Bio:

Ursula Shepherd received her B.A. and M.A. in Social Sciences and Communication Arts from the University of the Pacific. She worked as a Personnel Manager in Silicon Valley for several years before returning to school to pursue a PhD in Ecology and Biogeography. She joined the faculty of the UNM Honors Program in 1998 and teaches interdisciplinary courses in natural history, ecology, biogeography genetics, history of science and writing about the natural world.

Research Interests: Her research interests include biological diversity at various scales and across taxa. She works in both desert and marine environments and focuses on microbial diversity as well as diversity of larger organisms.