I earned a BS in zoology at the University of California, Davis. I paid my way through school working as a wildland firefighter with the Forest Service out of Markleeville, CA. I then worked with the Cal Fish & Game out of Stockton for a year doing shrimp surveys in the San Francisco Bay, and then went on to earn an MS and Phd from the Department of Entomology at Purdue University under the guidance of Dr. Pat McCafferty.

For my MS I did a faunistic study documenting mayfly species in the Midwest.  I then transitioned to a PhD, still working on North American mayflies, but focusing more on taxonomy and biogeography while still documenting what species occur where in North America.

While in grad school I developed a love for teaching. I had incredible mentors such as John MacDonald, Chris Oseto, and Tom Turpin. I was given the opportunity as a graduate student to learn how to teach at the college level and was encouraged to be creative. This led to  my subsequent hiring by the  Department of Evolution and Ecology at UC Davis to help run and teach introductory biology. I have had the great opportunity to work with fantastic faculty here and to become more involved in the leadership of the university, serving as chair of the Academic Federation.

Outside of work I enjoy being outside, hiking, fishing, and one of my great passions, riding bicycles. I have been transitioning to more gravel riding–basically putting big tires on a road bike and doing both dirt and paved roads and trails. It’s opened a new world of riding for me, getting more off the beaten path.