Welcome!

A young

On this site, you can read my published research and journalism. You can also explore a culinary project inspired by my Persian heritage called Katayoon’s Kitchen. To learn about who I am, please visit About Layli or peruse the blog.

Questions or comments? Please reach out!


Nature’s beauty has always nourished my spirit and inspired my creative work. The banner image is from my painting “Forest Meditation” (gouache on board).


Most recent publications:

An Albatross Stands Before Me

Wise eyes under stern brows watch us. Those eyes are made to inspect sun-dazzled waves, but here, they look out into the dim interior of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Makana is a Laysan albatross, unreleasable. After her handlers finish their presentation, they invite us to step closer, which I do. Two different employees ask me…

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Metamorphosis: An Ode to Bugs

October. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve seen my summertime favorites, hummingbirds and monarchs, which have no doubt departed on their southward migrations.  Looking back on the warmer months, watching caterpillars enjoy my plantings was a highlight—with one exception. A bunch of twiggy cocoons appeared on a newly planted eastern red cedar: bagworms. After…

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Student-Consultant Interactions: From Single Visits to Partnerships

Smith, Zoe, Caroline LeFever, and Layli Miron. “Student-Consultant Interactions: From Single Visits to Partnerships.” The Peer Review, vol. 10, no. 1, 2025. Abstract: What can consultants do to move students to return to the writing center? To identify strategies that accomplish this end, two undergraduate researchers and an advisor surveyed students who had repeatedly visited…

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Turning Lawn into a Wildlife Garden: Year 1

In Alabama, where at least a hundred trees inhabited our lot, one of my favorite activities was lying on the porch swing, gazing up at the leaves as they danced in the breeze. Once, a Caroline wren landed on me as I lounged, perhaps mistaking the motionless tree-gazer for a log. It’s taken some getting…

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