We are excited to welcome Dr. Tharanga Samarakoon to the Emory Herbarium (GEO)! Dr. Samarakoon will begin her work as the new Collections Manager at GEO this month. She comes to us from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she completed her doctoral research on the phylogenetic relationships of the tropical family Samydaceae (former Flacourtiaceae) and the preparation of a monograph of the genus Casearia in south-central Asia. She also brings years of experience in work on southeastern flora from her time spent with the University of Southern Mississippi Herbarium.