One of my great joys as a child was collecting tadpoles and raising them in jars in the kitchen. Fortunately, my parents were supportive and always helped me to return the frogs to their home pond. These early experiences were so influential that I conducted master’s research on frog habitat ecology and then moved to Ireland on a Fulbright Grant to study “frogs in the bogs.” For my PhD work I shifted my focus from amphibians to reptiles and ants to explore individual variation and ecological thresholds. Though these lizards are commonly known as “horny toads,” they are actually lizards, not toads! In spite of my great love for reptiles and amphibians, I apply my questions about niche relationships and population dynamics to a wide variety of taxa across ecosystems.    

As an ecologist and an educator, I seek to foster research relationships between academic institutions and citizen scientists, especially young students. In particular, I am interested in empowering students to become part of the entire research process from design and implementation to writing and publication. Implementing outreach opportunities is critical to building interest in science among students, and encouraging creative thinking is these situations is an important part of the process--some of the best scientific ideas come from unconventional perspectives and approaches.  

I also enjoy fixing research equipment with duct tape, un-sticking very stuck vehicles, and writing songs about wimpy rattlesnakes.