Former Nature Center Intern (2003-2005) and later Museum Naturalist (2005-2009) for the Las Cruces Museum of Nature & Science (formerly the Las Cruces Museum of Natural History) in Las Cruces, NM where I curated the Nature Center. At the time, the Nature Center was home to 39 species of live reptiles, amphibians, and fish primarily native to the Chihuahuan Desert and secondarily native to New Mexico.

In 2004 I was the lead surveyor for the 2nd year Herpetological Inventory of Carlsbad Caverns National Park (CAVE), 1 of 6 parks surveyed within the Chihuahuan Desert Network Parks of the National Parks Service. I located 45 of 50 potential species listed for CAVE, 6 of which were not observed during the 1st year (2013) inventory. Of those 6, 2 were significant for CAVE. They were the yellow mud turtle (Kinosternon flavescens), per NPS Biologist not seen at CAVE since 1961, and the gray-banded kingsnake (Lampropeltis alterna). Ironically, of the other surveyed parks within the range of L. alterna (Ft. Davis National Historic Site, Big Bend National Park, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and Amistad National Recreation Area) during the 2 year Herpetological Inventory, only CAVE produced a gray-banded kingsnake.

Blatant bragging aside (:P), my ability to get out into the field has greatly diminished since 2010; albeit very slowly, I'm currently trying to remedy that.