Meet Our Members

I am a collections manager for the vertebrate paleontology department. My primary duties involve the identification, sorting, and cataloging the microvertebrate fossils from the Thomas Farm site.

Adania is a Ph.D. student in marine biology and zoology at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on the ecology of fishes, their life history, and form-function relationships. Adania is passionate about using natural history collections to introduce Ichthyology to diverse students. Her Ph.D. research combines her interest in education with Ichthyology, evaluating experiential learning's impact on students' understanding of science and interest in science careers. She is also a research assistant with the iDigBio project.

From 2015 to 2017, I worked in the Peabody's Vertebrate Paleontology collection, cataloguing, reorganizing, doing inventory, and retrieving loans of fossils. I also assisted visiting researchers and worked on theropod teeth. In 2019, I gave tour guide and gave in-person tours before the pandemic and closure for renovations. Now, I work as a freelancer producing virtual tours and videos for the paleontology department's public programs.a

As a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, I study Marine Conservation Paleobiology (as of May 2021). While figuring out my thesis, I work on smaller studies, including changes in health and predation of Transennella mollusk species and their environment over time, using fossils and recently collected specimens to explore their conservation applications. The provided picture is from my fieldwork in Victoria, Australia.

Amanda Lawrence is the Archaeobiology and Biological Anthropology Technician at the National Museum of Natural History. She manages documentation, rehouses and catalogs archaeological material, and packs and ships collection items. With a BS in Geobiology and an MA in Museum Science, Amanda joined SI in 2012 as a Collection Program Technician, and previously worked as a research assistant at the Museum of Texas Tech University's Natural Science Research Laboratory.

I am currently a graduate student within the Plant Biology Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University working on palm systematics. My research leverages herbarium and botanical collections to study the evolution of Sabal in the southeastern US, the Caribbean, and Northern South America/Central America to establish a network of genetic, ecological, and morphological resources to monitor local tropical forests under threat from deforestation, climate change, and invasive species.

I integrate biomechanics and phylogenetics to study locomotion adaptations in mammals, with a focus on weasels. Museum collections are vital for my anatomical data sampling. I previously studied non-avian dinosaurs, birds, and mammals. In addition to my biology career, I also write poetry that explores the connection between natural history and racist structures, such as colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.

I'm a curator of paleobotany at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and a professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. My research program involves recovering plant fossils from all around the world and characterizing them within a phylogenetic context. I directly incorporate these and other fossils into analyses to reconstruct evolutionary relationships and patterns. I typically focus on Mesozoic and early Cenozoic gymnosperms and flowering plants; however, other plants are fair game.

I am generally interested in ecomorphology and comparing ecomorphological differences among different species. In addition, I am interested in using museum specimens and CT scanning to investigate ecomorphological questions and hopefully, make museums and science more accessible. Currently, I am comparing brain regions of snakes with different ecotypes and using CT as well as other tools to quantify differences.

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I currently serve as an associate professor of biology at Burman University, and a subject editor for the journal "The Canadian Entomologist". My training is in insect taxonomy (systematics) and conservation biology, but I also have experience working with invasive species and integrated pest management (IPM). Research interests are: systematics, ecology, conservation, and diversity of insects (especially Lepidoptera) and related groups.

I'm an award-winning bat expert focused on mammal rarity and abundance in natural and human-dominated environments. I promote bat conservation in Africa and collaborate with scientists worldwide, publishing extensively in peer-reviewed journals. I co-chair Bat Conservation Africa, advise Bat Conservation International, and raise funds for biodiversity conservation projects in Africa. I'm also a member of the Bat Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

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I'm Hannah Kimani, the Museum Store Coordinator at the Delaware Museum of Natural History. With a passion for connecting with others, I've been in the museum field for two years. During the museum's renovations, I've worked closely with the Collections and Research team, learning about the importance of representation in the field. I enjoy showing young black visitors that they belong in these spaces and deserve opportunities to pursue museum careers.

Henry L. "Hank" Bart Jr. is a Tulane University Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Director of the Tulane University Biodiversity Research Institute. He is a Curator of the world's largest post-larval fish collection, and has led multiple biodiversity technology and cyberinfrastructure development projects, including GEOLocate, FishNet2, and HydroClim. Bart's research focuses on fishes and amphibians' ecology and systematics. As an African American, Bart has devoted significant effort to increase minority participation in STEM fields.

I'm working on the genetic diversity of the Flat oyster (Ostrea edulis). Trying to decipher how they evolve and the impact of humans on their genetic profiles. I've sampled oysters from all around Europe (from Corsica to North of Norway), as well as one population in state of Maine in the US.

My research aims to understand how biodiversity is generated, maintained and lost through time by integrating genomics and paleontology to trace the molecular systematics, macroevolution and evolutionary ecology of living and extinct birds and mammals.

Work as a contracted staff member for the Division of Mammals, Department of Vertebrate Zoology providing collection support. I also have radiography experience (CT/X-ray/Micro-CT) documenting varies museum collections from different departments, affiliated museums, and other research institutions.

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Johnny Bell is a middle school math teacher and doctoral candidate in Curriculum and Instruction. He has over a decade of experience in the school system, and is also a published author and producer of an educational newsletter. With a background in basketball coaching, he uses personal experiences to inspire children through literature. Bell is passionate about learning and sharing the hidden histories of marginalized people to educate both children and adults.

My work focus on broadening the knowledge on still understudied croaker species, by applying altogether data such as ecology (e.g. feeding, habitat) and taxonomy; using different techniques. In doing so, is expected that in the recent future we could understand the relationship among those groups, at the same time that would increase our power to propose conservation acts and better evaluate those taxons.

Kristina Douglass is an anthropologist at Penn State University and a research associate at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. She directs the Morombe Archaeological Project (MAP) in Madagascar, studying how people and landscapes interact in the Velondriake Marine Protected Area. The MAP team includes international researchers and members of local LID communities, and is based at the Olo Be Taloha Lab for African Environmental Archaeology. Douglass is also a mother, singer, dancer, Capoeirista, SCUBA diver, and gardener, and integrates these passions into her work.

I am a 3rd year graduate student at LSU and I study pollination syndrome evolution in the context of biogeography, using the flowering plant tribe Hillieae in the Rubiaceae (aka coffee) family. Some of the methods that I am using include herbariomics, comparative phylogenetics, machine learning, and observing pollinators in the field. Additionally, I participate in and help organize outreach events at the Shirley Tucker herbarium at LSU.

My research focuses on the link between environmental change and growth within marine organisms and how this affects structural integrity. By analyzing museum collections, i can look at how the geological record and the recent past can help inform us how future climate change may affect marine organisms and their function.

As Director of Education and Outreach at UCMP, I manage collaborative programs to share paleontological research with K-16 audiences and the public. My responsibilities include expanding UCMP web resources, increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences, and providing graduate students with opportunities to participate in education and outreach activities to improve their communication skills.

I am the Museum and Collections Manager at the Museum of Geosciences at Virginia Tech University. In this role, I am responsible for ensuring long-term integrity and preservation of the museum's extensive mineral, rock, and fossil collection. Additionally, I train and supervise undergraduate and graduate students who work in the collections. I coordinate various outreach events for the museum and provide geoscience educational kits to local K-12 schools.

Maurice Baynard is the Vice President of the Community Learning Division at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. He leads efforts to improve the health of marginalized communities through collaborative investigation, analysis, and tailored programing. The division includes STEAM Equity, Education, Learning and Development, Community Science, and Volunteer and Civic Engagement. As Diversity Officer, Baynard also supports the Academy's commitments to inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and leadership.

I conduct research asking: How traditional communities perceived and related with insects?; How their members prevented treated or controlled vector borne infections and diseases?; What insect species were used in which social rites?; What insects contributed to education in oral tradition?"

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Natalie Kennedy recently joined the Bell Museum, Minnesota's official natural history museum, as the Director of Statewide Engagement, in order to advance the Bell's vision of being a museum without boundaries. Natalie works with communities across the state of Minnesota to collaboratively identify interests, needs, and develop or connect communities to programming designed to ignite curiosity and wonder in exploration of our connections to nature and the universe.

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I work in the Marketing & Communications department at the Bell Museum in St.Paul, MN. I spend my time sharing information about our events, collections, planetarium, and other exciting occurrences through email newsletters, press releases, fairs and festivals, and more!

Nick Martinez is a Senior Manager in Education at the American Museum of Natural History overseeing all Middle and High School programs and College workforce development initiatives.

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My work involves the survey and monitoring of insect species (especially butterflies and dragonflies) in Nigeria forest. Voucher specimens are kept in private collections (personal museum) opened to other scientist and also donated to other lab within and outside Nigeria. Rare species have been found and work is yet on-going.

I manage the second largest fish collection at the National natural history museum, focusing on freshwater fish, particularly the family Poeciliidae. My research interests include their evolution, ecology, and conservation. I am a second-year PhD student at the University of Michigan, with a specimen-based dissertation. My recent work in Haiti has reactivated interest in a potential lacustrine adaptive radiation of fish, including the description of a new species, with several upcoming projects including my dissertation.

My research focuses on understanding the macroevolutionary dynamics of squamate reptiles. My lab uses phylogenomics and comparative phylogenetics to elucidate how lineages diversify in open ecological space.

My research and collections work at the NMNH provided an important bridge between my MS and PhD programs, and provided invaluable preparation for my current position as a Research Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Scott Edwards is a zoology professor and ornithology curator at Harvard University. He focuses on molecular evolution, phylogenetics, genomics, and population genetics with birds as model systems. He connects genomic and phenotypic variation with phylogenetic trees and statistical models. He served as President of the Society for the Study of Evolution and Society of Systematic Biologists and advised the National Museum of Natural History and Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

I'm currently an MOS in Español Fellow for the Museum of Science in Boston. I develop and present education programs at the museum and virtually.

Tabitha McFarland is a graduate student in the Cook Lab at the University of New Mexico. Her research involves using museum specimens to study the phylogeographic limits and evolutionary history of small mammals. She has experience volunteering at the Dinosaur Journey Museum, where she excavated fossils and cataloged them for collections storage. At MSB, she prepares voucher specimens, organizes mammal collections, and mentors undergraduates in specimen preparation.

I no longer work in natural history museum, but I enjoyed my time when I did work there and I am excited to be in community with those still doing the work!

I'm currently the Coordinator of Outreach and Special Initiatives for LSU College of Science Office of Diversity & Inclusion, where I organize science outreach events and manage the office's communication. Previously, I was the Outreach Coordinator for the LSU Museum of Natural Science, where I managed tours, educational programming, and communication efforts. I'm passionate about increasing access to science for people of color and enjoy using informal education and outreach programs to foster that connection.

I am an Oceanographer with a PhD in Zoology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and currently work as an Assistant Professor of Zoology from the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil and as a curator of Echinodermata from the Museu de Historia Natural da Bahia. I work with taxonomy and ecology of marine annelids and echinoderms.

I'm the assistant collections manager for the Karoo Palaeontology Collection, responsible for digitization, loan management, report compiling, query handling, and risk management. The collection is known worldwide as South Africa's largest and best fossil collection, hosting at least 30 visiting researchers annually. I'm also an expert fossil preparator, finder, and excavator, contributing to the growth of the collection.