I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Horticulture and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program at Michigan State University.

 

I became interested in a career in ecology due to an internship during my bachelor's degree in which we were trying to conserve endangered birds. I then did a master's project that was working on grassland bird conservation in intensified Midwest agriculture, which showed me how important sustainable agricultural practices were for biodiversity conservation. That led me to Washington State University where I did a PhD with Drs. Jeb Owen and Bill Snyder looking at both the costs and benefits of biodiversity in agriculture. My project sought to identify in what contexts birds can be conserved, control pest insects, and have low risk of contaminating produce with their feces. My research now broadly seeks to optimize farming decisions for multiple dimensions of sustainability. My program also branched off during my time as a postdoc at MSU to include research on inequity in publishing.