Education:
2005 – 2006 Northern Arizona University Postdoctoral Research Associate
2005 Northern Arizona University Ph.D. in Biology (Freshwater Ecology)
2001 Northern Arizona University M.L.S. Master of Liberal Studies (focus in Environmental Education)
1998 Oregon State University B.S./B.A. in Env. Sci. & International Studies
Experience:
2023 – present: Director, Master of Environmental Studies, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
2006 – present: Member of the Faculty: The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA.
2011 – 2017 Co-Director: Sustainability in Prisons Project, a collaboration between The Evergreen State College and the Washington State Department of Corrections for science education and conservation biology projects in prisons http://www.sustainabilityinprisons.org.
2005 – 2006 Postdoctoral Research Associate: Northern Arizona University (NAU), Dept. of Bio. Sci., Advisor: Dr. Thomas Whitham. Effects of riparian restoration, species diversity, and genetic diversity of riparian trees on aquatic ecosystem processes, microbes, and aquatic macroinvertebrates. See Whitham et al. 2005, 2006.
2004 – 2005 Laboratory Teaching Assistant, BIO181 (Introduction to Biology I): NAU.
2003 – 2005 Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Coordinator: NAU & Sinagua High School. Mentored high school teachers and students in stream ecology. See Flaccus et al. 2004 and Muehlbauer et al. 2009.
2003 – 2004 Instructor, Graduate level BIO571 (Aquatic Ecology): NAU, Dept. of Bio. Sci.
2001 – 2005 Ph.D. Research: Graduate Research Assistant: NAU, Dept. of Bio. Sci., Advisor: Dr. Jane Marks. See LeRoy et al. 2006, LeRoy and Marks 2006, LeRoy et al. 2007.
2001 – 2002 Coordinator, Biology Advisement Center: NAU.
1999 – 2001 Masters Research: Connecting FOSS to northern Arizona: NAU, Dept. of Bio. Sci. and College of Education, Advisors: Drs. Paul Rowland & Catherine Ueckert. Creation of place-based curriculum to modify nationally used elementary science education kits (FOSS) in collaboration with local elementary teachers in Flagstaff, AZ.
1999 – 2001 Graduate Teaching Assistant, ENV101 (Intro to Environmental Science): NAU.
1998 – 1999 Instructor, Stream Ecology: Blue Ridge Environmental Education Center, Toccoa, GA.
1998 – 1999 Instructor, Forest Ecology: Blue Ridge Environmental Education Center, Toccoa, GA.
1998 – 1999 Instructor, Orienteering: Blue Ridge Environmental Education Center, Toccoa, GA.
1998 – 1999 Instructor, Wildlife Biology: Blue Ridge Environmental Education Center, Toccoa, GA.
Media Pieces:
(a selection, in order of impact –see www.sustainabilityinprisons.org/press/press-archive for a complete list)
The New York Times. September 27, 2012. Raising Frogs for Freedom, Prison Project Opens Doors
Associated Press (over 75 papers nationwide; International news). September 22, 2012. Prison Inmates Save Endangered Species At Cedar Creek Corrections Center
PBS NewsHour. May 17, 2016. Do call it a comeback — how the checkerspot butterfly found salvation in a women’s prison. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/do-call-it-a-comeback-how-the-checkerspot-butterfly-found-salvation-in-a-womens-prison/
National Geographic. 2012. “Guardians of Nature” on French Broadcasting stations. Highlights both SPP and riparian ecology research.
Nature News. August 09, 2012. Prisoners pitch in to save endangered butterfly
Discover Magazine. August 09, 2012. Prisoners Do Science, Help to Save Endangered Butterfly
National Geographic Channel-France. 2011. “Sentinelles de la Nature” (Nature’s Guardians) highlighted both my riparian and freshwater research and SPP’s Oregon spotted frog program.
Conservation Magazine. December 2011. Captive Breeding: Behind bars, prisoners work to rehabilitate endangered species. Dawn Stover, photos by Benj Drummond.
National Public Radio. “Earth Notes” story on LeRoy et al. 2006 “Plant Genes Link Forests and Streams.”
The Seattle Times. October 2011. Inmates training to raise rare butterflies from artillery range
Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife News Bulletin. January 29, 2016. Study looks at how interaction of leaf litter, salmon carcasses impacts nutrients in salmon spawning. http://www.cbbulletin.com/435941.aspx
Awards and Honors:
2025 Champion, Women Shaping Science on International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Lewis Pugh Foundation. https://lewispughfoundation.org/women-shaping-science/
2023 River Warrior Award: Lewis Pugh Foundation. https://lewispughfoundation.org/river-warriors/
2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM): White House and National Science Foundation. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/02/08/president-biden-honors-117-individuals-and-organizations-with-highest-u-s-award-for-science-and-mathematics-teachers-and-mentors/
2010 Historic Timeline: Placement of LeRoy et al. (2007) on the historic timeline illustrating major contributions to the understanding of organic matter processing in lotic (running freshwater) ecosystems. Tank et al. (2010) – Fig. 1. Journal of the North American Benthological Society.
2005 Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation: Northern Arizona University, Dept. of Biological Sciences
2005 Best Oral Presentation Award: North American Benthological Society Meeting
2004 Achievements Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Fellowship
Professional Affiliations & Service:
Society for Freshwater Science – Public Information and Publicity Committee: 2010-2014
Association of Zoos and Aquariums: 2011-2017. Member
Ecological Society of America: 2004-present. Member
Society for Freshwater Science/North American Benthological Society: 2005-present.
Evergreen Standing Committee for the Curriculum: 2015-2016. Member
NAU University Graduate Committee: 2004-2005. Member
Graduate student representative NAU Graduate Student Organization: 2003-2005.
Interim president & Biology representative NAU Biology Graduate Student Association: 2001-2004.
NAU Undergraduate Program Committee in Biology: 2001-2002. Member
Graduate student representative Northern Arizona Resource Educators Network: 1999-2001. Member
Subject Matter/Handling Editor: 2016-2019: Northwest Science; 2011-2014: Oikos, the journal of the Nordic Ecological Society
Reviewer for: over 50 grant proposals: National Science Foundation – Division of Environmental Biology, Dept. of Defense – Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, Icelandic Research Fund, Maryland Sea Grant, BioDiversa, Salmones Camanchaca and the Community of Ensenada (Puerto Varas, X Región, Chile); Reports: Pew Charitable Trust, Conservation Science Partners, WA Department of Natural Resources; and over 250 articles, 2005-present (journals in alphabetical order): Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, American Midland Naturalist, Applied Soil Ecology, Aquatic Biology, Aquatic Conservation, Aquatic Ecology, Aquatic Science, Archiv fuer Hydrobiologie, Biogeochemistry, Biological Invasions, Biological Reviews, BioScience, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Cities and the Environment, Diversity and Distributions, Ecography, Ecological Applications, Ecological Indicators, Ecology, Ecology Letters, Ecosphere, Environmental Challenges, Environmental Research, European Journal of Soil Science, Fire Ecology, Foodwebs, Forest Ecology and Management, Forests, Freshwater Biology, Freshwater Science, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Frontiers in Microbiology, Functional Ecology, Fundamental and Applied Limnology, Global Change Biology, Hydrobiologia, Journal of Applied Ecology, Journal of Ecology, Limnetica, Limnologica, Limnology and Oceanography, Limnology and Oceanography Letters, Microbial Ecology, Natural Areas Journal, Nature Communications, Northwest Science, Oecologia, Oikos, Pacific Science, Plant & Soil, Plant Biology, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Science of the Total Environment, Urban Ecosystems, Water, Wetlands.
Outreach & Broader Impacts
2018 – present Science outreach through various partnerships at Mount St. Helens: GeoGirls (middle school girls program), High School Ecology (high school program), Upward Bound (urban high school program).
2011 – 2017 I Co-Directed the Sustainability in Prisons Project (www.sustainabilityinprisons.org) in Washington State which provides access to science and nature for incarcerated men and women. We provide inmates with educational lectures on science and sustainability. In addition, we provide inmates with experiences in conservation biology by captive rearing endangered Oregon spotted frogs, native prairie plants, Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies, and caring for western pond turtles in prison environments.
2009 – present In collaboration with the Nisqually River Education Project, TESC undergraduates and I provided outreach and environmental education in stream ecology and macroinvertebrate taxonomy to over 75 K-12 students. We provided experiences with leaf litter decomposition, salmon carcass influences and macroinvertebrate ecology. Our outreach involved rural and Native American elementary schools, and a vocational high school.
2009 – present I host the Annual GREEN (Global Rivers Environmental Education Network) Student Congresses at The Evergreen State College. Evergreen students and I facilitate educational opportunities for over 400 K-12 students each year. The opportunity also provided mentorship and education experiences for 30 TESC undergraduates.
2009, 2011 Offered a faculty training institute in statistical analysis using JMP 8.0 statistical software.
2007, 2011 Offered a faculty training institute in community analysis using PC-Ord software.
2007 Offered a faculty training institute on political and ecological implications of Elwha River dam removals on the Olympia Peninsula. Over 20 faculty participated in 3-day workshop.