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I am currently an associate professor of Biology at the University of Southern Maine. My research and teaching interests are in botany and plant ecology. My current research takes place in salt marshes, where my student assistants and I study how plants respond to soil nutrients. I received a Bachelor's degree in Biology from James Madison University, Virginia in 1985. During my time there I took every course I could find that had a field component (I love to be outside). I then decided I wanted to obtain a masters degree in some aspect of ecological science, where I could make a difference in the world and do field work in the summer. I visited Colorado after college and fell in love with the West. At that time I thought I wanted to study animal behavior (I love animals). I decided on Utah State University where I was funded to study the behavior of desert bighorn sheep. This threatened species was being established near Canyonlands National Park. I moved to Utah and had a wild summer in those canyons and buttes. I was teamed with an incredible person, Terri Steele, who was totally dedicated to the sheep and was a true wilderness woman. We camped out in the desert, rode around in a 1950s convertible jeep (which often got stuck), tiptoed around scorpions and rattlesnakes, all the while looking for sign of bighorn. We tracked them using scat, hoof prints, and radio telemetry. We also located water holes high up in the cliffs. It was a great summer, but I found myself more interested in the amazing desert plants than the sheep. Maybe it was because the sheep were so hard to locate, and the plants were right there. I decided by the end of the summer that I wanted to return to Virginia and be a botanist. The following year I attended the Masters of Biology program at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. My thesis research involved traveling to a mountain region of Virginia and describing all of the plants in a 40 mile area. I hiked all over those mountains and described over 400 species. I then graduated in 1989 and decided to take off a year traveling around the country. I entered the University of Colorado's Ph.D. program in 1990. I spent the next 5 years working on my doctorate in the alpine (above treeline) in Colorado. I studied how those incredible tundra plants can survive under such harsh conditions. The field work was very rigorous and I had a blast. At the end of 5 years I obtained a job at the University of Southern Maine. I graduated with my Ph.D. from Colorado in May 1995. The most exciting part of my career has always been the field work. I have worked at some beautiful field sites, including deserts, marshes, bogs, alpine tundra, and forests. I love the combination of physical labor and intellectual stimulation that a career in ecological science affords. I also love the social interactions that so often occur out in the field, between students, technicians, scientists, and teachers who all share a love for the outside and the science of ecology. Throughout my schooling I have thrived on these interactions, and I maintain close connections with other women ecologists. The toughest barriers I've encountered have always been internal, and include self esteem issues and at tough times wanting to give up. More than anything else, obtaining a graduate degree takes persistence and tenacity. Many times you get papers, proposals, or ideas rejected by your advisor or the greater scientific community. It is hard to accept these rejections, and I used to take them very personally (sometimes I still do). I have found throughout the years that a support system of other women scientists is extremely important for success.
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