Early Connection to Nature

I grew up in Stevington, a small village in England, where my playground was public footpaths, farmers fields, bluebell woods, and the River Great Ouse. It has not been lost on me just how influential this early connection to wild, natural areas was for me growing up. While I couldn't name every bird or tree, didn't understand every cycle or process in nature, I forged a connection and value system for the natural world that stuck.
Growing up with a single parent with a disability, I became aware of the financial and physical barriers many families face when trying to access the outdoors and even indoors spaces like Museums. These experiences have always stuck with me and as a result I incorporate universal design principles in my work whether it's environmental education, event planning, or digital communications.

B.S. in Environmental Science

I attended UNC-Asheville on a soccer scholarship and studied Environmental Science with a concentration in Ecology and Environmental Biology and a minor in Health & Wellness Promotion.

During my time at UNC-Asheville, I completed coursework that included:

Tropical Ecosystems

Avian Ecology & Conservation

Ecosystem Ecology

Wildlife Ecology & Management

Environmental Planning

Energy & Society

Principles of Zoology

Invertebrate Zoology

Physical Geology

Earth History

Environmental Policy

Chimney Rock State Park

My first job out of college was as a Naturalist and Trail Guide at Chimney Rock State Park. It was a spectacular and inspiring place to work, where I created and implemented outdoor educational programming for a spectrum of park visitors. I also lead guided hikes through North Carolina State Park trails to public audiences, connecting people to the diverse array of flora and fauna found in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The area provides habitat for rare flowers, diverse forest communities, endangered bats and salamanders, unique cave-dwelling invertebrates, and nesting bird species such as peregrine falcons which I was lucky enough to report detailed daily observations about to local research scientists.

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences

At the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences I worked my way up from a weekend Environmental Educator at Prairie Ridge Ecostation to the Accessibility Program Specialist at the the downtown Museum before eventually becoming the Coordinator of Accessibility & Inclusion. In this capacity I scheduled and delivered programs for people with disabilities such as Naturalist Programs and Guided Tactile Tours (as shown below).


I also chaired the Inclusion Committee, leading cross-departmental accessibility and inclusion initiatives and forging relationships with local and statewide social justice organizations such as the LGBT Center of Raleigh, NC Society for Hispanic Professionals, and ArtsAccess.


Perhaps the thing I'm most proud of coordinating during my time at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences were our inclusion focused events including the LGBTQ+STEM Panel, Sensory-Friendly Mornings, and the STEM Career Showcase for Students with Disabilities (as shown below).

Pacific Science Center

At the Pacific Science Center I connected institutional programs, events and initiatives to STEM experts in academia and industry. I trained STEM professionals on effective science communicaiton via the Science Communication Fellowship program; managing the development of scientist-led cart activities and planetarium shows.

I also coordinated and hosted the weekly Science in the City public talk series in partnership with NHL Seattle, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Washington Global Health Alliance, and NPR member station KUOW. I continued to organize and host the Science in the City series from home, live on YouTube, while the Museum was closed to the public during the early pandemic before eventually being furloughed.

M.A. in Communications

During the Great Pause of 2020, I had time to think about my next career move and knew I wanted to learn new skills so I could communicate the engaging stories of science and the natural world, its frontiers, and the people who push them in the digital age. In order to do that, I chose to pursue a M.A. in Strategic Communication from Hawaiʻi Pacific University, focusing on digital communications, graphic design, and environmental communication.

At Hawaiʻi Pacific University, I have completed the following coursework:

Photography, Videography, and Post Production

Graphic Design

Web Design

International Communication

Media Law & Ethics

Communication Theory

Communication Research Methods

Thanks to my time at HPU, I am now proficient at using Adobe Photoship, Lightroom Classic, Premier Pro, and Dreamweaver for graphic design, web design, and photo & video production.

Kaulunani Urban & Community Forestry Program

As the Communications Coordinator for Kaulunani Urban & Community Forestry Program I'm responsible for publishing the quarterly eNewsletter ʻUlu Bites, managing the @kaulunani social media accounts, updating website content, publishing press releases, and photography & videography. Through these mediums I communicate who Kaulunani are as a division of State Government, grant funding opportunities for local community organizations, and urban & community forestry tools and resources.


Iʻve updated Kaulunani's logo and style guide to be more modern and scaleable to different formats and sizes. I've significantly grown the organization's online presence, and established it's first eNewsletter publication. I'm also the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree City USA & Tree Campus Higher Education coordinator for all the communities in the State of Hawaiʻi and am responsible for communicating all the Arbor Day celebrations taking place across the islands.