Melinda Peterson

Melinda - the fairy godmother of the Edwards lab - began her tenure in Ornithology in early 2019. During her 20-year career in Higher Education administration, Melinda transitioned into Organismic and Evolutionary Biology in 2016 after a 10-year tenure in Law.  Melinda has previously collaborated on portfolios in Plant Biology, Evolutionary Dynamics, Vascular Plants, Evolutionary and Systematic Botany.  In addition to the Edwards Lab and Ornithology Collections, Melinda works with the Desai (Mathematics, Physics) and Ortega-Hernandez Labs and Invertebrate Paleontology Collections. When she is not at work, Melinda devotes her time to several charitable 501c3 organizations and enjoys aquascaping, aquaculture, horticulture, traveling and motorcycle touring.