I love teaching non-science majors. Having once been a non-major myself, it is only natural for me to share my knowledge in a way that is more easily relatable. Using basic ecological principles, I draw the connections between real-life and natural science. Students dig below the surface and reflect on the environment around them to better understand how they work, and where they belong in the big scheme of ecological interactions. It is these connections that promote active learning and, hopefully, a life full of learning.

Even though teaching is her passion, Powers' other interests include slime molds. Slime molds are a small group of intriguing organisms that play an important role in the soil ecosystem. She has been investigating the distribution of slime molds in habitats around the world for over 12 years, including research in the Arkansas, New York, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Antarctica, and Australia. For her, unraveling the story behind the biogeography of slime molds is fascinating. The trends in the distribution of slime molds in temperate habitats of a large continent are a bit blurry when talking tropical islands. Nearly every aspect of slime mold ecology is new to science. There are only 20 or so slime mold ecologists around the world.