I grew up on the southern outskirts of Chicagoland in Cedar Lake, Indiana. It was an ideal place for a young, aspiring biologist because there were reasonably intact ecosystems right outside my door, places where I could get out in the field and make observations and collections. At the same time I was close to zoo's, museums and universities where I was encouraged by several really great mentors.

​

I earned a B.S. in Biology at Indiana University Northwest. After graduating, I worked at the Field Museum of Natural History where I updated the taxonomy of ~27,000 plethodontid salamanders. Next, I worked at the USGS Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station where I studied how fire history influences bird, butterfly, amphibian and reptile populations.

​

2001 was a big year, my wife and I moved to North Carolina so that I could attend graduate school at East Carolina University and my son, Matthew, was born. At ECU, I worked in the lab of Trip Lamb where I earned both a M.S. in Biology as well as a Ph.D.

​

I am currently a Biology Instructor and Lead Researcher at Nash Community College where I teach a variety of science majors biology courses. I am presently funded by NSF and Duke Energy to collect genomic data to examine speciation processes in dusky salamanders while concurrently involving K-12 students in this research effort through a monthly after school module titled: Using Biotechnology to Uncover Biodiversity.

 

​