I am a Research Ecologist jointly appointed at the Great Plains Science Program and Conservation Ecology Center at the Smithsonian Institution. Prior, I earned a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley working with the Middleton Lab and Brashares Lab.  At Berkeley, I researched the ecological outcomes of a recovering puma population in southern Argentina to inform ongoing 'rewildling' projects throughout Patagonia and promote human-wildlife coexistence. My research integrates behavioral  and community ecology with socio-political human dimensions to help solve today's pressing wildlife conservation problems.  Central to my work is ensuring that conservation outcomes are equitable, and that all stakeholders have access to and say in the decisions that affect their communities.

Prior to starting my PhD, I worked in Mexico as a Natural Resource Conservation Volunteer with the Peace Corps. Primarily, I worked with SEMARNAT, the local municipal government, and local farmers’ co-ops to conserve working landscapes by developing and teaching better landscape management practices, monitoring wildlife populations, promoting ancient water-retention practices using agave, planting windbreaks to prevent erosion, and reforesting the communal land that’s seen lots of forest fires and illegal logging.