Moraine Valley Community College

Jana Svec is a Chicago-based professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Tallgrass Nature Study Area at Moraine Valley Community College. Canadian born and bred, Jana completed her BS in Environmental Science at Carleton University majoring in biology. While completing her honors thesis at Queens University Biology Station (QUBS), Jana was introduced to the world of fisheries and joined the University of Illinois bass research team, completing her MS in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences where she researched the reproductive ecology of smallmouth and largemouth bass in eastern Ontario.

Jana’s primary teaching responsibilities include environmental science/ecology. As director of the 40-acre campus Nature Study Area Tallgrass Prairie for the past two decades, Jana maintains the prairie doing ecological restoration through field work with both her students and community members. She received the Master Educator of the Year Award in n 2025 for her continued dedication to this prairie as well as to her students.

Over the past 30 years, Jana has participated in fisheries research at QUBS with her husband Jim during the summer months. Together they have 4 children, who have helped with their research over the summers. Their youngest son, Aiden, is now part of the bass research team.