Something About Me
I am a fifth-year Environmental Studies major with an emphasis in Physical Geography and a minor in STEM Education. My research utilizes methods in biogeography and disturbance ecology to address critical environmental challenges, such as habitat degradation, invasive species, and land-use change.
For my senior thesis project, I worked in collaboration with local nonprofit the Channel Islands Restoration, focusing on understanding the effects of prescribed herbivory on native grass resiliency at the San Marcos Foothills. Additionally, I am leading various research projects that utilize interdisciplinary approaches to ecological restoration for both The Nature Conservancy and for Dr. Jennifer King's lab for Biogeochemical Research here at UCSB, and working with Dr. Frank Davis and PHD candidate Kaili Brande at the Sedgwick / Edison project. Beginning in Spring 2024, I will join the Larsen Lab at Bren as a Research Associate, as well as begin working as an Ecosystem Scientist with Spatial Informatics Group—Natural Assets Laboratory (SIGNAL). My focus remains on using ecological disturbances to inform land use change and large-scale management strategies. Specifically, in the Larsen Lab, I'll be diving into evaluating the effectiveness of ongoing revegetation efforts at Atwell Island in California's San Joaquin Valley. Meanwhile, at SIGNAL, my responsibilities as an Ecosystem Scientist encompass restoration project planning and management, as well as overseeing maintenance, monitoring, field data collection, and data analysis across Santa Barbara county in support of the Santa Barbara Regional Wildfire Mitigation Program.
Outside of my academic pursuits, I enjoy spending my free time in outdoor activities and nurturing my passion for painting, surfing, rollerskating, along with anything that allows me to be outside and getting my hands dirty!