I have a strong desire to help people, in whatever capacity that may be. I spent time in Haiti over the past few years and look forward to my return hopefully in the upcoming year. With this comes an interest in structural issues of violence, access to healthy food and clean water, sustainable agriculture, development of conservation programs, tourism, eradication of human trafficking, and a host of other issues that skirt the Human and Physical Geography line.

I have a strong interest in the developing field of sustainability research. Defined by the Brundtland Report in the 1980's as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs," sustainability includes the "Triple Bottom Line (3-tiered approach) of social equity, environmental, and economics.

My main areas of focus are domestically in Appalachia and internationally in Haiti. I have a broad range of research and academic interests, including:

-Human dimensions of natural resources
-Sustainability
-Climate change
-Natural resource management
-Marcellus and Utica Natural Gas
-Parks and public lands
-Poverty
-Violence
-Urban/Community Development
-Community Outreach/Activism

Academic History
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Masters of Science in Sustainable Systems (2010)

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Bachelor of Science in Parks and Resource Management (2009)

Presentations:

• American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting (April 2010): Washington, D.C. "The Greening of State Parks"

• Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Research Symposium 2009-2010 (April 2010). "The Greening of State Parks"

• Slippery Rock Sustainability Festival (May 2010): Slippery Rock, PA. "The Greening of State Parks"

• Malone University (November 2012): Canton, OH. "Is It Getting Hot In Here? Our Ever-Changing Environment (Climate Change in the Cuyahoga Valley)"