What is your current professional role?
I am a research geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, working at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center.
What aspects of marine or coastal geoscience do you work on (or have you worked on in the past)?
My research focuses on coastal change and the processes that drive it over a range of spatial (barrier island to regional) and temporal (storms to sea level rise) scales in both natural and built environments. Most recently, I have been exploring how coastal change varies among different ecosystems and across landscapes, and what makes certain locations more resilient than others.
How did you first become interested in science?
While I had always liked science, I became really passionate about it in college while spending a semester at the Biosphere 2 Center in Oracle, AZ. Studying scientific phenomena within the biosphere, as well as geology in the surrounding Sonoran Desert was an experience like no other; I was hooked.
Who have been your greatest mentors?
I’ve been fortunate to have many fantastic mentors throughout my career: from undergraduate and graduate professors (Rich Diecchio, Steve Harlan, Stacey and Dave Verardo, Pete August, Art Gold, Q Kellog, Judith Swift, Jon Boothroyd, and Cheryl Hapke), to USGS scientists both after college and graduate school (Leslie “Jingle” Ruppert, Hilary Stockdon, Rob Thieler, Carolyn Ruppel). All have offered critical advice at key junctures that has shaped my journey and made me the scientist I am today.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in this field?
Make sure you are doing something that you love and know that it is OK to change direction and study something else if what you are currently studying doesn’t feel exciting—there are so many great discoveries to be made, and the best ones (I think) come in research you feel passionate about.
Where is your favorite coastal or marine location?
Narragansett Bay, RI.
What are some things (not including work) you are passionate about?
Being a present parent and learning new things through my children, strong friendships, drawing, user-centered design, seeing the world, yoga, psychological safety in teams, paying it forward, dancing.
You get a chance to relax with your favorite meal and your favorite music- what are you eating and listening to?
Roast chicken and sweet potatoes while listening to the Foo Fighters and Ani DiFranco.