I grew up fishing and camping among the prairie pothole lakes of northeastern South Dakota and competed my B.Sc. (1998) and M.Sc. (2002) at Montana State University surrounded by wild spaces and trout. While Montana cultivated a keen interest in ecology, my experiences studying bison population dynamics motivated me to build a broader quantitative background, and I migrated north to the Centre for Mathematical Biology at the University of Alberta where I completed my Ph.D. (2012).  As a postdoctoral fellow and a research assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame, our workgroup developed an environmental DNA surveillance program for invasive species, most notably Bighead and Silver Asian Carp. Now at the Marine Science Institute at UCSB, my research program emphasizes using novel quantitative, field, and laboratory approaches and technology to address pressing environmental problems.