About Me

I am a science policy professional with extensive experience in policy analysis, stakeholder engagement, Earth and environmental scientific research, and public outreach. I have demonstrated strong verbal and written communication skills that leverage my technical experience and policy understanding as well as my commitment to evidence-based approaches for solving environmental challenges and addressing community needs. I am a fast learner and adaptive to the technical and cultural features of a broad range of science policy issues. I want to extend my abilities into developing creative science-based environmental policy solutions in the nonprofit or government sector to advance sustainable and equitable management of natural resources.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn.

Some highlights of my professional life…

In 2019, I returned to the Pacific Northwest to become the Quality Coordinator for the Puget Sound National Estuary Program at the Washington State Department of Ecology. In this role I provided technical guidance to groups implementing restoration work in the Puget Sound region. In 2021 I moved to Ecology’s Toxics Cleanup Program where I provide technical oversight and guidance for cleanup projects at contaminated sites across the state.

From 2017-2019, I was a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, placed at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, Public Safety Communications Research Division. I conducted research, analysis, and stakeholder engagement on data policy issues surrounding emerging technologies for first responders. I also built relationships between my office and partner federal agencies, technology developers, and public safety practitioners.

From 2014-2017, I was a Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Mission Area in Boulder, Colorado. My research focused on the impacts of land use, hydrology, and seasonal environmental variability on the amount and composition of carbon carried by the Upper Mississippi River. This work supported the USGS LandCarbon and Water, Energy, and Biogeochemical Budgets programs.

From 2009-2014, I was a graduate research assistant in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography in the WHOI Department of Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry. My thesis research investigated the spatial and temporal dynamics of dissolved and sedimentary material in large rivers around the world, with a particular focus on the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. This National Science Foundation-funded work was a part of the Global Rivers Observatory.

As an undergraduate student in the University of Washington School of Oceanography, my coursework included seminars, field courses, and research projects focused on the Puget Sound Ecosystem. I also worked on the Sound Citizen project, then run by the Aquatic Organic Geochemistry Lab, collecting, processing, and analyzing treated wastewater and citizen-collected water samples for organic chemical indicators of human impacts on Puget Sound. I participated in two summer research experiences. In 2007, I worked at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, where I analyzed inorganic carbon samples and participated in a container ship cruise across the North Atlantic Ocean. In 2008, I worked at the Hollings Marine Lab in Charleston, South Carolina, where I analyzed algae samples for novel toxic chemicals.

In addition to my research work and education, I've served in many volunteer science communication and outreach roles, including:

Judge & Technical Reviewer for National Ocean Sciences Bowl competitions, since 2007.
Organizer with Washington Federation of State Employees, Local 872, since 2020.
Chair of the Ruth Patrick Award Committee for the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, 2021 – 2023.
Volunteer Editor with Science for the People Magazine, 2019 – 2021.
Co-Chair of the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Affinity Group, 2018 – 2019.
Volunteer Science Interpreter for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science Girls & Science Day as part of the USGS Alaska Climate Detectives Clubhouse, Mar. 2018.
Volunteer Organizer for Fossil Free MIT and MIT Alumni for Climate Action Leadership, 2013 – 2017.
Scientific Contributor for the Climate Feedback Project, 2014 – 2017.
Scientific Consultant to the Fraser River Discovery Centre for a science-art exhibit and teacher resource kits, 2013 – 2014.
Workshop Leader for Women in Science and Engineering Days at Bay View Academy, RI, 2011 – 2013.
Science Fair Judge for Falmouth, MA, & Washington D.C. STEM Network Secondary Schools, 2010 – 2019.