I received my Ph.D. at the Penn State University under the supervision of Prof. Katriona Shea in the Biology Department and the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Ecology. My research program has largely focused on the mutually beneficial interactions between plants and their pollinating insects, with a special focus on the provision of ecosystem services in agroecosystems, although I have worked in a variety of other systems, including invasive species in the Great Lakes, termites in Brazil, bees and elephants in Kenya, and birds in powerline cuts. I am particularly interested in the assembly, dynamics, and resilience of these networks of mutualistic interactions. I have mentored four graduate students as well as over a dozen undergraduate field and lab assistants, and have served on one graduate committee. Undergraduates have played an integral roles in many of my studies and are represented as coauthors on five of my manuscripts. I have also mentored five students from underprivileged inner city high schools and worked with three undergraduates that were part of a program to increase diversity in STEM. Strengthening international collaborations is also one of my major focuses. I look for win-win scenarios in teaching, research, and conservation.

My current research involves interacting directly with businesses to help promote biodiversity initiatives in Dublin. I am also collaborating with two different schools in Dublin, and developing a citizen science component with these schools and businesses. Gardeners, schools, and businesses can have a big impact when it comes to pollinator conservation. By providing floral resources on small scales across the landscape, we can develop a network of habitat fragments that promote both the abundance and diversity of pollinating insects.

In the past, I have worked closely with farmers and land managers to promote initiatives that both improve pollination services to the crops, as well as improve the conservation value of the agroecosystem. Farmers also have a lot of expertise on managing complex systems, which is an invaluable input to the research.

Games
I have found games to be a valuable new addition to my teaching strategy. For example, on a recent field course to Kenya, I developed a game where the students could compete by accumulating an arbitrary set of points (unrelated to their grade), as they identified ecological processes in the field and explained them to me. I have also developed games as a way to teach network theory, for the identification of plants and insects, and for recall. The advantage of using games is that it can engage students with a competitive spirit who may not be interested in other forms of interactive learning. Competitive students are motivated to “win” educational games even when the only prize is the ability to say they won.

Interactive Modeling and Learning
In the classroom, one of the best ways to engage students is through interactive modeling and learning. Quantitative modeling skills are a vital tool for both undergraduate and graduate students. In all teaching settings, I believe that it is critical to allow the students to directly interact with the material, as opposed to solely being passive listeners to a lecture.