Kristie is a plant conservation ecologist, science and policy communicator, and environmental educator. Ecosystem conservation is her passion. She is drawn to the complexity of ecological and conservation issues, the large-scale pressures that have created them, and engaging the diverse network of stakeholders needed to accomplish large-scale conservation actions. Kristie’s research takes a whole-systems, multi-disciplinary approach to address these complex issues. She has worked on a diverse array of conservation and ecosystem challenges including: ecological assessments of plant canopy species in the tropics, rare species conservation in the Everglades and Caribbean, reproduction niche research and restoration, fire ecology, habitat threat analysis, and now agricultural impacts on climate change and soil health and ways to engage consumers in supporting better farming practices through purchasing power. Some of the tools Kristie has used in her work are: engaged neutral communication, field experiments, greenhouse experiments, geospatial analysis, remote sensing, GIS, seed storage and ex-situ plant conservation, project management, R, experimental design, public speaking, policy maker engagement, and stakeholder collaboration.