The association includes members from more than 200 academic and non-academic institutions in the Southeastern United States. It encourages the advancement of biology through research, teaching, application in problem solving, preservation of biological resources and communications.
Parr joined ORNL in 1974 in the Environmental Sciences Division. She has been the Oak Ridge Reservation's land area manager since 1983.
Parr earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Tennessee Wesleyan College and a master's degree in ecology from the University of Tennessee.
She and her husband, Ron, have two children, Bobby and Elisa. The family lives in Loudon County.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.