I grew up in Northern Michigan where I spent most of my free time hiking, camping, stand up paddle boarding, snowboarding and horseback riding.  Nature is something that I have always appreciated, as well as respected, and I was fortunate enough to have an upbringing that instilled in me a strong desire to conserve it.

I received my B.Sc. from Northern Michigan University and during my last semester I interned abroad.  I assisted the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center of Honduras with monitoring whale shark populations, undertaking coral and artificial reef surveys, as well as creating a bilingual and interactive welcome center for the local community  My second internship took place in South Africa where I assessed the impacts of the white shark cage diving industry.   Then I moved to Australia where I have worked with various conservation NGOs including Positive Change for Marine Life, whom I still work for as a campaign coordinator.

Currently, I am undertaking a Masters in Conservation Science at the University of Queensland under the supervision of A/Prof James Watson, Kendall Jones and James Allan.   My research is focused on assessing global progress towards achieving conservation targets using changes in the human footprint.  I am also interested in wildlife conservation, human-wildlife conflict and applied conservation management.