I grew up in rural New York. Years spent scrambling over rocks and rooting through leaves looking for salamanders fostered in me a deep love for the natural world and a curiosity about the processes that shape it. For college, I traveled to the rocky coasts of New England to pursue a degree in Geology–Biology at Brown University. At Brown I worked in a terrestrial biogeochemistry lab exploring plant–soil interactions, focusing particularly on seedling uptake of the plant-important nutrient phosphorus. I earned my PhD from Stanford University’s Earth System Science Department working with Dr. Peter Vitousek. In my doctoral work I investigated climatic controls on soil development and nutrient cycling in ecosystems. Currently I am a postdoctoral scholar working with Dr. Aradhna Tripati in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Dr. Tripati’s lab specializes in applying isotopic methods to understanding paleoclimates. I use my background in terrestrial ecosystems to investigate climatic controls on biological communities. For this work, I use a combination of isotopic climate proxies, paleopollen records, and geomorphological studies. In addition to my scientific pursuits, I volunteer with the Center for Diverse Leadership in Science focusing on scientific outreach in the broader Los Angeles community.
I aim to pay forward the support and encouragement that I received from my teachers and mentors over the years. To achieve this, I want to become a professor at an institution where I can support undergraduate and graduate education, and provide students from underrepresented groups in STEM with opportunities to pursue scientific research.
