Background: I earned my B.S. in Biology and Psychology from Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. While an undergraduate, I was a member of the Honors Program, and my senior honors thesis focused on building mutually beneficial partnerships with wildlife. Since graduation, I have held temporary wildlife positions in Colorado and Iowa, and have worked with a variety of taxa including birds, reptiles and amphibians, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, and both small and large mammals.
Research Interests: My interests center on wildlife ecology in our changing landscape. I am concerned with how humans can continue to derive benefits from our natural resources while mitigating the damage done to wildlife and our environment at large. I am specifically interested in how agriculture and conservation can, and must, work together. Through my research at Iowa State, I aim to explore how birds adapt to anthropogenic landscape changes.
Current Project:
Estimating the effect of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contour strips on grassland birds
Personal Interests: In my free time, I can be found camping, canoeing, birding, skiing, and hiking. I also enjoy gardening, spending time with my pet chickens, and indulging in good cup of coffee and a good book.