I am pursuing a P.h.D at the Center for Limnology at UW-Madison under the advisement of Zach Feiner, Greg Sass, and Jake Vander Zanden. My research is focusing on a whole-lake assessment of a walleye spawning reef addition in Franklin Lake, WI, and identifying other potential bottlenecks that may limit walleye recruitment in this system. We hope to scale this project to the region at large and help fill in knowledge gaps for other struggling walleye populations. This project is a large collaborative effort in equal partnership among WI DNR- Fisheries Management, the Sokaogon Chippewa Community, the US Forest Service, the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Commission, UW-Madison, and the WIDNR-Office of Applied Science.

Prior to starting my PhD, I worked at the Wisconsin DNR Office of Applied Science as a Fisheries Research Scientist. We worked in tandem with the WIDNR Bureau of Fisheries Management, federal, and tribal partners to investigate fisheries concerns across the state. I have worked on topics such as Walleye recruitment and egg quality, coarse woody habitat additions, and collaborative technical projects. I am most passionate about topics that alleviate threats to vulnerable fish communities (and the human communities that rely on them).

I would describe myself as a generalist jack-of-all trades scientist. I am interested in many different topics orbiting within the field of “fisheries ecology”. I just enjoy digging into different applied problems, and continually challenging myself with learning new things.

“Struggle builds strength” - the challenge of learning new things keeps us humble and resilient.