Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

I am interested in studying urban wildlife and coastal ecology while integrating local stakeholders and participatory citizen science.  I’m passionate about environmental education and expanding public access to natural spaces.

M.S. Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology, Frostburg State University, 2022

B.S. Wildlife Conservation, Juniata College, 2017

Our lab has expanded the research conducted as part of my M.S. thesis on river otter latrine habitat at SERC into regional river otter monitoring.  In 2022-2023 I led fieldwork for two collaborative projects monitoring ecological and human health in the Chesapeake Bay using bivalves and river otters as sentinels.  I'm currently working on metabarcoding, Rhode River Parasite long-term surveys, and manuscript development with our Coastal Disease Ecology team.