Everglades National Park Fire Effects Monitor

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Before beginning graduate school, I worked as a Fire Effects Monitor with Everglades National Park, where I collected long-term vegetation and wildlife data across permanent monitoring plots throughout the park. This work involved hiking and helicopter access to remote sites, monitoring endangered butterfly populations, supporting prescribed burns, responding to wildfires, and assisting with invasive species removal and hydrologic monitoring. I also managed field data in the Fire Effects Monitoring System (FFI) and helped maintain long-term photo-monitoring records. This experience provided intensive training in large-scale field ecology, disturbance ecology, and ecosystem monitoring in one of the most unique subtropical landscapes in the world.

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Research Assistant UF IFAS TREC/Plant Insect Ecology Lab Suzanne Koptur

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I served as a research assistant at the University of Florida/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) in Miami, where I conducted field and laboratory research focused on identifying native insectary plants (Senna mexicana) and their role in supporting pollination and natural pest control in South Florida agricultural systems. My work involved establishing and monitoring experimental plantings, sampling pollinators and other beneficial insects, and collecting data on insect abundance and diversity across crop and non-crop habitats. I also assisted with specimen processing, identification, and data management across multiple research sites, including FIU, UF TREC, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, and collaborating farms. This experience provided strong training in applied entomology, agroecological field methods, and biological control research in subtropical cropping systems.