I was born in Milwaukee and raised in the small town of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I was fascinated with pop culture and became determined to pursue a career inside the belly of Western media. In 1995, I received my Bachelor of Science in Mass Communication from Boston University's College of Communication. I spent several years developing a career as an entertainment publicist in both Los Angeles and New York. While working under the peculiar spotlight of the mass media, I became acutely aware of the lengths certain situations can push human behavior. This, in turn, fostered a desire to understand why humans behave the way they do.

After working my final publicity gig, I left New York City. I moved back to the Midwest and found my mentor, Dr. David Skryja, after taking his class, The Evolution of Human Nature. In August 2004 I received my Master's degree in Social Science from The University of Chicago where I had the honor of studying with Dr. Dario Maestripieri and Dr. James Roney within the Institute for Mind and Biology.

I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in the evolutionary psychology program at the University of Texas, Austin, working with Dr. Norman Li. I also work closely with some current and former members of the David Buss lab.

What is evolutionary psychology?