I graduated from East Tennessee State University with an Undergraduate and Master's degrees in Environmental Science. My thesis consisted of testing a newly developed wetlands index on an artificial marsh. The marsh was a dismal failure, but the index ended up working fairly well. Once I graduated, I took a position with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in Tallahassee, FL. I worked as an invertebrate zoologist/taxonomist and did everything from identifying invertebrates to studying life histories; sampling and writing about various water bodies throughout the state, to writing a larval Anisoptera (dragonfly) taxonomic key for Florida. After seven years with FDEP, I took a position with Leon County Public Works (Tallahassee, FL) where I currently administer a comprehensive water resource evaluation and sampling program for Leon County’s lakes and streams. The sampling program encompasses 13 lakes, 27 streams, and two rivers. The program incorporates water and sediment chemistry as well as macroinvertebrate and vegetative monitoring, exotic plant removal, and replanting of native flora.