Background
I currently work as a Data Analyst at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) and independent contractor. How did I get here? My journey in environmental data began at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where I earned a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a B.A. in Environmental Studies. I held research technician positions studying human impacts on aquatic insect and microbial communities across California, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
I later moved to Mammoth Lakes, CA, to work as a Freshwater Ecologist at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Center (SNARL), where I researched the long term ecological impacts of mining pollution on alpine stream ecosystems. This was in effort to monitor post-remediation success according to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or Superfund.
In 2022, I pursued a Master’s in Environmental Science and Management at the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara with a focus in Data Science. My goal was to learn more technical skills so that I could use them to guide and inform environmental policy. During this time, I served as a data manager on a project for NOAA modeling riparian habitat restoration costs and worked and interned with the Nature Conservancy studying potential invasive species on the Channel Islands. These experiences built the foundation for the career I’m lucky to have today.
Projects
Current
I work collaboratively with a team of economists at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, a division of NOAA Fisheries, to conduct analyses that support the management of sustainable commercial fisheries under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). My work involves building data pipelines in R and SQL to analyze economic and social data, along with developing interactive dashboards and reports to visually communicate insights with stakeholders. My role is to ensure that stakeholders, including federal policymakers on the Pacific Fishery Management Council, scientists, and the public, can engage with the data and understand how fisheries are evolving in response to ecological and regulatory changes. Checkout some of the tools I have made for NOAA here:
I work part time doing data related contracts as well, so feel free to reach out if you have work in mind you would like assistance with. Recently, I built a Shiny application for Comunidad y Biodiversidad, a non-profit based in Mexico that supports small scale fisheries. The app serves as an evaluation tool that enables users to assess the effectiveness of marine protected area across Mexico. Check it out here.
Previous
As the Data Manager for my master’s capstone project at UCSB in partnership with NOAA, I spearheaded the development of an economic model to inform habitat restoration planning in Washington state. Using R and ArcGIS, I integrated diverse vector and raster datasets, including land use, hydrology, and watershed characteristics, to estimate restoration costs and assess ecological benefits to endangered salmonids and surrounding populations. I oversaw the project’s analytical pipeline and GitHub repository, ensuring reproducibility and streamlined team coordination. To support strategic decision making and communication, I designed an interactive R Shiny dashboard to effectively share our findings to NOAA restoration managers which you can see here.
During an internship with The Nature Conservancy, I designed and led a field based research project to evaluate how invasive species species respond to native predators on the Channel Islands to help strengthen biosecurity protocols and inform conservation strategies. I coordinated field logistics, statistical modeling, data visualization, and mentorship of an undergraduate team member. Our findings revealed key vulnerabilities in existing biosecurity protocols and provided actionable recommendations to TNC management. We presented our results at the California Islands Symposium and the Point Conception Institute Symposium, contributing to the efforts of habitat conservation efforts among the Central Coast.
In my free time
While much of my life passion lies in working with data, I enjoy getting outside equally as much. Some of my favorite activities include: rock climbing, surfing, paragliding, spearfishing, running, and practicing yoga.
