I am originally from the Rocky Mountains and obtained a BSc in Biology at Utah State University. I volunteered and later worked for Dr. Susannah French as a research assistant. While at USU, I also volunteered as a Trip Leader and Wilderness First Responder as a part of the Utah State Outdoor Recreation Program leading college students on backpacking, kayaking, and hiking trips into the wilderness. My research interests lie in wildlife ecology and in enabling people to live sustainably alongside wildlife. I am particularly interested in what drives human-wildlife conflict and studying new, innovative methods for preventing it. I joined the wildlife institute at Beijing Forestry University for my Masters in 2015. This year I will be assisting with camera trapping snow leopards in western China. For my master’s project, I plan to evaluate the effectiveness of two poorly studied breeds of livestock guarding dogs: the Tibetan Mastiff and the Mongolian Bankhar. I am interested in these two breeds as possible solutions for people living in high altitude regions and harsh climates around the world facing depredation by large carnivores.