Growing up in Maine, I was surrounded by a profoundly wild but also human altered landscape. Unsurprisingly, my research interests have settled on scientifically and community driven conservation that effectively address both the wild and human elements of a place. I have particular interest in successional and disturbance ecology. My research with the lab examines the ecological outcomes of nontraditional conservation, and the role of the unprotected matrix in Central African rainforest ecosystems. I also have worked on a project examining the topological and hydrological drivers of landscape types in mosaic ecosystems.