Meet the Team

Trip leaders 2023 from NMSU, Jornada LTER, University of Texas - El Paso, and Amy Biehl Charter High School. They are passionate about their research and all love the outdoors. They are also trained in Wilderness and Remote Area First Aid. The trip leaders will carry a satellite device to contact emergency personnel.

Dr. Wiebke Boeing

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Dr. Wiebke Boeing is an aquatic ecology professor at NMSU and is leading the Girls/Boys Explore! team. Visit Dr. Boeing's Profile.

Dr. Obed Hernández-Gómez
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I am an El Paso, TX native and proud to be serving as an assistant professor at NMSU! I worked with hellbenders for my PhD research and they still hold a special place in my heart. I have been lucky to also work with Pacific coast salamanders, turtles, and now New Mexican wildlife. My research interests are in population genetics, microbial ecology, and herpetology. I teach Wildlife Disease Ecology and Herpetology in the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology. 

Dr. Theresa Laverty

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I am an assistant professor at New Mexico State University, whose research largely focuses on mammals (big and small) in desert ecosystems. I spend a lot of time looking at wildlife photos, calls, tracks, and signs and catch a lot of bats for my most recent work. I spend most of my free time hiking trails with my dog and, having grown up out east, I love exploring new parts of the Southwest.

Neeshia Macanowicz

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I am a Restoration Ecologist with focused research on grasses in the Chihuahuan Desert. Aside from looking at plants, I spend a lot of time petting any animal that crosses my path and playing music.

Megan Stovall

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I am currently teaching science and guitar at Amy Biehl High School in Albuquerque, NM. My background is in botany and soil ecology and I enjoy sharing the love of the natural world with others any chance I can get. My other interests include making music and spending quality time with loved ones - especially my cats.

Dr. Marguerite Mauritz-Tozer

Marguerite Mauritz-Tozer

I am a professor at the University of Texas - El Paso and an ecosystem ecologist that loves to ask why things are the way they are. My research focuses on carbon cycling and transfer of carbon between ecosystems and the atmosphere - the breathing of the biosphere. In my free time I love to explore, cook, and fix things.