About Me

I’m an interdisciplinary ecologist based in the Sultanate of Oman. I’ve spent over ten years visiting and working in some of the toughest locations in world—Somalia, Yemen, the African Sahel—to find, understand, and protect the plants and ecosystems underlying the world’s most important natural products.

I work at the intersection of ecology, chemistry, anthropology, and socio-economics to understand the systems underlying production and trade of wild-harvested non-timber forest products. My work has involved conducting conservation assessments of harvested species; studying the socio-ecological relationships between harvesting communities and the plants they collect; analyzing samples to explore the chemical ecology underlying diverse phytochemical profiles; and engaging with stakeholders to explore how policy changes will impact conservation and rural livelihoods on the ground.

Along the way, I’ve co-raised over $2 million in project funding, published almost two dozen peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, and been featured in international media including BBC, CNN, the AP, and others. I discovered a new species of frankincense tree (Boswellia occulta) and re-discovered a lost species (Boswellia ogadensis), built a blockchain-enabled supply web to collect data in some of the most remote regions of the Somali mountains, and founded a company to enable digitized, regenerative supplies of frankincense and myrrh.

I am a Fellow of the Explorers Club in New York and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in the UK.