Katasha Gruver

Katasha lived in the Tampa area for 30 years and then moved to Wakulla County in 2015. She enjoys exploring “the real Florida” and came to find a deep appreciation for the Refuge during family trips to the area several years before fulfilling a goal of making Wakulla County home. 

Katasha holds a degree in Zoology from the University of Florida, completed additional undergraduate work at the University of South Florida, completed the Certified Public Manager program through Florida State University, and has participated in adult learning through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Her career has been focused on environmental permitting, compliance, and policy development for transportation projects. 

Volunteering was instilled in her from a young age, and over the last 20 years Katasha has supported both environmental and youth organizations in various capacities including leadership roles and public outreach positions. 

Through getting to know Refuge staff and Milkweed Initiative volunteers, Katasha has developed somewhat of an obsession in finding and documenting milkweed populations, including a population of “longleaf” milkweed in the Refuge and “aquatic” milkweed in Levy County. She has also participated in monarch field research. 

While Katasha enjoys many outdoor activities, she spends most of her time in the outdoors running, birding, taking pictures or hiking, either in Florida or anywhere adventure takes her.