Current Positions

Seed Conservation Laboratory Manager, Hawaiian Rare Plant Program, Lyon Arboretum, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa;
Cooperating Graduate Faculty, Department of Botany, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Research Interests

conservation biology, seed physiology/ecology, restoration ecology, plant community ecology, threatened and endangered species, adaptive radiations, and science policy, education, and outreach

Previous BSA Service

Student Representative on the Board of Directors (2010-2012)
Co-Chair of Public Policy Committee (2012-2017)
Committee on Committees (2012-2015)
Strategic Planning Committee (2014)
Co-Founder of Student Chapter at University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (2011)
PLANTS Grant Mentor (2010-2016)
PlantingScience Mentor (2008-2014)
organized numerous policy workshops and student events at Botany Annual Meetings

Why I am interested in serving on the BSA Board as Secretary

Serving on the BSA Board as a graduate student was a career and life changing experience for me. The BSA is an exceptional group of people dedicated to promoting botanical research and education. I worked with a number of different staff, board members, and volunteers over the two years I served, and I appreciated every one of them. I was always impressed with how much we accomplished as a team to empower students, to effect policy change, to overcome plant blindness, and to support our membership. I loved being a part of that and miss the experience, and now that I have an established career, I am ready to do it again!

I also currently Co-Chair the IUCN Seed Conservation Specialist Group, and locally in Hawai‘i, I have served on numerous working groups and planning committees. I often find myself taking up the secretarial role in keeping records, facilitating meetings, taking minutes, and communicating action items. Organization in this context comes naturally to me, so I decided a couple years ago that the next time the BSA Secretary office opened for elections, that would be the office I would run for in order to serve on the board again. Thank you for your consideration!