I am a human-environment systems researcher interested in the efficacy and politics of wildlife conservation and management. My dissertation research investigates the intersection between legal, commercial turtle harvest, illegal turtle trapping and trade, and different turtle trapping regulations among states in the Southeast US. My work draws from geography, social-ecological systems, and conservation criminology, and utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods. With this work and future endeavors, I hope to advance applied conservation research to better incorporate underlying political and cultural interactions and improve policymaking.