I am a cultural anthropologist with a focus on applied environmental anthropology. I hold a joint position between the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI) and the Department of Anthropology at East Carolina University. I received a M.A. in Marine Affairs and Policy from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami in 2006, and a Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from the University of South Florida in 2012. My research interests include political ecology, marine resource management, traditional ecological knowledge, social-ecological systems, and cooperative resource management and institutions.