About Me
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In my current position as a Database & GIS Specialist with the USGS Eastern Ecological Research Center (formerly Patuxent Wildlife Research Center), I maintain both spatial and non-spatial databases, develop mapping applications for data visualization and analysis, and manage spatial data for avian monitoring programs. One project I work on is the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS), a multi-agency study between BOEM, NOAA, USFWS, and USGS. We are conducting aerial and vessel-based surveys over the course of multiple years to document the distribution, abundance, and diversity of seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles. The results will hopefully provide important information to better inform regulatory, management, and conservation decisions such as habitat protection, hunting regulations, and development (e.g., coastal or alternative energy). We are also collaborating with the Zipkin Quantitative Ecology Lab on the analysis of aerial survey data of seabirds; the work was featured on MSU Today in January 2018: Ecologist to play role in large scale seabird study.
I completed my MS degree in integrative biology with a specialization in ecology, evolutionary biology & behavior in Dr. Elise Zipkin's Quantitative Ecology Lab at Michigan State University. My thesis work focused on examining waterbird populations in the Great Lakes region. I worked with state and federal partners to build models aimed to identify persistent areas of high use ("hotspots") to help inform conservation planning and management decisions such as habitat protection, hunting regulations, and wind energy development. My work on waterbirds in the Great Lakes was featured at the MSU Museum in an exhibit (on display July 2017 - June 2018) highlighting Michigan bird conservation: Michigan Bird Conservation Stories: Pigeons Past to Plovers Present. The exhibit overlapped with the 2017 Joint AOS/SCO Meeting in East Lansing, MI. Check out the video to the left to hear about my graduate work and some of the amazing research happening in the Zipkin Lab! My past experience has been focused mostly on birds, specifically managing and maintaining several large-scale bird monitoring programs throughout North America, including: the Northwest Atlantic Offshore Seabird Compendium, the Colonial Waterbird Database, the North American Breeding Bird Atlas Explorer, the Bird Point Count Database, and the National Marsh Birds Population Assessment and Monitoring Program. I attended the University of Delaware for my undergraduate career and earned a BS degree in wildlife conservation with a minor in entomology. In my spare time I enjoy baking, reading, crafting, traveling, camping, and spending time with my family and friends. |
Last updated March 2022.