I have always been fascinated by the natural world and the way each part is simultaneously influenced and affected by every other piece. I grew up in West Texas where I spent my youth exploring the nearby desert. Many years later on a trip to Costa Rica, surrounded by the nightly chorus of jungle insects and frogs, I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life learning about the natural world. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, I spent three years monitoring endangered species in North Cascades National Park and studying grey wolf behavior in Yellowstone. The amazing sights and unique experiences of those years cemented my passion for biology. I went on to UC Boulder for graduate school where I shifted my focus to honeybee social behavior, performing fieldwork in Colorado, Costa Rica and southwestern China. I have since completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Cal Berkeley, studying the biomechanics of bumblebee flight and how they respond to the challenges of life at high altitudes. In addition to biology, I also enjoy exploring wild places, riding my bike on trails & around town, growing backyard vegetables, and discovering new music from around the world. Lately, most of my free time is spent chasing around and playing with my young sons.
