Current appointment
Associate Professor: Since August 2020
Dept. of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

Education
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, September 2012
Master of Arts in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, January 2008

The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Master of Arts in Biology, December 2004

Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
Bachelor of Science in Biology, May 1998

Relevant past experience
Assistant Professor: August 2014 – August 2020
Dept. of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

Postdoctoral Research: September 2012 – July 2014
Dept. of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington DC
I researched maternal behavior and offspring outcomes in wild chimpanzees. Central goals included (1) identifying social and ecological stressors for female chimpanzees and (2) relating maternal stress to offspring stress, health, and development. Mentor: Dr. Carson Murray

Ph.D. Dissertation Research: August 2006 – June 2012
Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Research focused on examining movement patterns and space-use strategies in wild baboons. Particular emphasis placed on understanding the dynamics of temporal landscape partitioning among social groups within a single population, and the role of group-level social dominance hierarchies in mediating this partitioning. Research involved the design and implementation of new database modules into the Amboseli Baboon Research Project’s long-term database; modules were analyzed for dissertation research and made accessible for future studies. Thesis advisor: Dr. Jeanne Altmann

Database Manager: October 2004 – August 2006
Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Responsibilities included updating and maintaining the large behavioral, ecological, and demographic database for the Amboseli Baboon Research Project by both integrating new field data into a larger database and extracting information needed for analyses by professors and students. Key endeavors included working collaboratively with programmers to convert database information to a web-based SQL system, preparing protocols for data management, working with undergraduate and graduate lab members on database querying, and extensive training of my replacement for the position.

Masters Thesis Research: August 2001 – December 2004
Biology Dept., The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Research focused on investigating the influence of river salinity on diet, growth, and provisioning patterns in nestling Bald Eagles. Fieldwork included installing cameras above nests, maintaining video-recording systems, and taking morphometric measurements of nestlings. Additional responsibilities involved public outreach and education through training and managing project volunteers, making public presentations, and designing and developing a project website. Thesis advisor: Dr. Bryan Watts

Research Assistant: May 2000 – August 2001
Center for Conservation Biology, Williamsburg, VA
Field research primarily involved radio-tracking Whip-poor-wills, assisting in the mist-netting and banding of songbirds, and observing foraging behavior of migrant songbirds. Systematically proofed a long-term database of Bald Eagle nest locations and productivity, and queried data for specific research objectives.

Publications
Click here to see a list of publications.

Scholarly presentations
Queens College Biology Colloquium Series. 2019. Invited oral presentation. New York, NY.
New York Regional Primatology Colloquium Series (sponsored by CUNY/NYCEP). 2019. Invited oral presentation. New York, NY.
International Primatological Society XXVII Congress. 2018. Invited oral presentation. Nairobi, Kenya.
Stony Brook University’s Department of Ecology and Evolution Lecture Series. 2018. Invited oral presentation. Stony Brook, NY.
Stony Brook University’s Living Lecture Seminar Series. 2015. Invited oral presentation. Stony Brook, NY.
Arizona State University’s Evolution of Social Complexity Seminar Series. 2015. Invited oral presentation. Tempe, AZ.
Le Moyne College’s Biology Department Seminar Series. 2015. Invited oral presentation. Syracuse, NY.
Nor’eastern Primate Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Group Meeting. 2014. Poster presentation. Rutgers, NJ.
Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting. 2014. Oral presentation. Princeton, NJ.
The Smithsonian Institution’s Hall of Human Origins Paleoanthropology Seminar Series. 2014. Oral presentation. Washington, DC.
Stony Brook University’s Anthropology Department. 2014. Oral presentation. Stony Brook, NY.
American Association of Physical Anthropologists. 2014. Oral presentation. Calgary, Canada.
Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting. 2013. Oral presentation in the Allee Competition. Boulder, CO.
Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting. 2011. Oral presentation. Bloomington, IN.
International Primatological Society XXIII Congress. 2010. Invited symposium presentation. Kyoto, Japan.
Animal Behavior Society Annual Meeting. 2010. Poster presentation. Williamsburg, VA.
Princeton Research Symposium. 2007. Poster presentation. Princeton, NJ.
International Primatological Society XXI Congress. 2006. Poster presentation. Entebbe, Uganda.
Eastern Bird Banding Association Annual Meeting. 2006. Poster presentation. Bethlehem, PA.
Virginia Society of Ornithology Annual Meeting. 2003. Poster presentation. Lynchburg, VA.

Workshops
NSF-funded workshop on “Making Behavioral Data More Accessible”. 2016. Cortland, NY.
Stony Brook University/Turkana Basin Institute Human Evolution Workshop XIII on “Rethinking Tool-Making”. 2016. Turkana, Kenya.

Awards
Stony Brook University Trustees Faculty Award (2020)
Stony Brook University College of Arts and Sciences Outreach Excellence Award (2017)