Earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona, then began his graduate studies as a Fulbright Scholar in Thailand and eventually studied post-doc at the University of Wisconsin
Quote: "For a biologist and someone who loves the outdoors, freshwater fish seemed like the perfect animals to study․ They are diverse, widely distributed, economically important, and interesting from an ecological and evolutionary perspective․"
Quote: "I have always done what I love, which led to where I am now․ Whenever I have had choices, I have chosen the path that made me excited, that interested me more, or that piqued my curiosity․"
Quote: "Summer jobs really solidified my interest in freshwater biodiversity․"
After more than a decade earning his doctorate as a conservation biologist, he would accept a job at the University of Nevada at Reno as an assistant researcher
Interned with an aquarium in Massachusetts at 14-years-old