I am a Sustainability and Conservation Scientist at Boeing focused on engagement and behavior change at the Everett facility in Washington, USA. In this role, I manage, lead, and help grow the organization’s sustainability and waste reduction program through expanding sustainability efforts including facilities as well as equipment, employee engagement and empowerment, and enterprise-level assessments.

In addition to my day job, I am a lead PI on the NOAA Marine Debris Prevention Grant “Aventureros Averting Plastics for a Better Baja” with the Vermilion Sea Institute in Bahia de los Angeles, Baja Mexico. This project, driven by youth leadership, will take significant steps toward preventing debris from entering the Bahía de los Ángeles Biosphere Reserve in the Gulf of California. There are four primary objectives: 1) Conduct and enact place-based debris prevention programs, 2) Engage and train local youth to become debris prevention leaders in their community, 3) Implement youth and community events to remove debris from beach and desert sites before it reaches the ocean, and 4) Disseminate finding and methods via a peer-reviewed paper, co-authored by Vermilion Sea Field Station scientists and Aventureros youth, for the purpose of allowing other communities to replicate the project. 

Previously, I was the Clean Seas Program Lead at the Seattle Aquarium, focused on plastic end-of-life research and effects on marine systems with the goal to use findings to inform policies.

I have over 10 years of experience in marine pollution, data science, zero waste, and public policy, both in the US as well as internationally. I am invested in expanding and achieving sustainability goals through leadership, problem solving, and communication. In addition to plastic, marine debris, and sustainability knowledge, I have worked hard to become a leader in the field with notable project management, strategic development, as well as computer and analytical experience.

I earned my PhD from the University of Washington in the Department of Biology in Dr. Emily Carrington’s lab. For my dissertation I broadly studied 1) The impacts of microplastic vs silt on marine mussel filtration rates, 2) How micoplastics affect the benthic-pelagic coupling role of marine mussels, and 3) The growth and spread of marine microplastic research and national plastic policies. I am lucky to have done my work at Friday Harbor Laboratory on San Juan Island (WA), around the greater Western Washington area, and out on the Olympic Peninsula.

In addition to marine biology, science communication, and spending time outdoors, I am an avid frisbee player, playing in leagues and tournaments year round.