Instructor:

Claudia Riegel, MS, PhD

Claudia Riegel, MS, PhD earned an undergraduate degree at Purdue University, a Master’s at the University of Georgia, and a Ph.D. from the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida in 2000.

Directly out of school, she was hired by Dow AgroSciences and moved to Louisiana. Responsibilities included testing of new enhancements to the products in the portfolio, provide technical support for the commercial organization in the southeast and southwest, and collaborate with government organizations, universities, and customers on topics in pest management. In February 2004, she decided to focus on Formosan subterranean termites and became Principal Research Entomologist for the City of New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board.

In 2006, she became Assistant Director, and in 2010 she was promoted to Director of the of the Board. In this capacity, she provides technical support for the City of New Orleans and the pest control industry, conducts independent research, collaborates with industry for enhancements of existing products and testing of new products, and collaborates with government organizations and universities on a variety of research projects involving rodents, mosquitoes, termites, and a variety of other urban vectors and pests.

Providing information about termites, mosquitoes, rodents, and pest issues after natural disasters to the pest control professionals and to the public is part of her job responsibilities. She leads three academies (termite, pest, and mosquito) the City of New Orleans offers. She participates in several professional societies at the national and local level. In addition, she enjoys traveling and speaks at pest control and public health meetings around the country.