Danielle Ignace studies forest ecosystems as an ecophysiologist at the University of Minnesota. She’s also an artist and painter, an enrolled member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in Idaho, chair of the Ecological Society of America’s Traditional Ecological Knowledge section, and a mentor dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices.
Growing up, Ignace had early exposure to many interests and paths. Her dad, a doctor of internal medicine and member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, had opened a nonprofit medical center in Milwaukee to improve health care for Native Americans in urban settings. Her mom, who grew up on the Menominee Reservation in northern Wisconsin, served on the board of the Institute of American Indian Arts.
“I didn’t see the space for the work that I really wanted to do, that would tie in what I grew up with: thinking about how to improve things for Native Americans [and] how to get their voices heard.”
“Growing up with that daily dialogue about medicine, science, and the arts ensured I had really broad interests to begin with,” she said.
Ignace’s interests took her first to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she studied zoology and environmental studies. After researching freshwater toxicology, she landed a Research Experiences for Undergraduates role at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. That summer in the mountains changed how she viewed science. “I would climb mountains on the weekends, stare into the beautiful distance and think, ‘You know, I want to work on some of these other questions related to the ecosystem level.’”
Scaling up the size of the systems she worked on, she traveled to the University of Arizona for her doctorate to study desert grasses’ response to precipitation. Though she loved the work and had great mentors, a piece was still missing. “I didn’t see the space for the work that I really wanted to do, that would tie in what I grew up with: thinking about how to improve things for Native Americans [and] how to get their voices heard,” she said.
What is one book, movie, or piece of media about your field that you would recommend to young scientists?
I really don’t have one [recommendation]. Rather, my advice is to seek out inspiration from many different things outside of the peer-reviewed scientific literature—it could be podcasts, museums, hikes, videos, or simply engaging in conversations with people you don’t normally run into.
So across institutions and as she built her career, she promised herself that all her identities—scientist, artist, Indigenous woman, and more—would be welcome at work. Today that takes many forms. In one recent project, students of hers worked with the Nipmuc community and the Harvard Forest to create an art series exploring the positive uses of Japanese knotweed, an introduced plant.
She’s also leading a chapter of the Nature Record (a national report meant to replace the now-terminated National Nature Assessment) about the drivers of change in nature. It will focus in part on human relationships with nature and the role of Indigenous communities in stewarding land.
In each aspect of her career, she said, “I’m trying to make sure that the next generation of scientists feels like they have a place, a safe space, and that they can do what they’re most passionate about and bring their whole selves to the work they want to do.”
—Grace van Deelen (@gvd.bsky.social), Staff Writer
This profile is part of a special series in our August 2026 issue on science careers.