I am a M.S. student in the Plant Biology and Conservation program at the Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University and a Research Assistant at the Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank. I am interested in understanding how seed banks throughout the United States operate in order to best address how to conserve rare, threatened, and culturally-significant species and to meet the need for more native seed for restoration purposes. As an Indigenous scientist (Cherokee Nation), I want to center BIPOC perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge in everything that I do. I also view education, outreach, and science communication as important and necessary components of being a research scientist. In my free time, I enjoy reading sci-fi, baking, and making ceramics. (she/her)