About the Author

 

I grew up at the feet of the majestic mountains of Provo, Utah and spent as much of my childhood as I could outdoors. By the time I was in fifth grade, I knew I wanted to be a biologist. I received a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Conservation Biology from Brigham Young University and a M.S. in Wildlife Resources from the University of Idaho. I spent several years working as a genetics researcher, first in the biotech industry and then in the field of conservation genetics, and one year teaching at a private school. I am the wife of an architect and the stay-at-home mother of three children in Spokane, Washington. I enjoy (among other things) reading, bird watching, playing various Celtic and folk instruments, and eating ice cream.

As a long-time student of biology and a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have had many occasions to wrestle with questions at the interface between science and religion. Throughout this process, I have found great harmony in being a person of faith and a scientist. The two ways of knowing complement each other, and I find that my view is greatly enriched when I learn both by study and by faith, with my mind as well as with my heart. This does not mean that I have an answer for every perplexing puzzle that arises from our current, incomplete understanding of the world. But I "...welcome truth from whatever source, and take the view that where religion and science seem to clash, it is often because there is insufficient data to reconcile the two." (Quote from "The Mormon Next Door," a presentation developed by the Church of Jesus Christ to familiarize others with the basic features of the Church.)