Background
I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, where I developed an interest in the outdoors, especially wildlife. Even growing up in a city, I grew up with moose visiting our yard, occasionally seeing bears, and bald eagle sightings so common they were unremarkable. When my family moved to the starkly different Indiana when I was in high school, it was hard not to desperately miss the mountains, salmon streams, and moose. It took me some time to appreciate the beauty of the agricultural Midwest.
Education
I attended Purdue University for my undergraduate studies, majoring in wildlife. I quickly learned to appreciate the importance of humans in wildlife science and management, which fit well with my interest in public policy. I attended Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) for a dual Master's program, receiving a Master of Public Affairs and Master of Science in Environmental Science.
I then returned to Purdue for my PhD, where I studied under Linda Prokopy in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. I worked on a variety of projects (see Research section for more information) and developed an interest in the intersection of agriculture and the environment. In the Midwest, much of the landscape has a heavy human footprint. While these landscapes may not be as dramatic as mountains or coastlines, they provide a special opportunity for exploring the relationship between people and an environment to which they are intimately tied and even dependent upon (though not in ways that are always fully appreciated). Beyond agricultural systems, I am also interested in human relationships with water and wildlife, as well as human influences on global ecosystem processes.
I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, where I developed an interest in the outdoors, especially wildlife. Even growing up in a city, I grew up with moose visiting our yard, occasionally seeing bears, and bald eagle sightings so common they were unremarkable. When my family moved to the starkly different Indiana when I was in high school, it was hard not to desperately miss the mountains, salmon streams, and moose. It took me some time to appreciate the beauty of the agricultural Midwest.
Education
I attended Purdue University for my undergraduate studies, majoring in wildlife. I quickly learned to appreciate the importance of humans in wildlife science and management, which fit well with my interest in public policy. I attended Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) for a dual Master's program, receiving a Master of Public Affairs and Master of Science in Environmental Science.
I then returned to Purdue for my PhD, where I studied under Linda Prokopy in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. I worked on a variety of projects (see Research section for more information) and developed an interest in the intersection of agriculture and the environment. In the Midwest, much of the landscape has a heavy human footprint. While these landscapes may not be as dramatic as mountains or coastlines, they provide a special opportunity for exploring the relationship between people and an environment to which they are intimately tied and even dependent upon (though not in ways that are always fully appreciated). Beyond agricultural systems, I am also interested in human relationships with water and wildlife, as well as human influences on global ecosystem processes.