Welcome!

I am a Philadelphia native (why yes, that does mean I’m an Eagles fan!). I got my undergraduate degree in western Massachusetts (Bard College at Simon’s Rock), and spent many a day of my undergraduate career traipsing about the Hudson River, catching and sorting fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. I completed my Bachelor's thesis (advisor: Dr. Robert Schmidt) studying morphological variability in a complex of South Pacific unisexual lizards with collaborators Dr. Alison Hamilton and Dr. Chris Austin of Louisiana State University.

From there I got my Master’s degree at Southeastern Louisiana University where I studied evolution of sperm storage in female lizards (advisor: Dr. David Sever), as well as comparative island biogeography (in collaboration with Dr. Brian Crother).

I am now a Doctoral student at UNLV, and am pursuring my interests in historical biogeography with Dr. Brett Riddle. I am addressing the impact of climate and geologic events on the evolutionary dynamics and biogeographic patterns of the North American desert biota.