PictureWhat even is a species?
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​EDUCATION
My primary goals as an educator are to encourage exploration, facilitate development of critical thinking skills, and effectively convey knowledge.  I was a Teaching Fellow with the University of Chicago Center for Teaching  during the 2020-2021 academic year.  I have also been a teaching assistant for one graduate and five undergraduate courses.  In Fall of 2022 I was instructor of record for the Evolutionary Biology undergrad course at University of Connecticut and in Spring 2024 I will be teaching Writing for Evolutionary Biology. I work to facilitate an open and inclusive classroom with my students as well as incorporate a variety of educational tools to effectively convey the concepts of each lesson or topic.  
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OUTREACH
Ongoing outreach initiatives engage communities, promote inclusiveness, and enhance skills and knowledge.  I began working at The Field Museum in the Education Department as a Program Facilitator, designing and implementing educational workshops throughout the city of Chicago and surrounding area. I continued this work throughout my time with the museum and as a graduate student. 
 
​Academic institutions exist within established communities. To this end, I seek to engage community members through a variety of educational programming and outreach.  In Chicago, I participated in and led events such as Expand your Horizon and Meet a Scientist.  In Connecticut I continue this work at the Connecticut Science Center and with the EEB Mentor Match program.  
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MENTORSHIP
​My experiences as a mentor and mentee have solidified my deep respect for and commitment to effective individual mentorship. Since 2011, I have worked closely with over two dozen students, ranging from high school interns to graduate students. Mentored student projects include microbiome 16S rRNA sequencing, mammal barcoding, ectoparasite phylogenetic reconstruction, and pathogen detection.

Mentorship occurs across a variety of situations, including in the lab, in front of a computer, or at the net in the middle of a jungle.  Students thrive in environments where their inherent worth is recognized, and the students can themselves express and demonstrate their worth.