Research Entomologist USDA-ARS Washington, District of Columbia
My interest in moths began in the 1970’s during my thesis research about leaf-mining moths and their hostplants at a cloud forest in northeastern Mexico. I was able to experience first-hand the enormous diversity of moth species, and discovered that many moth species were probably new to science, so I left sunny Texas for the much colder northeastern U.S. for doctoral study on the systematics of moths at the University of Maryland’s Entomology Department and with USDA (ARS) scientists at the National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. I was hired as an ARS Research Scientist in 1989 to work on pyraloid moth systematics, and 10 years later my journey in administration began with a year-long detail to The University of Texas at Brownsville as Associate Dean of the College of Math, Science and Technology. Shortly after I returned to Washington, D.C., I was selected as Research Leader of the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, one of the largest entomological laboratories in ARS, and served until 2014, when I returned to the bench. I will discuss how passion and curiosity about moths, and insects in general, was a major, positive driving force in my career. I shared my enthusiasm and knowledge about insects via outreach, and about pyraloid moths via professional workshops. I was able to meet challenges along the way with my perseverance and problem-solving skills, but also with skills and knowledge garnered from mentors. And finally, my ability to communicate goals and practice fairness enabled my success as an administrator.
