As a first generation college student, I believe that early and active mentorship is critical for increasing diversity in science. As a result, I have a special focus on mentoring undergraduate students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. I have frequent opportunities for undergrads to work with me and other members of the lab on our research. If you are currently an undergraduate at the University of Arizona and have an interest in how people make decisions about management, engage in conservation, and develop management policies, please feel free to contact me.
In addition, I have sometimes have opportunities available for master’s and PhD level graduate students. I am on sabbatical for the 2026-2027 academic year and not accepting new students.
I work with students on research related to coupled natural human systems, natural resources management and policy, adaptive management, and rangeland management. As an interdisciplinary scientist, I am especially interested in working with students who would like to integrate rigorous social and policy science with ecological research. If you are interesting in learning more about my lab and exploring the possibility of working together, please contact me.
Current Lab Members:
Kendall Beals: Post-doctoral research fellow. Kendall is a soil carbon ecologist who is working to identify the effects of restoration practices on carbon sequestration in rivers and streams on rangelands within New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona.
Elena Dosamantes: PhD student in Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands, who is using co-production methods to understand community preferences for invasive plant management and the development of new governance approaches to invasive plants.
Brandon Mayer: PhD student in Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands, and research staffwho is studying the implementation of virtual fencing for livestock management on extensive southwestern rangelands.
Caleb Miller: MS student in Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands studying responses of blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) to management and climate change in pinon-juniper woodlands of northern Arizona.
Carter Boulin: MS student in Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands, and research staff working on various projects with the US Forest Service and BLM to support rangeland monitoring, with a focus on adapting the Grazing Response Index to southwestern rangelands.
Phoebe Teskey: MS student in Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands, and working with the US Forest Service to research methods for utilization monitoring.
Amber Dalke: Research staff and project manager for the lab’s research on implementation of virtual fencing on extensive southwestern rangelands.
Undergraduate Researchers: My lab has frequent opportunities for undergraduate research on a range of projects. Current projects with potential opportunities for undergraduates include research on migratory species governance, forest die-off in North America, and applications of virtual fence technologies on rangelands.
Previous Lab Members:
Jessie Golding: Post-doctoral research fellow. Jessie is a quantitative ecologist who worked with us to understand US Forest Service responses to climate change induced forest die-off.
Dani McLaughlin: Post-doctoral research fellow, who worked with us to investigate governance responses to ecoclimate teleconnections. Now Assistant Professor at Kent State University.
Dari Duval: PhD in Natural Resources Studies. Dari’s work examined the economics of invasive species management and wildfire, and how people make decisions about what management to support and how much they are willing to pay.
Krista Regina Romero-Cardenas: PhD student in Natural Resources Studies. Krista completed work with my lab studying how climate change and traditional ecological knowledge are used in NEPA assessments.
Cameron Burleson: MS in Natural Resources Studies, who completed a study to understand the impacts of US Forest Service implementation of adaptive management on rangelands using a large dataset of USFS management documents. Cameron is now working in environmental and rangeland management with the Arizona State Land Department.
Nizhoni Tallas: MS in Natural Resources Studies, who completed research to understand how Indigenous knowledge is and is not incorporated into interpretive language at National Parks and other public land sites in the southwestern US. Nizhoni currently works for the Climate Science Alliance as an Indigenous Stewardship Fellow.
Ayden McLeod: MS student in Agricultural and Resource Economics, who is investigating the economic impacts of the Telegraph Fire on communities around Globe and Phoenix, AZ.
Friends of the Lab:
Claire Johnston: PhD student in Policy Studies at Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Claire is investigating the governance approaches used by international scientific organizations to manage the global scientific knowledge commons.