I am an Environmental Science Program Manager and faculty member at Hocking College and an environmental scientist whose career spans academic research, teaching, program leadership, international field research, and business strategy. I earned my Ph.D. in Environmental Science from The Ohio State University, where I developed expertise in aquatic and environmental ecology. During my subsequent NSF-supported postdoctoral research, I expanded my research portfolio into microbial ecology, using molecular and bioinformatic approaches to investigate microbial communities in supraglacial and periglacial environments of Alaska and Tibet.

 

I enjoy designing and conducting research, communicating scientific discoveries through peer-reviewed publications and presentations, and inspiring students through teaching and mentoring. My current work includes research on microbial communities and biogeochemical processes in extreme environments, including recent research on pyrite “suns” and iron- and sulfur-associated microbial processes in proglacial environments of Alaska.

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I have been a Fulbright and Fulbright-Hays researcher conducting environmental and stream ecology research in Tibetan Autonomous regions and have conducted field research in diverse environments ranging from Alaskan glaciers and proglacial landscapes to streams and aquatic systems in Tibet. My first-author publications have appeared in journals including Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, JGR: Biogeosciences, Microbiology Spectrum, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, and Chemosphere.

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In addition to research, I have taught biology, environmental science, soil science, aquatic ecology, microbiology, and zoology at multiple colleges and universities. At Hocking College, I combine teaching with academic program leadership, developing university articulation agreements, environmental career pathways, experiential learning opportunities, and partnerships with businesses and community organizations.

My professional path also includes a substantial career in business strategy and organizational transformation at Walmart, a Fortune 100 company. There, I worked at the intersection of strategy, technology, training, sustainability, global operations, and data-driven decision-making. This unusual combination of corporate, academic, research, and international experience has shaped how I approach complex problems: I enjoy connecting people and ideas, translating complex information for different audiences, and turning ambitious ideas into practical programs and systems.

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I am particularly interested in making scientific communication more accessible. I have explored the use of artificial intelligence and real-time multilingual interpretation to help audiences understand scientific presentations across languages, as well as tools such as PowerPoint's automatic and interpreted subtitles. These approaches can help broaden participation in science and make research communication more inclusive.

I am especially grateful to the National Science Foundation, whose support enabled me to make the leap from an international corporate career into scientific research. That transition—from business strategy to environmental science, from corporate systems to field research, and from research to academic program leadership is an important part of my professional story.