Friends of IPM Awards
The mission of the Southern IPM Center is to champion the development and adoption of integrated pest management (IPM), the science of managing pests while protecting people, the environment and economy. Each Regional Center engages broadly with stakeholders to identify and address regional pest priorities in agriculture, communities and natural areas.
Since 2003, the Southern IPM Center (SIPMC) has worked with USDA, Land Grant universities, Extension, and many other partners in promoting and facilitating the development and implementation of IPM in many settings across the region.
Many of these partners have contributed to the region’s well-being for years or even decades.
The IPM "Pulling Together" Award, 2026
The Pulling Together Friends of IPM Award is presented to a group that has been successful in any aspect of developing, teaching about, and implementing IPM, and is based on the management of a high-priority pest.
Dr. Claudia Riegel and the Gulf South VECTOR Team
The Gulf South Vector Education Center for Training, Outreach, and Resources (VECTOR) is led by Dr. Claudia Riegel. The group comprises 55 individuals, including 46 mosquito control professionals, representatives from other urban pest control agencies, environmental health groups, and university Extension agents and teaching faculty who provide training on pest management topics. Under Dr. Riegel’s leadership, the Gulf South VECTOR has provided critical continuing education opportunities for pest control professionals and forged a strong network of public health agencies in the southern region. In addition, the group has created essential standardized resources, such as the Mosquito Control Manual, and developed digital resources, including websites that house webinar recordings and training materials.
Gulf South Vector utilizes its expansive network to reach a broad audience. As an active member of the American Mosquito Control Association for the last 19 years, Dr. Riegel has sought collaborative opportunities with universities for research, with private industry for product testing, and with other agencies such as the National Environmental Health Association. Through their efforts, Dr. Riegel and the South VECTOR team have effectively reached underserved communities and provided profession-specific training for over 30,000 pest management professionals.
Collectively, the Gulf South VECTOR team has trained 32,771 professionals and 6,660 students since the group’s formation in 2022. Dr. Riegel and the Gulf South VECTOR team have provided certification for training workshops and given travel awards for trainees who couldn’t otherwise afford to attend in-person trainings. The Gulf South VECTOR also hosts six webinars a year. The webinar recordings are available as YouTube videos shortly after each webinar, enabling pest management professionals to access the content and earn continuing education credit even if they are unable to attend.
Public participation in pest management practices is a critical component of IPM. With that in mind, the Gulf South VECTOR team maintained a social media platform to connect with the broader community and easily disseminate IPM information.
The Gulf South VECTOR team has also hosted the New Orleans BugFest, a free annual event focused on public education about insects and rodents. The event hosts over 1,500 people and provides ample opportunities for public engagement across all age groups. At BugFest, Dr. Riegel and the Gulf South Vector team prioritize hands-on experiences to ensure a fun, engaging event with lasting educational impact.
Beyond the general public, the Gulf South Vector team engages with agencies and stakeholders to conduct needs assessments, enabling the group to provide regionally appropriate IPM materials. For example, the Gulf South VECTOR team established a working relationship with the National Environmental Health Association to co-host training webinars about vector control and pesticide resistance management.
Gulf South VECTOR has also been conducting large-scale surveys to set priorities for improving overall pest management capacity in the southern region. Stakeholders who’ve participated in the survey were asked to identify topics of interest and indicate preferred methods of education. These surveys are essential for identifying current needs and challenges, enabling Gulf South VECTOR to engage stakeholders across a range of disciplines. Dr. Riegel and the Gulf South VECTOR team have published two peer-reviewed papers and numerous Extension publications to publicize survey findings.
The Gulf South VECTOR team’s strong multidisciplinary collaboration across mosquito control professionals, public health agencies, Extension personnel, and academic partners has resulted in substantial regional impact through the development of a robust network for IPM education and outreach. Gulf South VECTOR supports effective integrated pest management by providing pest management professionals and the public with accessible, science-based training resources, continuing education opportunities, and practical tools for vector and pest control across the southern region.