The Mountain Lake Biological Station is a remote mountaintop research and teaching facility in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia. It was established in 1929 as a branch of the Biology Department at the University of Virginia for research and advanced training in field biology. As Associate Director since 1996 I have the following roles and responsibilities:

• Field Station Research Coordinator
• Executive Administrator / Staff and Project Supervisor / Long-Range Planner
• Data and Collections Manager / Web Master / Database Developer
• Network Administrator / Equipment Manager
• Training, Research, Education, Outreach, Diversity Program Supervisor
• Animal Care and Use Officer
• NSF Grant P.I., inc. NSF REU-Sites and FSML / REU Coordinator
• NEON and OBFS Representative

Plant Population Biology and Ecological Genetics: Hybridization can cause increases in genetic diversity, create novel gene combinations, transfer adaptations from one taxon to another, break down or build up reproductive barriers, and create wholly new taxa. There is little doubt that hybridization between plants, especially when followed by geographic or reproductive isolation, represents enormous evolutionary potential and has been responsible for the evolution of a large number of species. The ecological and evolutionary dynamics of gene exchange are the subjects of my research.

Restrictions to gene flow between taxa can occur at two levels. First: local selection may favor a native over an immigrant genome (local adaptation), and reproductive barriers can restrict effective gene exchange. Second: the distribution of potential mates (population diversity and density) may determine mating options and individual immigrant fitness, especially since immigrants are often rare. Thus frequency- and density-dependent selection may be as important as, and interact with, natural selection in regulating gene flow between divergent populations. I study how natural and frequency-dependent selection and reproductive biology affect hybridization between divergent plant populations and the potential for evolution of novel taxa.

Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS, obfs.org)

• Board of Directors, 2000 – pres.
• Chair, Governance Committee, 2006 – pres.
• Past-President, 2004 – 2006
• President, 2002 – 2004
• Vice President, 2000 – 2002
• Annual Meeting Host, 1999
• Member Station Representative, 1996 - pres.

• Board of Directors, elected to two three-year terms, 2006 – pres.
• Finance Committee, 2006 – pres.
• "Year of Science" Committee, 2007– pres.
• Council Member and OBFS Representative, 2002 – pres.

National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON, neoninc.org)

• Voting Member and AIBS Representative, 2007– pres.
• “Red Team Review”  6-7 April, 2006, Washington, D.C.
• Consortium Development Committee, NEON Design Consortium, 2004 – 2005
• Steering Committee, Infrastructure for Biology at Regional to Continental Scales (IBRCS), 2002 – 2004

Mid-Atlantic Region Ecological Observatory (MAREO, mareo.org)

• Co-Leader, 2003– 2006
• Chair, Facilities Committee, 2003 – 2006
• Representative, Consortium of Regional Ecological Observatories (COREO), 2004 – 2006.

SouthEast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC, an initiative of The Society of Herbarium Curators)

• Steering Committee, 2005 – pres.

Resource Discovery Initiative for Field Stations (NSF Project)

• Steering Committee, 2002 – 2006

Wilderness Conservancy at Mountain Lake

• Advisory Board, 2001 – pres.
• Environmental Consultant, 2000 and 2007

• Chair, Arboretum and Landscape Committee (link), Office of the Executive Vice President, 2007 – pres.
• Arboretum and Landscape Committee (link), Office of the Executive Vice President, 2002 – pres.
• Committee on Public Art, Office of the Executive Vice President, University Committee
  Member 2007 – pres.
• Faculty-Student Mentoring Program (link), Office of African American Affairs, 2003 – pres.