I would not be a scientist if it were not for museums and mentorship in my life. I believe science should not be restricted to traditional academic settings, so you can often find me teaching students or sharing fossils with museum visitors.

Here, I provide a brief overview of the experiences that have shaped my commitment to making scientific knowledge accessible to the public. For a complete list of my activities, please see my CV.

CTraditional Classroom

I have taught biological and geological courses at both the George Washington University and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in roles ranging from undergraduate teaching assistant to instructor of record.

My courses often include assignments including project using publicly available resources, such as ArcGIS, NCBI, iNaturalist, ICUN, and the Paleobiology Database, to help students engage directly with the natural world. These experiences have allowed me to work with students from diverse backgrounds and help them explore how geology and biology have shaped their lives and experiences.

Classroom teaching photo
Guest lecturing for Analytical Paleontology in 2023, presenting approaches to quantifying biodiversity alongside my favorite student, Mousse
Student mentorship photo
At UROP 2025, my student Raven Killebrew and I presented our reidentification of a Miocene fossil fish from Indonesia during Michigan’s annual undergraduate research symposium.

Mentorship

Mentorship is another important part of my teaching. At the University of Michigan, I have worked with several students through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP).

These projects have ranged from training machine-learning models to extract information from historical texts and documenting the depositional environments of fossil localities across the Mediterranean Basin to redescribing Miocene fossil fishes from Indonesia.

Field courses

Although my research is largely museum-based and analytical, I recognize that without the contributions of field scientists, there would be no specimens to study.

Courses in the field are an important way for students to engage with the natural sciences, and much of my recent teaching experience has incorporated fieldwork in both geology and biology.

Field-based teaching photo
In 2024, I co-instructed a course exploring ecology and evolution through museum specimens. Here, I am showing students photographs of fossil fishes and explaining how I use wet collections to help identify and describe fossil specimens.
Field-based teaching photo
In 2025, I taught Earth Camp, a weeklong high school course exploring Michigan geology across the state and Upper Peninsula, including Pictured Rocks (pictured here).
1 / 2
Museum and public outreach photo
From 2017–2019, I served as an Evolutionary Ambassador at the National Museum of Natural History, using insects to introduce visitors to biodiversity and evolution. This was my first museum experience.
Museum and public outreach photo
At a 2025 Women in STEM event, I brought fossils to undergraduate juniors and seniors and discussed my research and journey to graduate school.
Museum and public outreach photo
I created a linocut matching activity of fossil and living fishes. Throughout the activity, I would ask visitors to discuss morphological similarities and differences between the pairs.
1 / 3

Public Outreach

Since my undergraduate years, I have participated in a wide range of museum and public outreach activities. These experiences have included serving as an Evolution Ambassador at the Smithsonian, completing science communication fellowships, and a museum studies fellowship.

At the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, I have also had numerous opportunities to create new museum activities involving fossils, biodiversity, and evolution.

Museum Exhibits

I have also contributed to the development of museum exhibits at the University of Michigan, the University of Florida, and the American Museum of Natural History.

My role in these projects has ranged from creating and appearing in digital media, planning and preparing content for research-related exhibits, and developing exhibits that celebrate the histories and accomplishments of scientists and institutions.

Museum exhibit development photo
In 2022, I appeared in a University of Michigan Museum of Natural History video explaining how research collections support education and scientific discovery.
Museum exhibit development photo
In 2023, I created a game showing how multiple lines of evidence together reveal how past environments shaped present biodiversity. I did this in front of an exhibit I helped create about fossil fishes.
Museum exhibit development photo
Happily kissing a 3D printed osteoglossid, bonytongue fish, that I later sanded and painted for the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology’s 100th-anniversary exhibit.
1 / 3