Curriculum vita

Education

University of Notre Dame                                                                                                                     Notre Dame, IN
Ph.D., Biological Sciences                                                                                                                     2025 (expected)

Aquinas College                                                                                                                                 Grand Rapids, MI
B.S., Biology and Spanish                                                                                                                                       2019
Summa cum laude

Research Experience

University of Notre Dame                                                                                                                     Notre Dame, IN
Graduate Research Assistant, Biological Sciences                                                                       August 2019-Present

• Compared hydraulic physiological traits of lianas and trees and tested mechanisms contributing to differences in hydraulic traits between growth forms in a mathematical model
• Coordinated multiple education and inclusivity workshops and a manuscript as a member of the Ecological Forecasting Initiative
• Investigated the relationship between the environment and vegetation distributions at a variety of spatial and temporal scales
• Contributed statistical and mechanistic modeling expertise to the PaleoEcological Observatory Network

Teaching Experience

University of Notre Dame                                                                                                                     Notre Dame, IN
Teaching Assistant, Biological Sciences                                                                                     August 2019-May 2021

• Biostatistics Tutorial TA (BIOS 42411) (Spring 2021)
• Molecules to Ecosystems Lecture TA (BIOS 10172) (Spring 2020)
• Big Questions Lecture TA (BIOS 10170) (Fall 2019)

Publications

Near-term ecological forecasting for climate change action

Diezte, M., White, E. P., Abeyta, A., Boettiger, C., Bueno Watts, N., Carey, C. C., Chaplin-Kramer, R., Emanuel, R. E., Ernest, S. K. M., Figueiredo, R., Gerst, M. D., Johnson, J. R., Kenney, M. A., McLachlan, J. S., Paschalidis, I. C., Peters, J. A., Rollinson, C. R., Simonis, J., Sullivan-Wiley, K., Thomas, R. Q., Wardle, M., Willson, A. M., Zwart, J. (2024). "Forecasting the field of ecological forecasting." Nat. Clim. Change.

Defining model complexity: An ecological perspective

Malmborg, C. A., Willson, A. M., Bradley, L. M., Beatty, M. A., Klinges, D. H., Koren, G., Lewis, A. S. L., Oshinubi, K., Woelmer, W. M. (2024). "Defining model complexity: An ecological perspective" Meteor. Appl.

Assessing opportunities and inequities in undergraduate ecological forecasting education

Willson, A. M., Gallo, H., Peters, J. A., Abeyta, A., Bueno Watts, N., Carey, C. C., Moore, T. N., Smies, G., Thomas, R. Q., Woelmer, W. M. & McLachlan, J. S. (2023). "Assessing opportunities and inequities in undergraduate ecological forecasting education." Ecol. Evol. 13:e10001.

The NEON Ecological Forecasting Challenge

Thomas, R. Q., Boettiger, C., Carey, C. C., Bietze, M. C., Johnson, L. R., Kenney, M. A., McLachlan, J. S., Peters, J. A., Sokol, E. R., Weltzin, J. F., Willson, A. M., Woelmer, W. M. & Challenge Contributors. (2023). "The NEON Ecological Forecasting Challenge" Front. Ecol. Environ. 21:112-113.

Climate and hydraulic traits interact to set thresholds for liana viability

Willson, A. M., Trugman, A. T., Powers, J. S., Smith-Martin, C. S. & Medvigy, D. (2022). "Climate and hydraulic traits interact to set thresholds for liana viability." Nat. Commun. 13:3332.

Ten simple rules for training yourself in an emerging field

Woelmer, W. M., Bradley, L. M., Haber, L. T., Klinges, D. H., Lewis, A. S. L., Mohr, E. J., Torrens, C. L., Wheeler, K. I., & Willson, A. M. (2021). "Ten simple rules for training yourself in an emerging field." PLoS Comput. Biol. 17:e1009440.

Presentations

Investigating climate-vegetation relationships using historical and paleoecological data

October 15, 2023

Invited Lecture at University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Stepwise hierarchical model building for ecological inference in long-lived communities

October 01, 2023

Invited Lecture at Emory University, Atlanta, GA

Biotic interactions moderate the climate-vegetation relationship over the last 2,000 years of the pre-Industrial Holocene in the Upper Midwest, U.S.

August 10, 2023

Talk at Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America; American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Portland, OR and San Francisco, CA

Assessing opportunities and inequities in undergraduate ecological forecasting education

August 16, 2022

Talk at Ecological Forecasting Initiative 2022 Conference; Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Virtual and Montreal, Canada

Developing forecasting resources for Indigenous resource management

April 20, 2022

Talk at Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study Resilience Conference, Notre Dame, IN

Climate and hydrualic traits interact to set thresholds for liana viability

August 03, 2021

Talk at Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America; American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Virtual

Paving the way for a more diverse next generation of ecological forecasters

August 03, 2021

Talk at Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Virtual

Abiotic factors affecting the prevalence of Rosa multiflora (Rosaceae) populations at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (Hastings, Michigan, USA)

September 01, 2018

Talk at Aquinas College Annual Student Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Symposium (Grand Rapids, MI); Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Letters Conference (Alma, MI); West Michigan Regional Undergraduate Science Research Conference (Grand Rapids, MI); Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Final Report Meeting (Hastings, MI); Aquinas Collge Summer Research Poster Session (Grand Rapids, MI), Grand Rapids, MI; Alma, MI; and Hastings, MI

Invasive species at Aquinas College as a representation of invasive species in the Grand Rapids area

April 01, 2018

Talk at Grand Rapids Intercollegiate Honors Conference, Grand Rapids, MI

Little Grand Canyon parcel management plan

August 01, 2017

Talk at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, Hastings, MI

The use of second-person singular pronouns among young speakers in Costa Rica

March 01, 2016

Talk at Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Letters, University Center, MI

Grants & Fellowships

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship ($138,000)                                          2021-26
• Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study Distinguished Graduate Fellowship ($1,000)                    2021-22
• University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center Fellowship ($17,700)                               2020-21
• University of Notre Dame Arthur J. Schmitt Fellowship ($42,000/year)                                              2019-24
• University of Notre Dame Albertus Magnus Fellowship                                                                       2019-20
• Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Undergraduate Research Grant for the Environment ($16,000)                  2018
• Aquinas College Dr. Barbara Bissot Math and Science Scholarship ($500/semester)                       2017-19
• Pierce Cedar Creek Institute Steeby Land Management Fellowship ($6,000)                                          2017
• Aquinas College Summer Scholars Grant ($500)                                                                                      2015
• Aquinas College John Veneklasen Tuition Scholarship ($17,000/semester)                                       2014-19

Academic Service

• Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting Review Committee Member (2024)
  • Reviewed 93 abstracts submitted to the Ecological Society of America 2024 annual meeting
• American Geophysical Union Outstanding Student Presentation Award Reviewer (2023)
  • Attended and peer reviewed student poster presentations at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting
• Letters to a Pre-Scientist Pen Pal (2022-23)
  • Wrote letters to a sixth grade pen pal as part of his science curriculum
  • Encouraged interest in science and education for middle school students
• Ecological Forecasting Initiative Working Group Member (2020-Present)
  • Mentored 6 undergraduate interns at Humboldt State University on multiple ecological forecasting related projects
  • Organized two international meetings occurring in June 2021
  • Collated over 200 online resources for learning ecological forecasting
  • Contributed to ongoing efforts as a member of the Education Working Group; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group; Theory Working Group; and Steering Committee
• Ecological Forecasting Initiative Student Association (2021-23)
  • Co-coordinated a 2-day international conference for students in the Ecological Forecasting Initiative
  • Co-organized monthly international Student Association meetings
  • Co-organized the Ecological Forecasting Initaitive 2022 Meeting

Honors & Awards

• JT Callahan Memorial Student Travel Award (2023)
• Striving for Excellence in College and University Teaching (2022)
• Aquinas College Outstanding Spanish Department Senior (2019)
• Aquinas College Outstanding Biology Department Senior (2018)
• Aquinas College Sophomore Class Outstanding Student (2016)
• Aquinas College Outstanding Chemistry Department First Year (2016)
• Aquinas College Outstanding First Year Student (2015)

Professional Affiliations

• American Geophysical Union (2023-24)
• Ecological Society of America (2023-24)
• Ecological Forecasting Initiative (2020-Present)
• American Chemical Association (2016-19)
• Aquinas College Insignis Honors College (2014-19)