Emily is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis in the Department of Evolution and Ecology. Her current research focuses on urban monarch butterfly gardens in Berkeley, CA. For her PhD, which she completed in 2021 at the Pennsylvania State University, she studied the interactions between annual and perennial ornamental plants and pollinators. Throughout her research career, Emily has worked towards incorporating pollinator habitat into home gardens and managed landscapes. She is particularly interested in supporting biodiversity and promoting green space development in urban areas.

Dr. Harland Patch focuses his research on many aspects of pollinator biology from genes to landscapes. His current research is on understanding the biological mechanisms associated with bee nutrition and how nutrition, in turn, affects bee health. Dr. Patch is working with collaborators to understand the underlying factors that contribute to pollinator host plant choice, including the role of annual and perennial cultivars to support pollinator populations. This includes developing an easy-to-use digital tool to determine which cultivars support pollinators. He is scientific advisor and Director of Pollinator Programming at Penn State’s Bird and Pollinator Garden, a recently built 4-acre garden based on scientific research. He is also involved in ongoing projects to determine the causes of pollinator declines in the US and in Africa. Dr. Patch has taught Molecular Ecology, Pollination Biology and an undergraduate course on honey bees, among other classes.