I am currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Montana. I received my PhD at the University of Montana and I did postdocs in Juneau, Alaska and Quebec City, Quebec. I was a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst until recently.  I have been involved in fish genetics projects on both coasts of North America and internationally.   My lab in Montana focuses on applying genetic and genomic principles and techniques to various issues in fish conservation and management. Current projects include experimental tests of genetic rescue in headwater trout, developing linkage maps in cutthroat trout, genetic monitoring brook trout in the eastern US, contributing to improving our understanding of the effective number of breeders (N_b) as a genetic monitoring metric, and pedigree-based ecology and evolution studies of fishes.

I consider AFS my societal ‘home’ and I would be honored to spend more time serving in the Genetics Section leadership as President-elect and then President.  I have contributed in a small way to the Genetics Section in the last five years by overseeing the section’s listserv. If elected President, I will start by listening to the experiences of past Presents and members of the Executive Committee.  I will continue past initiatives to increase participation in the Genetics Section. I think networking opportunities provided by the Genetics Section are more important than ever with all of the advances in genomics approaches in the last few years.  In addition to student support for meeting attendance (Wright Scholarship) and recognition for the best genetics paper published in an AFS journal (Phelps award), I see dissemination of information about job opportunities and other fish genetics/genomics topics as a key function of the Genetics Section.  The revamped website and listserv are a great start. I will certainly support the great new awards (Hall of Excellence and Early Career) that the Section now offers.  I would also look forward to getting to understand how a big society like AFS operates.