I hail from Baltimore, Maryland. I received a bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental Science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. I studied stream ecology under Dr. Christopher Swan. I received my PhD in ecology from the University of Pittsburgh, studying under Dr. Rick Relyea. ​After Pittsburgh, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Oakland University in Rochester, MI with Dr. Tom Raffel. After working with Tom for a year, I moved on to a visiting faculty position at Oakland and taught introductory biology, scientific communication, and advanced topics in evolution. After that, I moved on to a postdoctoral researcher at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where I worked with the Jefferson Project (see Research section). Now I am teaching and researching in southern New Jersey

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When I'm not working, I have more hobbies than I know what to do with. I love hiking, kayaking, and fishing. I'm not very good at fishing. I mostly just like to sit next to a lake or stand in a stream and meditate. I just hold a fishing pole to stop people from asking me what I'm doing. I also enjoy gardening, woodworking, crocheting, reading, brewing wine and beer, playing guitar, and volunteering with my local community.