He earned a Master of Science in Ecology from Pennsylvania State University in 1997 and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Colorado in 2002. Prior to coming to Clark University, he was a research associate and lecturer with the University of Colorado, Department of Geography, from 2002–2007, and a research associate with the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos, Switzerland, a division of the Alpine Environment, from 2004—2005.