I can trace the beginning of my career back to a single experience trout fishing in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Around the same time, at my undergraduate department’s award party at James Madison University, I received the prestigous “Most Likely to Have a Wildlife TV Show” award. The story that led me from trout to ornithology is a bit too long to detail here, but needless to say, those days helped me recognize what interested me the most: questions about wildlife and human-wildlife interactions. I have studied with amazing mentors, conducted fieldwork throughout North, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Hawaii, traveled across the world for conferences, and learned a ton (and continue to learn) from friends, colleagues and family. And most important, I get to share all of this with my sweet brood, Stacey, Rosa, Nico, Enzo and Coco.
PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS
Professor, 2020- School of Marine and Environmental Programs, University of New England, Biddeford, ME
Assistant Academic Director, 2020- School of Marine and Environmental Programs, University of New England, Biddeford, ME
Department Chair, 2018-20 Department of Environmental Studies, University of New England, Biddeford, ME
Assistant Department Chair, 2016-18 Department of Environmental Studies, University of New England, Biddeford, ME
Associate Professor, 2015- Department of Environmental Studies, University of New England, Biddeford, ME
Assistant Professor, 2009- Department of Environmental Studies, University of New England, Biddeford, ME
Post-doctoral Fellow and Lecturer, 2007-09 The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, Wildlife Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Natural Resources, concentration in Wildlife Biology; 2007, University of Vermont, VT Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit
Dissertation: Effects of hayfield management on grassland songbirds: behavioral
responses and population processes.
Co-advisors: Dr. Therese Donovan, Dr. Allan Strong
M.A. Environmental Conservation Education; 1999, New York University
Thesis: Comparing land use and land ethics along the eastern and western slopes of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains
Advisor: Dr. Millard Clements
B.S. English; Speech Communications; 1997 James Madison University, cum laude