Biography

Originally from Wetumpka, Florida, I graduated from the University of Florida in 2005 with degrees in Mathematics and Environmental Science. After working for 5 years in land conservation, I am currently a first year PhD student in the ecology group in the Department of Plant Sciences. My fieldwork will take me to Panama, where I am investigating the relationship between soil nutrients, plant growth, and soil respiration through an ongoing leaf litter manipulation experiment in a tropical lowland forest. I aim to advance the understanding of how nutrients and carbon cycle through the rainforest, with applications for conservation and improving climate change models.