University of Idaho soil scientist Jodi Johnson-Maynard leads project research on earthworm ecology and kindergarten through high school and university education. Johnson-Maynard is an associate professor of soil science in the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. She earned her doctoral degree at the University of California Riverside in soil and water science in 1999. She joined the Idaho faculty in 2000. An interest in earthworm ecology led Johnson-Maynard to become one of the leading experts on the Northwest’s native species, notably the giant Palouse earthworm. Her research since has located multiple specimens and may expand the earthworm’s known range. Johnson-Maynard is a member of the Idaho Governor’s Carbon Sequestration Advisory Committee and works on a USDA-funded project to integrate food and agricultural systems education into other disciplines. She serves as faculty advisor to Soil Stewards, a student group that operates an organic vegetable farm and community supported agriculture program at the Palouse Research, Extension and Education Center.