I graduated from the University of Alabama in 2021 with a B.A. in Anthropology and a B.S. in Conservation Ecology. My interest in political ecology and community-led conservation arose from ethnographic fieldwork in Belize that explored the motivating factors of conch piracy. Other research projects have included analysis of the connections between land-use change and food insecurity in Laos, and spatial analysis of narco-trafficking through Central America. In my current work, I analyze the implementation and impact of biodiversity-focused conservation policies in the Colombian Amazon. My research integrates social-ecological systems theory, ethnoecology, and multi-species ethnography to work towards conservation policies that recognize and protect entanglements of biodiversity, natural resource dependent livelihoods, and cultural practices. Research Research Areas: Cultural Anthropology Selected Publications Selected Publications: Pitts, A.K. Trost, B, Trost, N, Hand, B & Margulies, J. (2022, 5 16). Learning with the seedbomb: on a classroom encounter with abolition ecology. Journal of Political Ecology 29(1):302–308. doi:10.2458/jpe.4715 LaFevor, M.C.; Pitts, A.K. Irrigation Increases Crop Species Diversity in Low-Diversity Farm Regions of Mexico. Agriculture 2022, 12, 911. https://doi.org/10.3390/ agriculture12070911 Grants Grants: Robert E. Rhoades Pre-Dissertation Travel Award, Summer 2023 Integrative Conservation Travel Grant, Summer 2023 Integrative Conservation Conference Support, Fall 2023 UGA Graduate School NSF Incentive Award, Spring 2024 Education Education: B.A. in Anthropology, University of Alabama 2021 B.S. in Conservation Ecology, University of Alabama 2021