Athens, Georgia, United States
I am a researcher at the University of Georgia studying environmental governance and policy. My current work focuses on the adoption of natural infrastructure in the US related to climate adaptation and water management challenges like flooding, drought, and sea level rise. Broadly, I situate my academic work at the intersection of political ecology and legal anthropology. My research is driven by questions such as: 1) How do international environmental and human rights laws get adapted or undermined as they are implemented by national and subnational governments? 2) What are the implications of these dynamics on peoples and ecologies in the face of complex, broad-scale, social ecological challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, and natural resource conflicts? With over 15 years of experience as a researcher and educator, I aim to build public engagement through science and policy communication, collaborative research, and interdisciplinary education. I received my PhD in Integrative Conservation and Anthropology from the University of Georgia in 2023. My doctoral research examined mining conflicts in the Peruvian Andes and the translation (or variable enactment) of international Indigenous rights laws on Free, Prior, and Informed Consent in Latin America. I have also conducted studies on a variety of conservation topics such as smallholder inclusion in global agricultural value chains, the development of third-party environmental certifications, interactions between aquatic invasive species, and the connection between tourism and the illegal wildlife trade. In addition to my academic work, I have experience in the nonprofit sector in sustainable urban agriculture, native plant conservation, and K-12 environmental education. As such, I enjoy designing environmental pedagogy and communicating conservation concepts to a wide variety of audiences, including across the science-policy interface.
Conducted research on natural infrastructure in the context of water management in the US: - Led a comparative case study of equity, risk, institutional barriers, and scalar challenges in the adoption of natural infrastructure ("nature-based solutions") projects related to sea level rise, coastal erosion, flooding, drought, and wildfires in three US cities
Sustainability Certificate Program, 3 semesters - Taught weekly discussion sections in the Sustainability Seminar (150 students over 4 classes) - Provided administrative support for approximately 300 students in the program - Assisted with Capstone course logistics (83 students working on 27 sustainability projects with community partners) Instructor of Record, Environmental Issues Lab, 1 semester - Performed all teaching, classroom administration, and grading duties with one other Graduate TA co-instructor for approximately 75 students over three classes. Introduction to Anthropology, 6 semesters - Assisted with student support, assessment development, and grading - Led study sessions and guest lectures
- Conducted an analysis of palm oil grower types for the RSPO's Medium Grower Task Force using interviews (primarily in Spanish) and systematic reviews of academic and grey literature.
- Profiled opportunities and constraints to smallholder inclusion in global agricultural value chains