Research
My research aims to understand the ecology of managed systems, and implications for public policy. I am driven by the challenge of improving human food supply and environmental sustainability given a finite biosphere, changing climate, and increasing global nutritional needs.
My dissertation research centers on nutrient cycling in terrestrial agriculture. I am also especially interested in tropical and island food systems.
My passion for the intersection of environmental science and policy developed through my work as the legislative staff lead for State Representative David Tarnas, Chair of the Water and Land Committee at the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives. Previously, I also supported science, education, and outreach initiatives as the Princeton in Africa Fellow at Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia, Kenya.
I graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and certificate in Environmental Studies. My undergraduate thesis, published in the journal Coral Reefs, studied impacts of anthropogenically-polluted groundwater discharge on near-shore coral reefs on Bermuda.