President
The EEBISO president is the chief student leader of the organization and maintains the recognized status of the organization. They organize and lead EEBISO meetings, attend executive committee meetings as the student representative, participate as a voting member of the executive committee, and report back non-confidential information to EEBISO. Additional tasks include signing forms, revising the Constitution, applying for funds for educational activities, being the point of contact for EEB Application Buddies, and often working closely with the EEB program coordinator and EEB chair.
Treasurer
The treasurer is responsible for organizing payments for EEBISO events as well as procuring funds for events. Other responsibilities include maintaining the recognized status of the organization and fundraising, which includes t-shirt sales and the silent auction at the annual crawfish boil.
Outreach Representative
The outreach representative is the lead on recruiting volunteers, forming new collaborations, and organizing outreach events for EEB, including events with The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History (Booneville Days, Wish Upon a Butterfly), WISE – Expanding Your Horizons, and educational opportunities for local schools and at Lick Creek Park. Additional duties include helping to form a committee, setup, participation, and working closely with the EEB outreach chair and EEB program coordinator for Darwin Day.
Events Representative
The events representative is the lead on organizing social events for EEB, including our annual crawfish boil, happy hours, potlucks or picnics, community building activities like game nights, camping trips, and various other events. Other responsibilities include coordinating the EEB mentor-mentee program for incoming students. This position also works with the EEB program coordinator and EEB communications chair to provide EEB social media outlets with information to advertise and boost EEB’s social media reach.
Seminar Representative
The seminar representative works closely with the EEB program coordinator and EEB seminar chair to communicate student perspectives or concerns about seminars, report seminar news to the EEBISO leadership, and helps with grad student seminar lunches.
EEBISO 2024-25 Elected Officers
VIVIAN PERALTA SANTANAPresident
I am a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the Song Lab, where I study grasshopper and locust biology. My research focuses on the transgenerational maternal effects of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, and how the mother’s environmental experiences, such as population density, may influence the phenotypes and behaviors of the offspring. This work aims to explore underlying mechanisms of locust phase polyphenism. I received my bachelor’s degree in biology from Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, where I was part of the Ware lab and developed a passion for entomology. I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and have lived in the U.S. for over 10 years. Outside of my academic pursuits, I am a foodie who enjoys exploring new cuisines, an art enthusiast, and an anime fan.
STEVE CAIRDTreasurer
I am a second year PhD student in the Yorzinski Lab. My investigations focus on songbird acoustic ecology, communication, and inter-species interactions. During most of the past ~20 years I have lived itinerantly as a field-naturalist, collecting observations of birds, bats, fishes, and plants. I have also served intermittently as adjunct faculty at Northern Michigan University, where I earned my BS (2006) in Physiology, and MS (2015) studying landscape-scale dendrochronological patterns influenced by moose herbivory in Isle Royale National Park. EEBISO has been important for me as an incoming PhD student, providing a sense of community and support that I hope to pass along through my personal involvement in 2024-’25.
SHANNON HARRISOutreach Representative
I am a second-year Ph.D. Student, in the lab of Dr. Mariana Mateos. As an undergraduate I attended the University of Georgia working as an undergraduate researcher studying Cytoplasmic Incompatibility caused by Wolbachia infection in Drosophila recens. I remained at UGA to pursue my Master’s of Science in Entomology where I studied flexible paternal care and its connection to expression of genes associated with aggression in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus orbicollis. I am now studying the defense mechanism in which Spiroplasma protects Drosophila melanogaster from parasitoid wasps attack.
RUBY MUSTILLEvents Representative
I am a second-year PhD student in Dr. Courtney Fitzpatrick’s lab. I studied anthropology and evolutionary biology as an undergraduate at Columbia University, where I first discovered my interests in primate behavior and sexual selection. Before coming to Texas, I studied macaques in Puerto Rico and baboons in Kasanka National Park, Zambia. For my PhD research, I am combining theoretical and empirical approaches to examine the evolution of adolescence in female primates. I’m passionate about science communication and outreach, and I served as a member of the 2024 Darwin Day planning committee. Outside of research, I like knitting and talking about my cat, Muffin.
AUDÉLIA MECHTISeminar Representative
I am a 4th year PhD student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Texas A&M University, under the supervision of Dr. Gregory Sword. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and a master’s degree in biology from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, with a specialization in animal behavior, evolution and biodiversity. While I previously worked with macaques (B.A.) and stallions (M.S.), my research now focuses on locust behavior. I am mostly interested in characterizing individual behavior of healthy and transgenic individuals, as well as investigating collective movement patterns across swarming and non-swarming Schistocerca species. Outside of research, I am a fitness enthusiast and love spending time in the mountains and with animals!
