Research Program Officer, Authentic Research Connection
Lisa currently serves as the coordinator for the Authentic Research Connection (ARC) program (funded by HHMI) which aims to engage and retain early undergraduate students in STEM fields through participation in real research as part of intro level laboratory courses. She is particularly interested in developing course streams where the research is guided by, and carried out in cooperation with environmentally focused community partners. Lisa is co-creating and will teach a Bio 173 lab section with Growing Hope centered on urban agriculture, which will be offered for the first time in spring 2019.
She received her B.S. in Botany from UM and her PhD in Ecology (dissertation research on alternative pest management in Nicaraguan coffee systems) from University of California, Davis. She spent over two decades in Costa Rica, where she taught at the Center for Sustainable Development Studies for several years then led a social entrepreneur venture creating plant-based body products before returning to Michigan in 2016.