About

I grew up in a small town in rural, central Pennsylvania called Frenchville. I was fortunate to grow up surrounded by nature, but didn't really appreciate that fact until I went to college. I quickly learned to appreciate the diversity of plants and animals around me.

I completed my B.S. in Biology at Dickinson College in 2018. I loved my time there and especially enjoyed lab courses where I was able to be outside. I focused much of my course work around natural history. In addition to doing research I was fortunate enough to travel aroiund the U.S. for these courses including the Smokey Mountains for spring wildflowers, rural Georgia where we caught alligators, diamondback rattlesnakes, and alligator snapping turtles, the DelMarVa for raptor migrations, and the James River for fossil hunting.

During my summers I worked with plants in various capacities. Between freshmand and sophomore year I worked with a USDA Forest Servive forester doing Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) surveys. The following summer I did vegetation surveys in the Allegheny National Forest to assess deer herbivory impacts with the USDA Forest Service, which built on previous research. Between junior and senior year I did similar work helping to assess impacts of deer, logging, and other disturbance on vegetation at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

For three years I also worked at a non-profit, citizen science organization called the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring or ALLARM which instilled in me a love for Citizen Science and helping communities understand and protect their natural resources.

All of this work helped shape my goals. While I enjoy travelling and seeing new ecosystems, I love my home state of PA, and I'm passionate about making a difference in conservation here. I decided I wanted to continue on in my education and do research that was relevant for conservation and land management. In particular, I wanted to work with plants because they can tell us so much about what's goinig on in an ecosystem. These are still my goals today, and I'm excited to learn and apply new skills in my PhD training that will help aid in management and conservation.

In my free time I like to hang out with my partner, Barry, and my friends and family. I love gardening, hiking, kayaking, and getting outside. I also enjoy cooking and reading!