Bio

I grew up in the suburb of Lacey, WA and have always loved the ocean and traveling. My mom, dad, older brother and I vacationed in Hawai'i and the Florida Keys, where scuba diving and small hikes to vistas fueled my interest in the marine environment. My high school Spanish courses provided the opportunity to travel to Europe and Costa Rica, which solidified my interest in international travel.

As an undergraduate, I attended the University of Puget Sound (UPS) and focused my studies on organisms, ecosystems and their interactions. I also studied biogeography and biodiversity conservation while in Adelaide, South Australia for a semester. It was in Australia that I first became aware of the significant role which seabirds play in the marine environment and their extensive annual migrations.

After finishing my bachelor's degree and a senior research thesis, I sought research experience combining my love of the ocean with seabirds. I have since worked with Blue-footed Boobies on Isla Isabel, Mexico, Pink-footed Shearwaters in the Juan Fernández Islands, Chile, and a variety of species on Southeast Farallon Island, central California.

My research interests are based in ecological research that can be directly applied to the conservation of marine ecosystems, particularly those used by Procellariiformes. My research at HPU involves the evaluation of Black-footed Albatross distributions and habitats within central California National Marine Sanctuaries during the post-breeding season using vessel survey and tagging data from 2004-2008. This information will be used to identify areas of aggregation (hotspots) and to characterize the corridors linking to other important high use areas outside of sanctuary waters.