Background
My career as a Environmental Data Scientist began at the University of California, Santa Cruz where I studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (B.S.) and Environmental Studies (B.A.). I worked various research tech positions where I quickly built skills in critical thinking, writing, and data analysis, laying the foundation for my career. These included studying Steelhead prey communities throughout Big Sur and the Sierra Nevadas, protozoans responses to disturbance in Puerto Rico, and insect populations in Baja CA. Upon graduating in 3 years, I moved to Mammoth Lakes, CA working as a Freshwater Ecologist at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Center (SNARL) where I investigated the long term ecological impacts of acid mine drainage on alpine stream communities. And I may have had a bit too much fun romping around in the mountains rock climbing and skiing when he wasn’t working.
I completed a Masters in Environmental Science and Management with a focus in Data Science at the Bren School at UCSB in 2024. Here, I served as a Data Manager on a project for NOAA Fisheries where I developed salmon restoration cost models. I also worked as a Data Scientist intern for The Nature Conservancy leading a study to identify invasive species behavioral responses to predator cues. These experiences, along with intensive technical coursework, taught me the skills that would eventually become the foundation in my career as a Data Scientist.
Data Science Projects
A crucial stepping stone in my career as a data scientists was serving as the data manager for my masters capstone working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. Here, I designed extensive spatial models in R and QGIS utilizing heterogeneous vector and raster data to estimate salmon habitat restoration costs in the Stillaguamish River Basin of WA state. In a nutshell, we took watershed data such as slope, elevation, canopy cover, development, etc. and used these as model inputs to estimate how expensive it would be to restore habitat to its historical condition. Aside from designing the spatial modeling and reproducible analytical pipelines, I oversaw the project GitHub repository and data/metadata storage, technical workflow, and developed a highly interactive Shiny app to visualize and communicate our findings which you can checkout here!.
Another critical experience was when I interned with The Nature Conservancy as a Biosecurity Data Scientist to study how potential invasive rodents respond to endemic coastal predators in California. I was tasked with designing and executing a robust study from scratch while mentoring an undergraduate student over the course of 10 weeks. Through data collection, complex study design, statistical modeling, and data visualization that I led, we were able to inform TNC management on the potential shortcomings of existing protocols to better allocate resources with a limited budget. By leveraging my technical skills, I was able to provide insights based in empirical evidence to various stakeholders and improve conservation efforts. I presented our research at the annual California Islands Symposium as well as at the Point Conception Institute Symposium in 2024. and am publishing a first-authored paper with TNC.
In my free time
While much of my life passion lies within Data Science, and hence being on my computer, I enjoy getting outside equally as much. Some of my favorite activities include: rock climbing, surfing, paragliding, spearfishing, running, backpacking, and practicing yoga. While I know I can’t do them all every day, I try my best to at least one of them… or 3. Here are some of my favorite memories over the years.
