RESUME
I am a naturalist, artist, and writer devoted to saving the southern
Appalachian forests. I open the eyes of adults and children to the
wonders of the natural world around them.
Current Projects
Resident Naturalist. I am working on a 200 acre tract of
privately owned land
in Scott County, Va. I am inventorying the vascular plants,
birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and butterflies; writing and
implementing an ecological management plan; and creating a map of the
property.
Free Lance Artist. I draw natural subjects, primarily
plants,
for a variety of purposes. Most recently, I have drawn plants and
landscapes
for Friends of Blackwater.
Web Editor and Artist. I am editting the online courses in Water and
Wastewater
Treatment offered by Mountain Empire
Community
College. I make the text of the lessons understandable to a
layman
audience and add illustrations.
Recent Work Experience
Nature:
September 2002 - August 2003. Resident
Naturalist. On a 170 acre tract of land owned by Sue Ella
Kobak and Art Van Zee, Dryden, VA. Inventoried the vascular
plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and butterflies.
Blazed property
boundaries. Updated the trail system. Wrote and implemented
an
ecological
management plan. Created a map of the property.
February 2003 - April 2003. Adjunct Faculty.
Mountain
Empire Community College, Big Stone Gap, VA.
Taught a one credit field course. Taught introductory students to
identify local winter birds by sight and sound. The course also
introduced
concepts such as habitat, bird relationships, and behavior.
August 2001 - August 2002. Resident Naturalist.
Rolling
Ridge Foundation, Jefferson County, WV.
Inventoried vascular plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and
butterflies
on a 1,400 acre private nature preserve. Revitilized a nature
education
program for adults, leading biweekly interpretive hikes which drew
participants
from as far away as the Baltimore and Washington area and increasing
the
number of participants from 0-4 at early hikes to regular turnouts of
12.
Drafted an ecological management plan.
Art:
Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. July 2000 - July 2001.
Studied and drew the adaptations of plants to their habitats in Great
Britain,
Australia, and Costa Rica.
Presentations and workshops on nature sketching led for:
- Elementary schools in Australia and the U.S.
- Fall 2002, Spring 2003, and Spring 2004 Roan Mountain Naturalists
Rallies
Publications:
- The Sow's Ear Poetry Review, 1993 - 2004.
- The Hybrid (Magazine of the Scott Arboretum), 1997-2000.
- Various newsletters, including the Watauga Audubon Society
Newsletter
and the Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting Newsletter.
Education
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, 2000. B.A. in Biology
and
Studio Art.
Honors: Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi. Recipient of 1996 National
Merit
Scholarship, Elks Foundation Scholarship, and a scholarship from the
Baltimore
Stony Run Meeting. Member of Swarthmore
Warders of
Imaginative
Literature, Crum Creek Monitoring Program, Folk Dance Club, and
Co-president
of Bios Club. GPA: 3.8/4.0.
Tennessee High School, Bristol, TN, 1996.
Honors: Valedictorian. President of National Art Honor
Society.
Member of Spanish Club, Environmental Awareness Club, Beta Club, and
National
Honor Society. Attended Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts,
1994.
GPA: 4.0/4.0.
Questions or
comments?
Email 
Last updated 3/04.