About

Giving presentation on climate-adapted agricultural solutions in Cache Valley, UT

I am a Ph.D. Candiate of Environment & Society in the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Utah State University. My focus areas include Bison bison, Bison bonasus, human-wildlife conflicts & management, social tolerance of wildlife, political ecology, and comparative environmental history.

My current research blends social tolerance measurement and comparative environmental history in the United States and Poland to compare Bison spp. acceptance and attitudes in understanding how humans and extant Pleistocene megafauna interact and can coexist in a rapidly changing world.

My Story

I grew up in the swampy orange heart of Florida, far from bison. I attended Florida State University earning a BA in Middle Eastern Studies in 2013, with a concentration in the apocalyptic literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

I earned my MS in Outdoor and Environmental History from Alaska Pacific University in 2015, specializing in hope education, learning theories, and science communication.

Additionally, I worked in the nonprofit realm for over a decade. I was Education Director at Stokes Nature Center in Utah, a naturalist guide and Youth Programs Manager at the Denali Education Center in Denali National Park in Alaska, an educator specializing in working with indigenous Alaska Native youth, a summer camp adventure trips director in Maine, and a professional backpacking guide in New Mexico.

I am the former Chair for the Northwest Region for the Association for Experiential Education, representing educators and education professionals from Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

I am also a former elected borough assembly member for the Denali Borough.

My passions include going on adventures with my wife, daughter and three dogs, winemaking from my small home vineyard, gardening, and replacing my lawn with native wildflowers.