I'm a first-generation college student from a working-class family. My parents raised me to value education, and I ultimately developed into a life-long learner and educator. I studied biology in undergrad, coming to love working with organisms in their natural habitats, having spend time doing this "field work" working with plants and reptiles. After college I worked in industry in a microbiology lab, only reinforcing my desire to work outside with organisms. I spent a couple of years spending months in the eastern California deserts working with small mammals and plants before doing my Ph.D. on seed-dispersing animals and plants. My first professor position was at a small-liberal arts college in New England, and I'm thrilled to now (as of 2025) be back in southern California.
In my lab, I still study species interactions, focusing on mutualisms, like pollination and seed dispersal, where species benefit each other. I'm planning on primarily working with manzanitas, including bigberry manzanita, the California State Shrub.
