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Julie is proud to be pursuing her doctoral degree as a queer woman in plant community ecology. She grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago -- around many different types of people, but few wild and diverse open spaces. In college, she began working to restore the small patchwork of ecosystems around the city and realized that even this relatively small effort would take a lifetime of work, so she decided to explore science that could make our efforts to manage and restore ecosystems more effective. Her M.S. brought her out to Eastern Oregon rangelands, where she interfaced with agriculture-dependent communities and ecosystems for the first time. Although a nerdy seed and plant ecologist at heart, she found an unexpected home out on the range. She is now at CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ in the Suding Lab, aiming to network with land managers, ranchers, and other scientists to develop ecology-based management practices for working lands. The way she sees it, moving the needle is only part plant science; the other part is opening the door for a more diverse future generation to get their hands dirty in applied and agricultural ecology.