Background
I currently work as a Data Analyst at the National marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) and idependent 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 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 acid mine drainage on alpine stream ecosystems (and I may have had a bit too much fun romping around in the mountains when I wasn’t working).
Knowing I wanted to dive deeper into data, I pursued a Master’s in Environmental Science and Management at the Bren School at UC Santa Barbara, with a focus in Data Science. During this time, I served as a Data Manager on a project for NOAA modeling salmon restoration costs and worked as a Data Scientist Intern for The Nature Conservancy, studying potential invasive species on the Channel Islands. These experiences built the foundation for the data-driven career I’m lucky to have today.
Data Projects
Current
I work closely with team of economists at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center (a branch of NOAA Fisheries). My research involves performing analyses to evaluate the efficiency of commercial fishing vessels and processors that participate in a catch share program to promote sustainable fishing practices among a variety of fisheries. Specifically, I work in R, Shiny, and SQL crunching numbers, building pipelines, running machine learning models, and developing visual applications to turn data into insight. I then write up these findings and publish the tools so that stakeholders can engage with the data and understand how are fisheries are changing over time.
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 Mexican non-profit 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.
On the side, I work for a small yoga studio called Yoga Soup performing a variety of data analytics and management tasks to help the company grow, save subscription costs, and maintain a healthy understanding of business performance.
Previous
At UCSB, I served as the Data Manager for my masters capstone working with NOAA. I designed extensive spatial models in R and ArcGIS utilizing heterogeneous vector and raster data to estimate salmon habitat restoration costs in WA state. My team and I modeled watershed characteristic data to estimate habitat restoration costs and benefits. I oversaw the project GitHub repository, analytcal pipeline, and developed an interactive Shiny app to visualize and communicate our findings which you can checkout here.
I also spent a summer interning with The Nature Conservancy as a Biosecurity Data Scientist to study how potential invasive rodents respond to endemic predators on the Channel Islands. I designed and executed a robust study from scratch while mentoring an undergraduate in the field. Through methodical data collection, statistical modeling, and data visualization, we were able to inform TNC management on the potential shortcomings of existing biosecurity protocols. The study resulted in empirical evidence on how to improve conservation efforts within TNC. I presented our research at the annual California Islands Symposium as well as at the Point Conception Institute Symposium in 2024.
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.
