I’ve been a behavioral ecologist for 25 years focused on field-oriented research on the response of animals to human modified ecosystems and subsequent changes in distribution and movement patterns. The work combines life-history, physiological, and ecological information to address questions related to migration, predation, parental-care, and social behavior. Currently I have a particular interests in Caspian terns but have developed expertise with many species including crows, jays, ravens, cormorants, gulls, plovers, murrelets, swallows, squirrels, and grasshoppers. As a naturalist I am always interested in developing new expertise and will join just about anyone as a field assistant if I can get a good field trip out of it and spend time with other naturalists or artists that like nature.

I am a Professor of Biology and the Co-director of Science Collaborative Research Program at Willamette University. I have a passion for interdisciplinary and collaborative work and helped grow undergraduate research programs in the Pacific Northwest funded by the National Science Foundation, Carnegie Mellon Foundation, and MJ Murdock Charitable Trust. I am also really into citizen science, street art, land art, book clubs, social justice, and saving big old trees.