My name is Shay S. Keretz (formerly Shay S. Allred) and I am an Arizona native working towards a degree in aquatic ecology in the Earth and Ecosystem Sciences PhD program at Central Michigan University. My PhD advisors are Dr. David Zanatta and Dr. Daelyn Woolnough. My dissertation project focuses on creating species distribution models for both native and invasive mussels (go to the Current and Past Projects page to find out more!).

Over the years, my academic journey has taken me across the United States, from an undergraduate degree at Northern Arizona University to my master's degree at Mississippi State University (#HailState!). I ended up in Michigan after I met my husband, Kevin Keretz, at Mississippi State University in 2016. We moved to Ohio in 2018 and I started my degree at CMU shortly after in 2019.

Some of my research interests include spatial distribution modeling, aquatic species and habitat conservation, invasive species, pathology, physiology, and environmental policy. I also thoroughly enjoy math and statistics. Programs I have used extensively include R, ArcGIS, SigmaPlot, SAS, and MaxEnt. My favorite fish is the Brook Trout and my favorite mussel is the Mapleleaf.

Check out any of the additional tabs above or below to find out more!