I’ve loved nature all my life. When I was a child, I would go exploring through the woods around my house, searching for salamanders or listening for owls in the trees. As an adult, I have sought work that would keep me outdoors, serving as a park docent and working as a guide and educator at aquariums. I studied Marine Biology in graduate school, but I was already a scientist in kindergarten. I just didn’t know it yet. We live in the midst of many diverse and thriving ecosystems here in Florida. I consider them all to be my classroom! We are lucky to have the Hillsborough River right in Tampa Prep’s backyard that can be used as a focal point for scientific investigation.

When students are here in the classroom or in the lab, they are using their own curiosity and the tools of scientific inquiry to solve mysteries in nature. I have been teaching for more than 25 years, working with younger children, teenagers and adults. These students will be our future scientists, politicians, business leaders and consumers. I hope that my love for science and the natural world helps students to make connections to the environment and to understand their impact on the world. It’s a privilege for me to work with the young scientists at Tampa Prep as we explore the natural world together.