My research is broadly motivated by the question, “How do we create a better world together?” The research teams I’m part of are interested in questions that describe our world, how we got here, where we want to go, and how we want to get there. We do this by implementing multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary approaches.
urban forestry, greening, and stewardship
I’m generally interested in the distribution, organization, and motivations for urban forestry, greening, and stewardship. This line of inquiry began when I was part of The Nature Conservancy’s NY Cities Program, supporting the team in data analysis and communications describing what the urban forest and green roof extent in NYC is, and how it varies across neighborhoods and property types. This led me to explore the role of both public and private jurisdiction of the urban forest, and the dynamics of green infrastructure expansion and gentrification. I expanded on these interests as a postdoctoral researcher in the U.S. Forest Service’s Stewardship Science team, particularly as it relates to workforce development in the environmental sector, and temporal change and its drivers in stewardship organizations.
- “Reflecting on Local Stewardship, Care, and Action Across Two Decades.” Lindsay K. Campbell et al. (2024)
- “Why Stewardship Matters: Reflections from Two Decades of Learning from Community-Based Environmental Groups.” Svendsen et al. (2024)
- “Shaping the Future: Urban Resilience and Socio-Ecological Systems Through Time.” Gyucha et al. (2024)
- Harnessing the Power of Tree Canopy in NYC. The Nature Conservancy (2023)
- Looking at Cooling Benefits of Plants Through NYC Vegetation Data. Just Nature NYC (2023)
- Vegetation Density Across New York City: Analysis of Land Cover Data (2017) Within 200 Meter Radius of Points. Treglia et al. (2023)
- “Understanding Opportunities for Urban Forest Expansion to Inform Goals: Working Toward a Virtuous Cycle in New York City.” Treglia et al. (2022)
participatory research, knowledge production, and cultural and educational institutions
My work in this topic is motivated by asking how and why people lead and/or get involved in research and natural history, and how this impacts autonomy and sovereignty. These questions have blossomed into work with collaborators across disciplines, in particular: Jacobo Zambrano, with whom I’ve collaborated in art-museum studies research and practice; Mariana Varese (Wildlife Conservation Society) and Carlos Rodriguez (Tropenbos Colombia) with whom we led the writing for a chapter on open and collaborative knowledge for sustainable development in the Amazon for the Science Panel for the Amazon Report; and an analysis of global inequity in bird scientific names and its implications with Daniela Palmer and Shane DuBay. Ongoing projects include community-building among biocultural stewards, the development of facilitation tools and the theoretical foundation of co-learning spaces as part of the U.S. Forest Service’s Stewardship Science team and inquiry on public participation in scientific research and decision-making in the tropics and on rhythmicity and reciprocity in river management with Florida International University’s Tropical Rivers Lab.
- “Understanding Temporality in the Lives of Rivers and Riverine Human Communities Through Seasonal Calendars.” Jackson et al. (2025)
- “Transforming Urban Natural Resources Management Through Co-Learning: Sharing Many Ways of Knowing and Biocultural Stewardship Approaches.” L. K. Campbell et al. (2024)
- “Seeing Yourself as a Scientist: Increasing Science Identity Using Professional Development Modules Designed for Undergraduate Students.” McCartney et al. (2022)
- “Reflections on Negotiating the Science-Society Relationship Together.” The Tropical Rivers Lab (2021)
- “Chapter 33: Connecting and Sharing Diverse Knowledge Towards Sustainable Pathways in the Amazon.” In Science Panel for the Amazon Report. Varese et al. (2021)
- “Global Inequity in Scientific Names and Who They Honor.” DuBay et al. (2020)
- Citizen Science from the Iberoamerican Perspective: An Overview and Insights by the RICAP Network. Piland et al. (2020)
perceptions of and relations with other nature by humans
As part of my dissertation research, we surveyed urban residents in four Peruvian cities (Lima, Iquitos, Huacho, and Nauta) on their knowledge, perspectives, engagement, and curiosity with avian biodiversity (research team included Mario Caller, Cristina Palao, Claudia Pezo, Xiomara Valdivia, and Estrella Velásquez). I have also collaborated with Ana Rojas in her investigation of Leticia and Puerto Nariño (Colombia) residents’ perceptions on paiche (Arapaima gigas) towards making the case for keystone species conservation strategies. In NYC, I have also explored urban residents’ priorities, stories, and perceptions regarding the urban forest, particularly those of renters and owners in private property.
- “Waterscapes Meet Socio-Ecological Models: A Relational Framework to Examine Water Insecurity and Human Health and Well-Being.” Tallman et al. (2024)
- “River Rhythmicity: A Conceptual Means of Understanding and Leveraging the Relational Values of Rivers.” Jackson et al. (2022)
- “People Think There’s No Nature, but Want to Know More.” Piland et al. (2022)
conservation, ecology, and evolutionary biology
As an Interdisciplinary Scientist for The Nature Conservancy’s NY Cities Program, we worked on supporting urban conservation In NYC. For more information on this applied conservation work, please see the Future Forest NYC website, Forest for All NYC Coalition, and the Just Nature Partnership with the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. Collaborations with these partners continue.
Prior to joining TNC, I worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society in various roles. Most recently, I was a Scientist for WCS’s Amazon Waters Initiative, where I helped coordinate the Comité Impulsor and write science communications materials. As a program officer for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Amazonía Program, I was part of the management team of multiple international projects, including the Citizen Science for the Amazon Project, the Amazon Waters Initiative, and the Loreto and Manu-Tambopata Consortium. I also participated in multiple conservation strategy planning workshops at different scales, including national park, institutional, and range-wide species. Some of this work required taxonomic and ecological research.
I was also formally trained in ecology and evolutionary biology. My doctoral research focused on how how urban bird communities differ from their respective regional bird communities. By using eBird data, Sebastian Heilpern, Brian Weeks, and I explored patterns of biodiversity between urban bird communities and rural bird communities across Latin America, particularly as it relates to species richness. Additionally, with Claudio Gómez-Gonzáles, we explored new ways to visualize and assess functional diversity using persistent homology. I also collaborated with Jacob Johnson to explore patterns of song differentiation across the globe, and with Susana Cubas, Joaquín Grández, Igor Lazo, and Francisco Vásquez to systematically explore patterns of biodiversity in Lima, Iquitos, Huacho, and Nauta. Finally, I also explored genetic differentiation in five bird species in these four cities, particularly as it relates to serotonin regulation. As an undergraduate, I researched the foraging behavior of wintering Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in central Florida.
- Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. Jenkins et al. (2025)
- Communications Earth & Environment. Anderson et al. (2025)
- “Chapter 8: Rivers from the Western Amazon.” In Rivers of South America. Piland et al. (2025)
- “Translating Science into Actions to Conserve Amazonian Freshwaters.” Couto et al. (2024)
- “The Andes-Amazon-Atlantic Pathway: A Framework for Ecological System Sustainability.” Beveridge et al. (2024)
- Defining Spatial Conservation Priorities for the Andean Condor. Wallace et al. (2022)
- “People, Cities, and Birds in Latin America.” Piland (2020)
- “Tree Swallow Frugivory in Winter.” Piland and Winkler (2015)