Billings serves as research staff with Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Coastal Ecology Lab. He works primarily on the lab’s gopher tortoise project, studying translocated tortoises and the native plant communities in their habitats, as well as the impacts of surface mining and the ecological value of reclaimed mine lands for wildlife.

Billings is originally from southern California, but has spent most of his life in southeast Georgia, where he developed his appreciation for nature and a passion for conserving native species. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in biology with a concentration in coastal ecology from the College of Coastal Georgia in 2021. In his spare time, he loves to explore Georgia’s amazing ecosystems and practice roadside botany.