After completing my M.S. at the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, I was hired as a Plant Ecologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey working from my home base in the Southeast. My interests are in the protection of rare and at-risk native plant species, particularly working within species protection under the Endangered Species Protection Act (ESPA) and conducting research to inform Species Status Assessments (SSA) for candidate or listed species. My experience ranges beyond botanical research to include bird, bat, and insect monitoring throughout the Midwest. I have broad experience in plant conservation including monitoring, mapping, habitat suitability modeling, and conducting breeding system and reproductive studies for plants in need of in-situ and ex-situ conservation.