I am an environmental scientist with broad knowledge of aquatic ecology, geospatial science, quantitative ecology, socio-ecology, environmental regulation and policy. I have developed a unique "toolset" of skills in field ecology, GIS, aquatic insect taxonomy, science communication, statistical analyses, coding, and field and laboratory QA/QC. My past and current research examined questions in ecology and environmental science that examined natural and human-dominated systems across spatial scales and examined organisms from populations to communities. I also combine my knowledge of ecosystem science, biology, and social science to study links between built environments, biodiversity, ecosystem goods and services, and human wellbeing. I am currently performing  applied research as an agency scientist with MassDEP and am involved in several research "side projects". Below are my current research initiatives, but Past Research have included:
  • Spatial analyses using GIS to assess landscape vulnerability to climate change
  • Aquatic insect emergence, adult dispersal, and phenology
  • Spatial ecology of wildlife populations (deer surveys)
  • Invasive plant ecology
  • Fisheries population ecology
  • Stream restoration
Developing an Index of Biological Integrity for Farm Health
MORE TO COME SOON!
Local and regional drivers of stream community structure in Massachusetts
MORE TO COME SOON!
Socio-ecology of urban aquatic ecosystems
My past academic research has focused on urban streams and addressed questions regarding biological, chemical, geospatial, and socio-ecological patterns and processes in urban systems using an ecosystem-based approach. I am involved in the Symposium on Urbanization and Stream Ecology (SUSE), which is an interdisciplinary meeting held approximately every 3-5 years with the specific aim to further the scientific study of stream ecosystems in urban landscapes. My work with SUSE includes chairing SUSE4, helping to organize SUSE3 and SUSE5, and serving (currently) as a board member, which have all led me to participate in various research initiatives (most recently collaborated on studies examining the socio-ecological context of urban streams: Scoggins et al. 2022 and Murphy et al. 2022). My current research aligns with my work for MassDEP through initiatives to (a) assist volunteer monitoring and other science community groups with water quality monitoring and (b) support community science initiatives that integrate meaningful Environmental Justice (EJ) actions. Through this work, I am studying how regulatory, ecological, and/or socio-economic (including EJ) drivers of non-governmental (i.e., community-based) water quality monitoring programs create spatial distributions (including clustering) of water quality information. This work uses spatial data about land use/cover, socio-economic factors (including EJ areas), and water quality to classify spatial distributions, which are examined within the context of regulatory requirements, the mission of community science organizations, and other factors that drive development of community science monitoring programs.
Communicating interdisciplinary science across stakeholder groups to produce actionable and equitable strategies for environmental rehabilitation and management
​This area of research is currently more my job than a an area of research. In February 2020 (just before the pandemic), I helped organize and was a moderator for SUSE5. Supported, in part, by a  National Science Foundation grant I received (in collaboration with all the organizers) SUSE5's themes were to a) increase diversity of participation at SUSE5 and b) validate a novel approach to a scientific meeting centered on a case-study approach. The meeting design facilitated knowledge sharing among participants by working on real-world (complex) environmental problems in the host city (Austin, TX) with local residents. We learned a lot, and it generated my interest to know how sharing knowledge across natural and social science disciplines that integrates knowledge and values of the local community can help environmental rehabilitation and management achieve both ecological improvements and equitable social outcomes for local communities. An opinion & perspectives paper was pre-approved for Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment but never published (due, in part, to my change in career). As an agency scientist for MassDEP, I am able to learn more about how local, grass-roots, and community-based scientific organizations interact with all stakeholders (agencies, researchers, local communities, etc.). My professional work demonstrates the broad types of interactions, values, and knowledge across scientific, socio-economic, regulatory and policy, human health, and other domains that exist among stakeholders and communities. This work is informing a revision of the original manuscript reformed as a conceptual review of existing knowledge rather than focused on the SUS5 case study.