About me

I grew up on Haudenosaunee land, now commonly referred to as the Adirondacks in Upstate New York. As a child, I was in constant awe and appreciation of my surroundings. This fascination helped inspire a recently rediscovered 5th-grade essay, "My Future as an Atmospheric Scientist." Fast forward 20 years to 2014, and I'd be leaving my job in marketing and operations to return to my interests in climate science. This lifelong curiosity has influenced my desire to research the lived experience of climate variability and long-term change in rural mountain communities. 
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I'm currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Connecticut, and I live in Vermont. When I'm not working, I'm skiing, hiking, mountain biking (poorly), cooking, reading, and likely drinking way too much coffee.

EDUCATION

2019- present

Ph.D student

2016-2017

Master of Arts

University of Connecticut

Geography

Columbia University 

Climate and Society 

• Final project: Appalachia Burning: understanding wildfires in the Southeast U.S. 

• Fieldwork project: Building Resilience Through Restoration: climate change and the Jordan River basin

2014- 2016

University of Colorado Boulder 

Continuing Education

Atmospheric and Oceanic Science 

2004-2008

Bachelor of Arts

Colgate University 

Political Science 

• Thesis: The influence of leadership personality traits on decision-making in a time of crisis

Writing and Rhetoric 

• Thesis: The role of written, verbal, and visual rhetoric in portraying the importance of climate change within the alpine community 

RESEARCH

2020

Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative 

 Coding Team Member

The Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI) is a collective global effort to systematically gather and synthesize literature on climate change adaptation. GAMI is in the process of reviewing thousands of peer-reviewed articles in order to develop the first systematic global assessment of empirical evidence on adaptation progress. This initiative was developed to provide synthesis results to inform the ongoing Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report (AR6), seeking to answer the question: Are we adapting?

2018-2019

Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4)/ United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

This research project focused on sensitive socio-ecological systems adaptive capacity in the Horn region of East Africa. The work was based on a historical analysis of holistic system adaptation and applied through an integrated conceptual model approach to address multidimensional system resilience given converging pressures from climate and conflict. 

Research Fellow

2018-2019

The Consortium for Capacity Building (CCB)/ Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Assistant Researcher

El Niño Ready Nations is an ongoing project that focuses on the varying conceptualizations of ‘readiness’ when it comes to being prepared on a national level for a climate-, water-, and/or weather-related disaster experienced during a declared El Niño season. I constructed a PR plan that created a media network in 30 countries. This included tiered content creation to address any changes in the 2018-2019 El Niño forecast. This campaign was a combined print, online, and social push meant to stress forecasting and monitor regional social responses to content.

2017-2018

Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4)/United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Research Fellow

2015-2016

The Consortium for Capacity Building (CCB)/ Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Research Assistant 

This project was a natural resource management project in the Peruvian Amazon, which focused on strengthening Indigenous capacity in conflict resolution and natural resource management. My role was to examine the evolution of academic theory behind conflict-sensitive conservation practices and how this has contributed to current field standards. I furthered this research by identifying the different components of good practices in the field, as supported by academic publications, and how this can differ in actual implementation.

For this project, I worked with the Consortium for Capacity Building on a USAID/NOAA grant on how nations can prepare and cope with weather-related disasters to become an El Niño and La Nina Ready nation. My responsibilities included monitoring news outlets in 14+ countries. This monitoring was designed to note any instabilities with a country’s political, social, and economic environments. These instabilities focused primarily on economic fluctuations, disease outbreaks, human migration patterns, political instability, and other secondary impacts of changing climate variability due to naturally occurring ENSO cycles.

TEACHING

2019- 2020

Teaching Assistant, 

The University of Connecticut 

GEOG 2300 Introduction to Physical Geography

The physical elements and processes of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are considered in relation to one another and to the distribution of the world's environments. Emphasis on the basic concepts and theories of physical geography.

GEOG 2000 Globalization

Globalization as a complex-multidimensional process. Linkages and interconnectedness between spatial processes and social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental change around the world today. Theory and impacts of economic, social, political, and cultural globalization through case studies at the local, regional, national, and international scales.

GEOG 1200 The City and the Western Tradition

2019- 2020

Teaching Assistant, 

The University of Connecticut 

GEOG 2300 Introduction to Physical Geography

The physical elements and processes of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are considered in relation to one another and to the distribution of the world's environments. Emphasis on the basic concepts and theories of physical geography.

GEOG 2000 Globalization

Globalization as a complex-multidimensional process. Linkages and interconnectedness between spatial processes and social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental change around the world today. Theory and impacts of economic, social, political, and cultural globalization through case studies at the local, regional, national, and international scales.

GEOG 1200 The City and the Western Tradition

A broad discussion of the role and structure of the city in the western tradition from the Classical period to contemporary America. Special emphasis will be placed on the mechanisms by which cities and ideas about them have been diffused from one place to another and on the changing forces that have shaped the western

GEOG 1000 Introduction to Geography

Principles, concepts, and methods of modern geography are developed both in general form and specific case studies. Examples pertaining to both the human and physical environment will be discussed.

2017-2019

Academic Advisor and Tutor, 

New York Ski Education Foundation 

Math Tutor 

Provided math tutoring to student-athletes enrolled in middle and high school curriculums. Coordinated assignments, exams, and progress reports with various school districts.

2019- 2020

Teaching Assistant, 

The University of Connecticut 

GEOG 2300 Introduction to Physical Geography

The physical elements and processes of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere are considered in relation to one another and to the distribution of the world's environments. Emphasis on the basic concepts and theories of physical geography.

GEOG 2000 Globalization

Globalization as a complex-multidimensional process. Linkages and interconnectedness between spatial processes and social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental change around the world today. Theory and impacts of economic, social, political, and cultural globalization through case studies at the local, regional, national, and international scales.

GEOG 1200 The City and the Western Tradition

A broad discussion of the role and structure of the city in the Western tradition from the classical period to contemporary America. Special emphasis will be placed on the mechanisms by which cities and ideas about them have been diffused from one place to another and on the changing forces that have shaped the Western city. 

GEOG 1000 Introduction to Geography

Principles, concepts, and methods of modern geography are developed both in general form and specific case studies. Examples pertaining to both the human and physical environment will be discussed.

2017-2019

Academic Advisor and Tutor, 

New York Ski Education Foundation 

2015

Teaching Assistant 

University of Colorado Boulder

Math Tutor 

Provided math tutoring to student-athletes enrolled in middle and high school curriculums. Coordinated assignments, exams, and progress reports with various school districts.

ATOC 1050 Weather and the Atmosphere 

Introduces principles of modern meteorology for nonscience majors, with emphasis on scientific and human issues associated with severe weather events. Includes description, methods of prediction, and impacts of blizzards, hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, lightning, floods, and firestorms.

PUBLICATIONS

MANUSCRIPTS IN PREPARATION

FUNDING

2019

Arctic Field Schools:

Norway-Canada-USA Collaboration

Location: Kluane Lake Research Station, Kluane Lake, Yukon, Canada

Topic: Understanding the cryosphere, cryosphere change, and impacts of change on people and ecosystems