National Water Quality Solutions Expert
What got you interested in ecology (or your related field)?
I have always been outdoorsy and enamored by nature, specifically rivers, oceans and mountains. However, I sort of fell into the ecological engineering field by accident, since I was a pre-med student all the way through my bachelor's degree. I stumbled across a couple of water quality / ecological restoration jobs through a friend and decided to forego being a medical doctor, and instead went to learn all I could about ecological restoration.
What do you love/inspires you most about your area of expertise?
I love that the field of ecology and ecological engineering (i.e., designing with nature), is ever-changing and evolving, and that innovation can break the barriers of existing thresholds and spectrums. In addition, through collaboration – the possibilities are endless. For those that don’t continue to learn about the “new-new” innovative technologies or those that choose to work as a lone wolf in a silo – then the possibilities are limited along with their associated benefits. We have so much to do, so let’s put our egos aside and put our brains together to achieve the really big and lofty goals that are needed basically everywhere.
What's the weirdest or funniest thing you've seen in the field?
I will never forget the day that I became a mother to a damselfly (cousin of dragonfly). I was sitting in a stream performing a stream macroinvertebrate assessment to assess the biotic health of the stream, and then all of a sudden, a damselfly midge crawled out from underwater, up my waders, onto my shoulder and emerged from its exuviae, literally evolving from a water-based larvae to flying insect within minutes on my shoulder. It was the happiest day of my life. I’ll tell you the funniest stories over a beer, since there’s too many to list here.
What's one interesting fact about you we need to know?
Aside from my passion for the environment, my other true passion is music. You’ll often find me chasing live music all over, likely dancing, and/or singing, even though I have terrible voice. It doesn’t stop me from singing karaoke any chance I get. "Sweeeeet Carolinnnne…"
What would your wish be for our planet's future?
I truly wish that we can get to a point where large-scale ecological restoration is the norm, bringing back not a few thousand, but hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands, restoring thousands of miles of streams, replacing habitats that we have eradicated, so that we can curb the current climatic trajectory towards bigger and more impactful disasters across the globe. I know it’s possible, but it’s going to be hard since we need a massive political shift to restoring the environment under a non-partisan platform.
What's one thing we didn't ask you that you want to share?
I love cheese, it’s my vice, and I’m easily bribed by cheese. But on a serious note, I am always more than happy to listen, and I enjoy mentoring anyone who is passionate about restoration.
Scientific Journal Articles
Spatial patterns of submerged macrophyte communities in select Florida spring-run streams
Soil Nutrient Assessment and Characterization in a Degraded Central Florida Swamp
Spectral distribution of light in Florida spring ecosystems: Factors affecting the quantity and quality of light available for primary producers
FinalRpt SPR-761 Evaluating Total Maximum Daily Load Pollutants from ADOT’s Storm Sewer System Discharges