Erin Larson earned her B.A. in Biology with a focus in Ecology at Dartmouth College and her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. She served as an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Alaska Pacific University before joining the Aquatic Ecology team at the University of Alaska Anchorage's Alaska Center for Conservation Science as Research Faculty, and is now the Director of the center. Erin is a community and ecosystem ecologist who thinks broadly about the effects of disturbance on community composition and ecosystem processes in aquatic systems. She has research experience in locations ranging from Ecuador to Colorado to Alaska. In addition to her ecological research program, Erin is invested in expanding opportunities for students to engage in research.