I spent 25 years as a professor teaching Fisheries and Wildlife, Sociology, and Sustainability Science at Michigan State University, Warren Wilson College, and Furman University with a focus on applied and community engaged learning. Since 2021, I have participated in the $5M Carolinas Collaborative on Climate Health and Equity led by NC State University and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Adaptation Partnership program. My focus is on equitable climate resilience and adaptation having worked with African-American communities in Greenville, South Carolina and Bucksport, South Carolina. I also serve on the Statewide Resilience Plan Advisory Committee for the South Carolina Office of Resilience and the Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the American Society of Adaptation Professionals. View my Relevant Work Summary

I earned a Ph.D. in Fisheries Science at Oregon State University with an interdisciplinary research project on Assessment of Community-based Adaptive Watershed Management in Three Umpqua Basin Watersheds. I earned a M.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries from Mississippi State University and a B.A. in Biology with a minor in Caribbean, African, and African-American Studies from the University of Miami. Prior to academia, I served in the Peace Corps in St. Lucia Eastern Caribbean as a Fish Pond Specialist in the Department of Fisheries. As a child I spent 5 years in Thailand and 4 years in Nicaragua.