about Molly
Biology | Photography | Spirituality | Art | Humanity
I have always been in awe of the beauty in moments of the mundane, and through my photographic and artistic work I help others see that beauty as well.
I am an accomplished, self-taught photographer, having my work exhibited at the Sundance Film Festival as “one of seven emerging female artists from across the U.S.” in 2009 and displayed at the World Wilderness Congress in Mexico in 2010. My photography has also graced book and music album covers, and been featured in many nature and human-nature related magazine articles, books and websites.
I previously served as Conservation Committee Chair for the North American Nature Photography Association, Affiliate Advisory Council Member for the International League of Conservation Photographers, and Eco-Arts Committee Chair for the Ecological Society of America. I was also one of 25 international scientists and media professionals to be invited to become a Fine Outreach for Science Gigapan Photography Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. I have spent many years photographing and am currently represented by Getty Images, though I have recently spent more of my time with watercolor painting and pen & ink.
I earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from the University of Dallas, a Catholic university with a strong classical liberal arts core curriculum; a Master’s of Science in Ecology from Purdue University, with my research focused in animal behavior and population genetics; and completed Doctorate of Philosophy training at Miami University (OH), initially conducting research in population biology and conservation genetics but moving to research in human interactions with nearby nature in the built environment, as I realized that is where my heart and intellect lie. I attained Ph.D. candidate status in Biology, however chose not to complete my dissertation as I was continually recruited to lead cross-disciplinary and cross-societal collaborations around the country that married science, art and community engagement to improve the human condition and the state of the natural world.
I have spent much of my adult life in strategic planning and community relations building, focused on the intersection of ecology and the natural world with human well-being. I continue full-time as the Community Health Improvement Manager at the Florida Department of Health in Indian River; I see it as an honor to work for our governor. My prior positions include: Executive Director of the Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach, FL; Director of Science Education and Research at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA; and Biology Lecturer and Science Laboratory Director at Ave Maria University in Ypsilanti, MI, prior to the school's move to FL. Additionally, for nearly 15 years, I taught various undergraduate and graduate courses, in subjects spanning human anatomy and physiology to animal behavior to environmental education and field research techniques, at Purdue University, Miami University and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, among other places. I love to teach.
I also served as the sole breadwinner for my family for the past twenty years while my husband, Walter, a carpenter with deep passion for and knowledge of theology, philosophy, and literature, homeschooled our two children full-time and very immersed in self-reliance, simplistic living, and the natural world (sans TV and digital screens and sans air-conditioning). They now help him run his new business, My Natural Playce Country Home Goods, Furniture and Custom Projects, which creates beautiful, artistic traditional pieces from locally-sourced reclaimed wood, while they also journey on their own life paths of self-actualization.
I grew up in NH, the third oldest of 12 children, daughter of the founder and longtime publisher of the Catholic book publishing company, Sophia Institute Press. I am a pro-life, conservative, Catholic Christian. My husband, children and I have attended the Latin Mass since my husband and I were married; and we are grateful for the opportunity to attend it at Saint John of the Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach. In the past, I served as Board Member for the Society for Conservation Biology’s Religion and Conservation Work Group.
Both my husband and I experienced a very high number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which made significant impacts on the trajectory of both our lives’ paths, work and passion to help others to see beauty and find joy in their everyday lives.
I am in constant awe of the beauty of the world and see it as a conduit to God.
I am an accomplished, self-taught photographer, having my work exhibited at the Sundance Film Festival as “one of seven emerging female artists from across the U.S.” in 2009 and displayed at the World Wilderness Congress in Mexico in 2010. My photography has also graced book and music album covers, and been featured in many nature and human-nature related magazine articles, books and websites.
I previously served as Conservation Committee Chair for the North American Nature Photography Association, Affiliate Advisory Council Member for the International League of Conservation Photographers, and Eco-Arts Committee Chair for the Ecological Society of America. I was also one of 25 international scientists and media professionals to be invited to become a Fine Outreach for Science Gigapan Photography Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. I have spent many years photographing and am currently represented by Getty Images, though I have recently spent more of my time with watercolor painting and pen & ink.
I earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from the University of Dallas, a Catholic university with a strong classical liberal arts core curriculum; a Master’s of Science in Ecology from Purdue University, with my research focused in animal behavior and population genetics; and completed Doctorate of Philosophy training at Miami University (OH), initially conducting research in population biology and conservation genetics but moving to research in human interactions with nearby nature in the built environment, as I realized that is where my heart and intellect lie. I attained Ph.D. candidate status in Biology, however chose not to complete my dissertation as I was continually recruited to lead cross-disciplinary and cross-societal collaborations around the country that married science, art and community engagement to improve the human condition and the state of the natural world.
I have spent much of my adult life in strategic planning and community relations building, focused on the intersection of ecology and the natural world with human well-being. I continue full-time as the Community Health Improvement Manager at the Florida Department of Health in Indian River; I see it as an honor to work for our governor. My prior positions include: Executive Director of the Environmental Learning Center in Vero Beach, FL; Director of Science Education and Research at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA; and Biology Lecturer and Science Laboratory Director at Ave Maria University in Ypsilanti, MI, prior to the school's move to FL. Additionally, for nearly 15 years, I taught various undergraduate and graduate courses, in subjects spanning human anatomy and physiology to animal behavior to environmental education and field research techniques, at Purdue University, Miami University and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, among other places. I love to teach.
I also served as the sole breadwinner for my family for the past twenty years while my husband, Walter, a carpenter with deep passion for and knowledge of theology, philosophy, and literature, homeschooled our two children full-time and very immersed in self-reliance, simplistic living, and the natural world (sans TV and digital screens and sans air-conditioning). They now help him run his new business, My Natural Playce Country Home Goods, Furniture and Custom Projects, which creates beautiful, artistic traditional pieces from locally-sourced reclaimed wood, while they also journey on their own life paths of self-actualization.
I grew up in NH, the third oldest of 12 children, daughter of the founder and longtime publisher of the Catholic book publishing company, Sophia Institute Press. I am a pro-life, conservative, Catholic Christian. My husband, children and I have attended the Latin Mass since my husband and I were married; and we are grateful for the opportunity to attend it at Saint John of the Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach. In the past, I served as Board Member for the Society for Conservation Biology’s Religion and Conservation Work Group.
Both my husband and I experienced a very high number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which made significant impacts on the trajectory of both our lives’ paths, work and passion to help others to see beauty and find joy in their everyday lives.
I am in constant awe of the beauty of the world and see it as a conduit to God.
- Member, Catholic Artists Society
- Member, Society of Catholic Scientists
- Member, Fellowship of Catholic Scholars
"He is inaccessible yet He is close at hand. He encompasses man on all sides. There is not just one way to God, as there is to an oasis across the desert or to a new mathematical idea across the breadth of the science of number. For man, there are as many ways of approach to God as there are wanderings on the earth or paths to his own heart."
~ Jacques Maritain, Approaches to God
~ Jacques Maritain, Approaches to God