I am motivated by a vast appreciation for nature and desire to understand and conserve natural systems. I earned a B.S. in Natural Resource Management at Cornell University, where my academic focus was on forest ecology and bat biology. Afterward, I served in the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa as an environmental educator and conservation extension agent. I then became a high school science teacher through which I endeavored to inspire students to be active and informed stewards of Earth.

I defended my dissertation on physiology and behavior of Brazilian free-tailed bats in February 2010. Now I am a post-doctoral researcher with Tom Kunz at Boston University. Currently, I study the physiological implications of white-nose syndrome on little brown myotis. My work focuses mainly on seasonal patterns of fat accumulation and depletion and physical injuries incurred by bats affected with WNS. I am collaborating with Dr. Marianne Moore and Prof. Thomas Kunz at Boston University to investigate relationships between fat reserves and immune function during hibernation.