About me

I am a quantitative ecologist, broadly interested in how populations and communities change (or don’t!) through space and time. I got my start in landscape ecology, focusing on patterns in species occurrence as it relates to landscape context. More recently, however, I have become more interested in the population dynamics underlying those patterns. In fact, I found I often couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing because I didn’t know what was happening at the population level. And so my current work is getting at the root, working to disentangle the ways in which the environment supports or limits population growth.

I am currently a postdoc in the Iler-CaraDonna lab group at the Chicago Botanic Garden. My primary role is working with Dr. Amy Iler on a project to better understand the consequences of phenological shifts on plant populations. Additionally, I am co-PI with Dr. Paul CaraDonna on a recently funded NSF grant to study the effects of climate change and biotic interactions on solitary bee populations. See my Research Page for more details.

Previously, I completed my PhD with Dr. Rachael Winfree, at Rutgers University, where I studied the landscape and population ecology of wild bees, with a focus on population responses to habitat availability. I also completed a masters with Dr. Matthias Leu, where I studied the association between forest fragmentation and tick-borne pathogens. In undergrad, I worked with Dr. Rebecca Bunn to study the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil decomposition.

Outside of academia, I enjoy hiking, biking, music, and contra dancing. Contra is an American folk dance, similar to square dancing. It is choreographed, led by a ‘caller’ who teaches the figures and prompts the dancers, and it is always danced to live music. I have been dancing for a few years, and have recently started calling dances myself.