Chance favors the prepared mind -- Louis Pasteur 

I've prepared for adventures for my entire life. After being ward of the courts, I worked my way through school doing anything from shoveling horse poop and breeding parrots to researching cancer and HIV/AIDS, ultimately earning my PhD in Zoology. While attending university, I studied whales and seals, and learned how hormones help birds cope with extreme environments, like the Arctic. 

Ten days after defending my dissertation, I packed some clothes into a backpack and jumped on a plane to accept my "dream" Postdoctoral Fellowship in a city I'd never been before; NYC. In NYC, I researched the evolution of parrots from the south Pacific islands, taught university classes, published in SCIENCE (September 2009) and NATURE (August 2009), and wrote a blog that caught the eyes of ScienceBlogs. 

Despite my dedication and hard work, I couldn't have made it without help from people like you, and I express my gratitude by sharing my adventures with you. During five years of blog writing, I've photographed bison on the remote Konza Prairie in Kansas and migrating Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska; helped restore native plants on the Katy Prairie and fossil hunted in Texas; birded snowy fields and walked on frozen seas in Finland; spoke to an audience of my scientific colleagues at the Royal Institute of Great Britain before seeking out and photographing all the Harry Potter film locations in London.

My life is devoted to adventuring, learning and sharing with you. I prepared for this adventure by earning the best scientific education possible and by reading widely. Daily, I use my blog to share the wonder of the world with you through words, photographs and film. By voting for me, you are voting for yourself: vote for me so we can go on our next great adventure together!