exposed to the field of paleontology as an intern at FLFO in summer of 2014. She completed her undergraduate degree at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, CO in geology with a minor in anthropology. She earned her MS and PhD specializing in paleobotany from Pennsylvania State University. Gabi was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Field Museum prior to beginning her position at the Monument. In her new role at FLFO, she is committed to continuing Emeritus Paleontologist Dr. Meyer’s legacy of a strong research and intern program in addition to taking a holistic approach to resource management. She is a research associate at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Conni volunteering at Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
Photo Credit: Dr. Alan Titus
Conni O'Connor serves as the Museum Technician at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, where she began in 2010 as a committed volunteer. She later advanced into a formal position through the federal STEP/Pathways program. Conni holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, with a focus in Evolution and Ecology and a minor in Museum Studies, from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. In 2019, she was appointed as the Monument’s first full-time permanent Museum Technician—a testament to her dedication and expertise. In this capacity, she plays an integral role in the daily operations of the paleontology division while overseeing the management and curation of scientific collections and archival materials.
Dr. Herb Meyer is the Emeritus Paleontologist and retired on June 30, 2023. Herb originally joined the staff at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in 1994 as the first full time paleontologist. He earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Paleontology from the University of California, Berkeley where he specialized in a paleobotany, more specifically using fossil plants to understand paleoelevation. Prior to accepting the position at the monument, he was an instructor at the Malheur Field Station in Oregon and a postdoctoral research associate at the Florida Museum of Natural History, where he worked on Oligocene fossil plants from the John Day Formation in Oregon. Herb established a strong research program and a successful paleontology intern program as the Monument's Paleontologist. He designed a comprehensive website documenting the Florissant fossil collections at 20 different museums (www.flfo-search.colorado.edu), and he was instrumental in designing content for the exhibit area in the current visitor center. He is also an adjunct curator at the University of Colorado, Boulder and a research associate at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Three of the books he has authored or co-authored are available using the links below:
