she/her
Focus Area:
Sustainability and Global Environmental Change
Catastrophes, Conservation, and Conflict
State of Origin: Missouri
Degree Program: Master of Science
Entered Program: Fall 2023
Expected Graduation: Spring 2025
Dissertation Topic: Vegetation and ecosystem health in a changing climate as a function of institutions
Research Statement: Healthy vegetation systems support healthy ecosystems and human populations. My work centers African environments affected by climate change and seeks to add to our understanding of the effects of institutions and land use choices on vegetation health and resilience. I will incorporate field data with remote sensing tools to conduct spatial analyses of vegetation change over time and will conduct social surveying to understand the experience of that change and its effect on local resources. I’m interested in how land use choices can support vegetation and thus ecosystem resilience or lead to landscape degradation. The lands I will conduct my research in include protected areas like national parks, and locally managed community-based natural resource areas. My goal is to support community-led conservation decision-making with actionable information.
Adviser: Dr. Brian Child
Educational Background
- B.S. in Anthropology, Missouri State University, 2009