Scientific literacy – from deductive reasoning and statistical understanding, to appreciating humans as a species with an evolutionary history and ecological impact – is as fundamental as knowledge of language or history. Today, there is crucial need to orient students in the context of global socio-ecological change, while recognizing their diverse experiences and worldviews. My teaching space is accepting to all students, regardless of whether they are afraid of math or initially skeptical of evolution and climate change. I aim to be approachable to even the most introverted students in the largest core classes.

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Teaching

I have been the primary instructor for undergraduate (General Ecology, Saint Mary's College of California) and graduate (Intro to GIS, University of Washington) courses, tutored individuals with diverse educational barriers (TRiO Program, University of Idaho), and assisted in courses including Introductory Biology, Ichthyology, and Global Change Biology. 

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Mentorship

I have directly mentored 22 students from nine different institutions (University of British Columbia, University of Idaho, UC Berkeley, Saint Mary's College of California, UC Santa Cruz, University of Washington, Bellevue Big Picture High school, University of Otago). Many of these students are coauthors on my publications and are now well into their own academic careers! I also helped with the incipient UC Berkeley Connect mentorship program in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management department, where I took part in curriculum development and led discussion sections for over 80 new freshmen and transfer students.

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I am currently mentoring a high school student from Bellevue Big Picture School. With my help, they are quantifying Northwestern fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis occidentalis) habitat from Google Earth imagery and iNaturalist sightings.

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Outreach & Community Science

During my PhD, I pioneered a free day-long “Lizard Camp” for primarily at-risk children at White Sands National Park. Nearly 100 students attended over the four years I led the class, which still occurs annually. Through my current position at UW, I am working with community science groups across Puget Sound to collect data on coastal shoreline restoration. Many of my outreach lectures are available here!