Erin is a conservation scientist with 20 years of experience working on the biological and socioeconomic aspects of biodiversity conservation. At Rainforest Trust she leads the Science and Monitoring team, whose aim is to harness the best available data, analyses, technology, and advances in conservation science to improve the conservation outcomes of Rainforest Trust’s work.

Since her first field experience monitoring piping plovers on Cape Cod (still her favorite animal), she has had the opportunity to work with wildlife in the Appalachian Mountains, the Aleutian Islands, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Palau, among other places. In her dissertation research, Erin used global datasets to investigate the costs and potential socioeconomic outcomes of protected area designations, the role of invasive mammals in driving species extinctions on islands, and global conservation cost-effectiveness and prioritization. She previously worked at the American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and held postdoctoral research positions at Oregon State University, the University of Queensland’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, and The Nature Conservancy.

Erin has a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UC Santa Cruz and a BA in Biology from Yale University. She loves to explore new places and she gets outside whenever she can.