Ecological integrity with respect to climate change has been an ever-evolving interest for Andrea. She believes that understanding environmental mechanisms at a fundamental level is key to driving positive change and addressing climate challenges.

Andrea earned a BSc in Biology with a minor in Environmental Sciences from the University of Manitoba, where she explored climate change across various ecological themes. Her honours research took her to South Africa, where she studied the impact of climate change on ectoparasitic infections in African ground squirrels. Following this, she worked as a Forestry Technician for the Government of Manitoba, gaining experience in forest health surveys and tree disease prevention. Now, as an MSc student in Conservation Biology at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Dr. Fangliang He, she is assessing the effects of global change on tree demographic rates—growth, mortality, and recruitment—within Theme 2 of the DIVERSE project.