I am a conservation social scientist leveraging concepts of risk to enhance understanding of human-environment relationships. My scholarship is designed to build evidence for action. The majority of my scientific inquiry can be described as convergence research on conservation issues such as wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, fishing and mining.For approximately 10 years, I was jointly appointed in the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and School of Criminal Justice in the College of Social Science at Michigan State University; now the former is my home.I received my PhD in Natural Resource Policy and Management from Cornell University, MA in Environment and Resource Policy from George Washington University, and BA in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from Brandeis University.I am a MSU Global Research Academy Fellow, National Academies of Sciences Jefferson Science Fellow, US Department of State Embassy Science Fellow and Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leader.