Outreach

The path to being a scientist is not straightforward for everyone. I love the opportunity to reach out to others who have not had the opportunities to interact with science or scientists before. I find inspiration in working with younger people and students to give them some insight into science through my personal experience. I strive to inspire a sense of awe and excitement around the natural environment, especially for students who would not otherwise find opportunities to explore the outdoors.

Upward Bound

I had an amazing opportunity to work with the Upward Bound program through the University of Maine, with Scott Braddock and Seth Campbell. I was able to work with other scientists, Diogo Spinola and Raquel Portes to facilitate a fieldwork experience in Juneau, Alaska for high school students from around the U.S who are underrepresented in the geosciences and would be first generation college students.

Tribal Engagement

As a researcher at the University of Washington, I had the opportunity to make connections with tribes across Washington State including the Hoh and Colville tribes. I shared my work on forested wetland mapping at the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Tribal Habitat Conference, where indigenous tribe members shared their desires for researchers using geospatial and remote sensing tools to help them address problems of restoring salmon habitat in watersheds and identifying forest fire intensity patterns in their lands. These discussions have illuminated new potential directions for my research that incorporate traditional ecological knowledge such as historical locations of wet meadows which were a valuable food source.

Central High School, Independence, OR

During the virtual days of the pandemic I was able to provide a guest presentation about my PhD work and talk about college and graduate school for a local PNW high school.

Elementary School Remote Sensing Outreach

In my current role as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Cornell, I am developing a lesson plan using simple remote sensing principles such as how vegetation and water reflect near-infrared light to teach at a local elementary school.

Seacoast Science Center

Back on the east coast during my Masters, I had the wonderful opportunity to organize field trips to the Odiorne Point State Park for younger students. I guided multiple field trips with students across ages in K-8 on intertidal excursions to familiarize them with new areas of biodiversity. These students came from underrepresented backgrounds and communities and I worked to connect with them and introduce them to intertidal environments and organisms.