I earned my BS in Biology from the University of Central Florida where I also worked as a technician in the Marine Ecology and Conservation Lab for three years. That was a really field-heavy position, focused on the effects of oyster reef and living shoreline restoration on the fish and crustacean communities in Mosquito Lagoon, FL. This position was really perfect for me, as I grew up fishing in those same waters, and it proved to be a great jumping off point for a career as a fisheries professional.
In January of 2020 (Great timing!) I packed up and moved to Athens, GA where I attended grad school, earning my MS in Fisheries and Aquatic Ecology from the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, advised by Dr. Marty Hamel. My thesis work involved quantifying the impacts of a recent hydrilla invasion on the sportfish community in a Piedmont reservoir, as well as examining the efficacy of UAV and Satellite imagery for identifying and measuring hydrilla occurrence. After finishing grad school, I stuck around Warnell for a little while as I figured out my next steps. In the meantime, I worked as a UAV pilot in the Precision Forestry Lab, and continued to hone my interpersonal and spatial analysis skills.
I joined the Suski Lab in July of 2023 as a Visiting Researcher with the main role of facilitating graduate research into the conservation of sportfish in Illinois (See Shasta and Allison’s summaries for more details!), and I’ll be spearheading a project examining the post-release behavior of Largemouth Bass captured in photo-release kayak fishing tournaments in the near future. I’ve been fortunate to work with so many incredible people up to this point, and this lab is no different. I’m really enjoying the variety of work and the collaborative environment here, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the rest of my time at UIUC has to offer.
In my free time, I enjoy hiking, hunting, fishing, cooking, caving, and hanging out with my cat, Gumbo.