Claudia Riegel, a native of Chicago, earned an undergraduate degree at Purdue University, a Master's at the University of Georgia and a PhD from the Entomology and Nematology Department at the University of Florida in 2000. Directly out of school, she was hired by Dow AgroSciences LLC and moved to Louisiana. Responsibilities included testing of new enhancements to the products in the portfolio, providing technical support for the commercial organization in the southeast and southwest and collaborating with government organizations, universities and customers on topics in urban pest management. In 2004, she decided to focus on Formosan subterranean termites and became senior entomologist for the city of New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board. In this position, she provides technical support for the City of New Orleans and the pest control industry, conducts independent research, collaborates with industry for enhancements of existing products and testing of new products and collaborates with government organizations and universities on research projects.

Providing information about termites and mosquitoes to the pest control professionals and to the public is one of her great joys.