About Me

I am an ecologist with Cramer Fish Sciences, an employee owned environmental consulting company focused on restoring rivers for California salmonids.  Although my current work focuses on investigating the role of ecology in the efficacy of our restoration projects, my research interests broadly include chemical ecology, species interactions, and trophic ecology.  Human activities that alter species interactions can influence entire ecosystems in unexpected ways and I am passionate about the value of understanding species connections to avoid these ecological surprises.  My dissertation research investigated predator prey interactions, specifically how predators can influence prey through fear, in oyster reef ecosystems.  As a Fulbright Scholar, I investigated how lionfishes' ability to learn and adapt to local ecology facilitated their extremely successful invasion of the Atlantic and Caribbean.  And as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tennessee, I analyzed the effects of large scale invasive species removal on native, endemic goby responses in Hawaiian streams.  I earned my Ph.D. in Marine Biology at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 2017 and my B.S. in Aquatic Biology from Eastern Kentucky University in 2012. 

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I am passionate about the importance of science communication and outreach.  Growing up in the Midwest, my experiences with the ocean were a novelty.  After graduating college in Kentucky and escaping to warmer coastal climates in Texas, I was surprised to find local communities were often just as disconnected from marine habitats.  For most of my graduate education, I was incredibly lucky to work on an NSF-funded STEM education program that let me bring the ocean into the classroom and bring teachers into the lab.  This experience fostered a passion for connecting communities with aquatic environments and has led me to many other amazing opportunities.  

In the interest of being a well rounded human, I also enjoy ballroom and belly dance, reading (the non-scientific stuff), baking, and traveling.  Please explore my website for details on my research and outreach activities.  Feel free contact me with any questions, comments, or musings.