I am an ecologist broadly interested in species interactions and global change. I grew up in Minnesota where I spent countless days exploring the forests, prairies, and lakes around the state. These early experiences gave me an appreciation for the natural world that continues today. As an undergraduate student at the University of Puget Sound I was convinced that I wanted to study animals (because plants were boring). However, towards the end of my program I had the opportunity to study plants and their pollinators in the Cascade Mountains of Washington. This was an eye-opening experience that eventually lead me to pursue a graduate degree focused on plant ecology. I eventually joined Dr. Candace Galen’s plant ecology lab at the University of Missouri where I studied plant-fungal symbioses in an alpine ecosystem that is experiencing climate change. I later accepted a postdoctoral position with Dr. Joy Ward at the University of Kansas to study climate change impacts on plant physiology and mycorrhizal associations. These experiences and the amazing women scientists I met along the way have shaped the research that I do today.