I am an Assistant Professor of Rangeland Ecology and Adaptive Management in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. My work is focused on solving emerging challenges in coupled natural human systems. I am an environmental social scientist with broad training in theories of human behavior and decision making (Cognitive Hierarchy Theory, Theory of Planned Behavior, Protection Motivation Theory, etc.) and frameworks for analyzing governance institutions (IAD Framework, SES Framework). I also have interdisciplinary training in climate science and rangeland ecology and management.
I use this unique combination of skills to engage in transdisciplinary work with ecologists, climate scientists, and political scientists that addresses pressing management and governance challenges including biological invasions, climate change induced forest die-off, migratory species conservation, and adaptive management of rangelands. I teach in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment in our Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands program. I currently teach two classes: Conservation of Natural Environments, and introduction to natural resources management for majors in our School, and Rangeland Plant Communities of the Western United States, our core plant ecology and plant identification course.