About Me
I will be starting as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Minnesota State University, Mankato in August 2021!
I am a plant ecologist currently studying plant community ecology. Broadly, I am interested in how plant communities are being altered by a continually changing climate. My current research focuses on observational and manipulation studies of species and trait-based plant community response to disturbance and global change drivers. My research is influenced by my fascination of complex biotic and abiotic interactions across spatial and temporal scales, leading to heterogeneous communities dictated by the amount of physical or biotic stress plants must tolerate. My research contributes to the work being conducted at the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER site. It has also contributed to the Nutrient Network global database initiative.
Education
Virginia Commonwealth University, B.S. 2013
Virginia Commonwealth University, M.S. 2016
Thesis: Emergent interactions influence functional traits and success of dune building ecosystem engineers
Virginia Commonwealth University, PhD 2021
Dissertation: Plant Communities in Dynamic Systems: How Disturbance Influence Coastal Plant Community Structure and Function
Organization Positions
ESA Student Section Liaison Coordinator, 2018-2020