About Dr. Walker

My background includes time as an ethnobotanist in Belize, a field botanist throughout North America, an educator at botanical gardens, and a classroom teacher at the University and secondary levels.  I have a masters degree in botany from OU and a Ph.D. in botany from UW-Madison and have taught Biology, Environmental Science and Botany at Union High School since 2013.  My botanical research has concentrated on relationships in the sage genus (Salvia).  Salvia is an enormous (950 species) genus distributed around the globe.  Members of Salvia are popular as ornamental plants, as culinary plants, and even as hallucinogenic herbs.   The most impactful result of my research has been the transferring of Rosemary (Rosmarinus) and Russian Sage (Perovskia) into the genus Salvia.  You can see some examples of my research here.

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My passion for teaching is rooted in an inherent optimism that the problems that we face as a society are solvable.  Plants will be part of the solution to some of the greatest challenges of our time (climate change, food security, health and wellness, etc.), yet we see a decreasing interest in plant sciences at the secondary and University levels.  It is my hope that sharing my passion for plants with students will be infectious and will impact both their personal and academic futures.