Ginni is a native of Denver, Colorado and is an undergraduate student at CU Boulder studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.  In the Tripp Lab, Ginni used UROP funds to conduct phylogenetic research on an impressive and apparently very rapid radiation of plants: the genus Petalidium (Acanthaceae). Species of Petalidium represent some of the most ecologically important plants in the ‘ultra-arid’ deserts of Namibia and adjacent southern Angola. She built datasets to answer the overarching question: How and why has Petalidium speciated to such a degree, in such a narrow corner of the Earth (biotically driven, abiotically driven, or some combination thereof)? She used fresh field collections of Petalidium in order to begin to reconstruct the evolutionary history of this fascinating radiation. Ginni also works (and has a lot of fun!) at the 30th Street Biology Greenhouses on campus. In her free time, she loves to garden, hike, bake, and spend quality time with her friends and family.