Welcome

About Me

I have fallen in love with plants and their pests and it is my lifelong goal to spread this love to others. I am a mid-career professional focused on plant health care in horticultural systems. I have over a decade of diagnostic experience with Penn State University and the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory. While at Penn State I also oversaw the operations of the Vegetable Pathology Research Program as a Research Technologist and taught two undergraduate Forestry courses as an Instructor.  

I received my baccalaureate degree in Horticulture (Science Option) from Penn State, with minors in Plant Pathology, Sustainable Leadership and Biology. As a member of the Schreyer Honor's College, I completed an honor's thesis focused on Integrated Pest Management of Moringa oleifera. I also received my Master's degree in Plant Pathology and International Agriculture and Development at Penn State. My M.S. program was heavily rooted in Extension and used a combination of field trials, laboratory assays and molecular techniques to evaluate management strategies for bacterial rots of onion.