ABOUT ME

As an undergraduate at USD, I worked with Dr. Andrew Nosal studying leopard shark aggregation behavior using drone aerial footage. I also did research under Dr. Nathalie Reyns on the spatial ecology and burrowing behavior of the invasive Asian mussel, Arcuatula senhousia, and I presented my findings at the 2019 SACNAS meeting in Honolulu, Hawai'i and at the 2020 Ocean Science Meeting in San Diego, California.

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My master's thesis revolved around shovelnose guitarfish and California bat rays, where I analyzed their migration along Southern California's coast, as well as their philopatry to La Jolla, CA, a well-known aggregation site for sharks and rays, using long-term acoustic telemetry data. I defended my thesis in April and presented my research at the 2022 Joint Meeting for Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. I plan to pursue a PhD with the hopes of continuing non-invasive tracking and behavioral research.

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Besides research, I am extremely active in outreach, being featured on National Geographic's "Sharks that Eat Everything" and planning and participating in events with Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS). I wasalso the co-host of a podcast called LGBTQ+ STEM Cast, a year-long pandemic project where we interviewed LGBTQ+ identifying scientists from all over the world!