Staff Advisory Committee

I am an Educational Program Coordinator with my primary appointment based in the Department of Fisheries of Wildlife (FW). In this role, I coordinate undergraduate research and experiential learning programs, including administering FW's Glassen Undergraduate Experience. I also provide support to FW's New Student Seminar (FW 102) and department communications. I am broadly interested in undergraduate experiential learning, advising/career planning, and natural resource conservation.

During fall 2024, I was named Program Director and Instructor for the Glassen Scholars Program, which is based in the CANR Office of Academic and Student Affairs. The Glassen Scholars Program places MSU students into a 12-week paid summer internship with a natural resource-related agency or organization in the Greater Lansing area while students are concurrently enrolled in ANR 491 (Natural Resources, Conservation and Environmental Sustainability in Michigan).

During the 2024-25 academic year, I am serving as Chair Emeritus of the CANR Staff Advisory Committee. 

Background:

I received a B.A. in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. While an undergraduate student, I spent a semester abroad studying Marine Biology and Ecology in Copenhagen, Denmark. My professional career began at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC, where I worked as a Research Assistant in the Wildlife and Contaminants Program. I completed a Ph.D. in Animal Sciences at the University of Maryland in collaboration with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, VA. My research focused on characterizing ovarian physiology in felids to improve assisted reproduction success in endangered cat species. Before joining the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife in 2016, I served as Director of the Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior’s core research facility at Indiana University. I am a 2019 alumna of the Great Lakes Leadership Academy’s Emerging Leaders Program.

Education:

Ph.D., Animal Sciences, University of Maryland (2007)

B.S., Biology, St. Mary's College of Maryland (1998)

Affiliated Pages:

Corey Marsh Ecological Research Center

Michigan State Bird Observatory