Before becoming a full-time lecturer in the Department of Landscape Architecture, I spent four years at the California Botanic Garden, focusing on horticultural and conservation work with California native species. My role involved developing plant palettes, managing sustainability efforts, and contributing to educational interpretive projects.
After completing my bachelor’s degree, I gained diverse experience, including horticultural and zoological work at the Oakland Zoo, animal creaking at a farm animal rescue facility, and ornithological research at the Patuxent Research Refuge in Maryland. It was my work with vulnerable youth in Baltimore, however, that sparked my interest in the broader connections between humans and ecosystems, and how urban life and nature—or the absence of it—affect both human and ecological health.
I am committed to engaging actively in public affairs, believing that academic work should extend beyond the classroom and laboratory. In the face of the climate crisis, policy driven by peer-reviewed research is crucial. I aim to leverage my expertise as a citizen-scholar to contribute to policymaking and implementation at the federal, state, and local levels, addressing issues from habitat preservation to land use planning.
