I am a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center broadly trained in ecology with an emphasis on coastal wetlands. I am also an adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences at Louisiana State University. In my research, I have used mangroves as a model system to assess the role of geomorphology, C:N:P stoichiometry, and climate in shaping biomass allocation and carbon distributions spanning local to broad geographic gradients. I have worked in mangrove forests in Brazil, Costa Rica and in the United States (Florida and Louisiana), and have visited mangrove research sites in Mexico, Colombia, Guyana, Singapore and Malaysia. I have always enjoyed meeting and collaborating with 'wetland friends' from around the world whether on addressing pressing issues in targeted workshops, crafting joint datasets and publications or attending/delivering talks in the U.S. and abroad. I currently serve as an Associate Editor for Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, and as a referee have reviewed manuscripts for over 30 indexed journals. As an author/co-author, I have contributed over 40 publications among journal articles and book chapters to date.