College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Community Sustainability

Advisor: Dr. Bess Perry

I am a third year PhD student pursuing my degree in Sustainable Tourism & Protected Areas Management. My current research is a collaborative endeavor with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division, where we aim to understand visitor use on areas that are traditionally managed for wildlife and wildlife-based recreation throughout the State.

My expertise and areas of interest are social-ecological systems in fish and wildlife, human dimensions of wildlife management, social theories in protected areas, sustainable visitor use and recreation management, and relevancy building with managerial and public audiences.

I hold a BS in Wildlife & Fisheries Biology (with a concentration in wildlife bio) and a minor in Forestry from the University of Vermont, and a MS in Parks, Recreation, & Tourism Management from Clemson University. My MS thesis work was a National Science Foundation-funded project where I used GIS to understand of the influence that naturalness has on middle school students’ learning outcomes during environmental education field trip programs throughout the United States. I also completed two terms of service with AmeriCorps and the Student Conservation Association in between my BS and MS, where I was an Environmental Educator throughout New York State, and a Land Steward, Outreach, and Research Assistant at Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Outside of my academic work, I do ceramics/pottery, love gardening, cooking, birding, botanizing, hiking/backpacking, canoeing, beekeeping, reading, fermentation/pickling, and chicken tending (ask me about my flock of 10 chickens!).