Though I grew up in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, I’ve spent more time in South America than in my home state over the past few years- a time during which I’ve worked as a backcountry field tech, birding guide, researcher, and volunteer advisor for ecolodges in the Neotropics.

My current research is focused on helping to establish a framework for passive bioacoustic monitoring in the southwestern Amazon, including the potential for automatic bird sound identification with the help of neural networks, and using that technology to assess other things like the impact of forest clearings on bird communities. I’m very interested in biogeography, particularly in remote, biodiverse, and threatened regions around the world. In the long run, I hope to help find better ways to connect with the public and policymakers regarding conservation, climate change, and biodiversity issues, by tying together the ethical, economic, and aesthetic value systems that inform decisions. 

I’m spending this semester at University of Queensland while studying abroad from my home institution, Cornell University. When not in the field scoping shorebirds, contributing to eBird, or looking for rare and cryptic species, I love backpacking, travel, dogs, geopolitics, and watching sports, especially baseball.