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I am passionate about working with students and practitioners to apply research on farms and develop future agroecologists. My goal for public outreach is for every interaction to be an equal exchange of knowledge and learning. Rather than focusing on deficits or room for improvement, I approach working with practitioners by emphasizing what they're already doing well, their existing assets, and their desires (inspired by Eve Tuck's damage vs. desire framework). In my future career, I hope to work closely with farmers and land managers to inform research priorities and participate in the research process.
I would love to visit your farm or classroom! Contact me to plan a presentation or activity.
Pollination management with row covers
(script, experiment, filming, voiceover, and editing by me, with support from Sarah Clark)
"Open ends" pollination for row covers
(script, experiment, filming, voiceover, and editing by me, with support from Sarah Clark)
Pollination with commercial bumble bee colonies
(script, experiment, filming, voiceover, and editing by me, with support from Sarah Clark)
Eggplant pollination
(script and experiment by me; filming, voiceover, and editing by Sarah Clark)
Outreach presentations & products
Outreach presentations & products
Organic Association of Kentucky Conference, Frankfort, KY, January 2025
Session (60 minutes): Practical Pollinator Support for Kentucky Farms
People's Summit on Food Systems and Urban Agriculture, Louisville, KY, September 2024
Poster presentation: Floral resource diversity improves bee colony health without affecting crop yield (Lexi Gauger, Kathleen Fiske Pulliam, David Gonthier) and outreach flyer
Marbleseed Organic Conference, La Crosse, WI, February 2023
Poster presentation: Foraging environment and floral diversity affects reproductive success in commercial B. impatiens colonies (Lexi Gauger, Kathleen Fiske Pulliam, David Gonthier)
Growers’ manual on organic cucurbit pest management, May 2023
Gonzalez, J., Gonthier, D., Pethybridge, S., Bessin, R., Nair, A., Zhang, W., Cheng, N., Fiske, K., Gauger, A., Damann, K., Murphy, S., Badilla, S., Mphande, K., and Gleason, M. 2023. Mesotunnels for organic management of cucurbit pests and diseases: tips for growers. NCPA 038, North Central IPM Center. 8 pp. https://www.cucurbit.plantpath.iastate.edu/growers-manual
Service & Leadership
Service & Leadership
H. Garman Entomology Club Officer, 2023-2024
Led my peers in creating a supportive intellectual and social community among graduate students, educating the public about insects and science through outreach events.
Graduate Student Congress Representative, 2023-2024
Represented the interests of Entomology graduate students to the Congress, communicated resources and opportunities to Entomology students, and advanced the university’s mission of equity and inclusion through service on the Institutional Advocacy committee.
Graduate Student Congress Service Award, December 2023
Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference Organizing Committee, 2023-2024
Coordinated with an interdisciplinary group of graduate students to organize and execute the February 2024 conference.
Undergraduate student mentorship
Undergraduate student mentorship
I believe the foundation of a good mentoring relationship is mutual trust and respect. When I work with undergraduate students, I help them understand how each task we do (even tasks as mundane as weeding and washing) connects to the research process and the goals of the experiment. I encourage students to take agency over their work by asking lots of questions and sharing their ideas and suggestions. I also prioritize learning about each individuals' interests and values, so that I can help students leverage their role in the lab towards the skills and opportunities they need to reach their goals.
Tomas Sanchez Villalobos, Earth University, Costa Rica, Fall 2024
Mentored in project development, literature review, laboratory research methods, statistical analysis, and presentation. Resulted in poster and oral presentation: Comparing analysis methods and pollen foraging in bumble bees.
Yuuki Cherian, Benjamin Morrison, and Mateo Garcia, University of Kentucky, 2022-2025
Mentored in field and laboratory research methods and scientific writing. Resulted in coauthorship of 2025 paper in press with Journal of Pollination Ecology.
Undergraduate teaching
Undergraduate teaching
ENT209 Bees and People, September and November 2025
Series of two lectures, the first on agricultural pollination and the second on threats and conservation of bees in agricultural landscapes. Instructor of record: Dr. Beryl Jones
ENT209 Bees and People, November 2023 and November 2024
Lecture on threats and health of pollinators in agroecosystems. In end-of-year surveys, students frequently referenced this as one of their favorite units of the course! Instructor of record: Dr. Clare Rittschof
ENT320 Horticultural Entomology, November 2023
Lecture on pollinator-dependent crops and pollinator health. Instructor of record: Dr. David Gonthier
ENT320 Horticultural Entomology, October 2022
Lecture and laboratory activity on insect pests of cucurbits. We ended the lab activity with a game of Jeopardy! and the winning team took home pumpkins and butternut squash. Instructor of record: Dr. David Gonthier
All images and content on this site belong to Lexi Gauger except where otherwise noted. All opinions expressed are personal and do not represent the University of Kentucky.
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