Fish and Wildlife Biologist

January 2017 - present

Ecological Services
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Supervisor: Mary Root

Duties​: I work with our federal agency partners to conserve fisheries and wildlife resources and their habitat in the face of aquatic restoration and development through engagement with the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act. Additionally, I collaborate with state and federal agencies to advance salmon recovery in the Puget Sound region of western Washington. 

Future Academic Scholars in Teaching (FAST) Fellow

April 2016 - present

The Graduate School at Michigan State University
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL)
Mentor: Henry "Rique" Campa, III, Ph.D.

Award Description​: An award sponsored by the Graduate School at Michigan State University and the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) that provides opportunities for a diverse group of graduate students to have mentored teaching experiences and to gain familiarity with materials on teaching and assessment techniques.

Duties​:

• Selected to work with a mentor on designing, developing, implementing, and assessing a teaching-as-research (TAR) project in an introductory science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) undergraduate course 

William W. Taylor and Henry A. Regier Great Lakes Fisheries Fellow and Boone and Crockett Club Fellow, Ph.D. Candidate

June 2015 - present

Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Michigan State University

Award Description: A doctoral fellowship from MSU and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC) that is awarded to a graduate student performing research related to Great Lakes fisheries ecology, governance, or management. Award recipients demonstrate a dedication to understanding factors affecting the sustainability of Great Lakes fisheries ecosystems along with excellent academic credentials, evidence of leadership, ability to communicate to the public as well as professional communities, and the ability to solve problems creatively.

Duties: 

• Invited to help organize and facilitate a strategic review of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC)
• Reviewed and co-authored publications in a book, published by FAO, MSU, and the American Fisheries Society (AFS) about fish, freshwater, and the future
• Led the development and production of publications addressing change in, and evolution of, professionals and organizations in the fisheries profession over time
• Participate in a monthly cross-disciplinary discussion and research-planning session with fellow conservation criminology students

​Presidential Liaison

August 2014 - present

Boone and Crockett Club
Bill Demmer, Club President — 2013 - 2014
Morrie Stevens, Club President — 2015 - 2016

Duties:

• Assist past Club President, Bill Demmer, and current Club President, Morrie Stevens, and other Club members in coordinating, developing, and editing articles (total, sixteen) for the Club’s official publication, Fair Chase magazine 
• Coordinate bi-monthly meetings for the Club’s Conservation Education Subcommittee, which consists of approximately thirty Professional members
• Coordinate meetings with Professional and Regular Club members in Michigan
• Participate in the Club’s Annual Meeting in December

​Janice Lee Fenske Excellence in Fisheries Management Fellow

September 2014 - February 2016

Michigan State University
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
University Mentor: William Taylor, Ph.D. (major advisor)
Agency Mentor: Bob Lambe (Executive Secretary of the GLFC)

Duties:

• Developed and implemented a research project addressing opportunities and challenges for effective law enforcement in nationwide, multi-jurisdictional fisheries management
• Brought together law enforcement professionals from multiple jurisdictions nationwide to discuss their role(s) in fisheries sustainability as part of a symposium at the AFS Annual Meeting
• Interacted regularly with GLFC Law Enforcement Committee during my participation in their semi-annual and annual meetings (attended over fifteen professional meetings, two trainings, and traveled to six states and one province)
• Created and maintained social media accounts (i.e., blog, Facebook group, Facebook page) and a social media guide to assist MSU Fenske Fellows in regularly documenting their research experiences

Blog: MSU Fenske Fellows

Graduate Research Assistant, Ph.D. Student

August 2013 - June 2015

Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Michigan State University

Award Description: A doctoral assistantship from MSU.

Duties:

• Reviewed and co-authored vignettes in a book, published by AFS, about important lessons for developing fisheries professionals
• Assisted the Organizing Committee in the coordination and execution of the Global Conference on Inland Fisheries at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy
• Led the establishment of an endowment agreement at MSU to recruit passionate and capable graduate students interested in studying Great Lakes fisheries and aquatic ecosystems

Graduate Research Assistant, M.S. Student

August 2013 - June 2015

School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
University of Washington

Duties:

• Represented students of the SMEA on a variety of search and selection committees for new faculty members  

Bradford E. Brown Scholar

May - August 2011

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Northeast Fisheries Science Center
​Northeast Salmon Team
​Orono, Maine
Mentor: John Kocik, Ph.D.

Duties:

• Assisted in the surgical tagging, tracking and monitoring, and collection of endangered Atlantic salmon smolts in the Penobscot River Estuary
• Participated in the Penobscot Estuarine Ecosystem Survey and collected, enumerated, and identified species in first community-wide assessment of the Penobscot River Estuary's spatial and temporal variability in fish assemblages with a particular emphasis on diadromous species
• Processed returning adult Atlantic salmon at various dam locations in the Penobscot River
• Developed and implemented a research project on migratory movements and reversals of wild and hatchery-reared Atlantic salmon smolts emigrating through the Penobscot River Estuary
• Invited to present my research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as part of a symposium for student researchers studying Atlantic fisheries resource management
• Created and maintained a social media account (i.e., blog)

Blog: Fishing in Orono

​Undergraduate Research Assistant

August 2010 - January 2011

Aquatic Landscape Ecology Lab
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Michigan State University
Mentor: Dana Infante, Ph.D.

Duties:

• Collaborated with other lab members in characterizing an inventory of dams and their statuses in the U.S. as part of the National Inventory of Dam survey
• Scheduled and participated in bi-weekly lab meetings with faculty and graduate students
• Managed contacts and membership roles for the Michigan Chapter of the AFS

Fisheries Research Technician

May - August 2010

Aquatic Landscape Ecology Lab
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
Michigan State University
Mentor: Darren Thornbrugh, Ph.D.

Duties:

• ​Conducted field research (e.g., including barge and backpack electroshocking, individual fish handling, fish identification, and data analysis) in twenty-six lotic systems throughout the Upper and Lower Peninsulas in Michigan

National Earthwatch Science Scholar

June 2006

Earthwatch Institute
"Salmon of the Pacific Northwest"​
Puget Sound, Washington
Mentor: Ralph Riley, Ph.D.

Duties:

• One of eighty high school students selected nationwide to join a six-person field research team to evaluate and quantify Pacific salmon habitat restoration efforts
• Collected and complied geomorphologic measurements in riparian forest zones including stream gradients, stream widths, stream substrate types, pool depths, and various tree measurements
• Took inventory on streams and riparian zone habitats that had been altered to enhance salmonid fitness and survivability