Welcome to my site!

I am a student researcher interested in all things wild – especially birds, and I have a passion for science communication and environmental history, advocacy, and conservation. I am also a published author in peer-reviewed journals and the American Birding Association’s Birding magazine. I love exploring nature, birdwatching, and reading about the history of the environment during my free time, and engage my community through my NativeBiota Project.

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The hunt for the Dusky Warbler

The hunt for the Dusky Warbler

GoNative! Promoting native plants

GoNative! Promoting native plants

 
 

Research

My current research focuses on avian migration ecology, conservation paleobiology, and restoration ecology.

Selected Conference Presentations and Invited Talks

I feel honored to have had the opportunity to share my research findings with scientists, researchers, and students from all over the world by presenting at regional, domestic, and international conferences.

  • 2nd Crossing the Paleontological-Ecological Gap Conference, Berlin

    Oral Presentation, 2021

  • 2021 Joint Meeting of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the Society of Canadian Ornithologists – Société des ornithologistes du Canada (SCO-SOC)

    Oral Presentation, 2021

  • 5th Annual Digital Data Conference

    Oral Presentation, 2021

  • The Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Cordilleran Section

    Oral Presentation, 2021

  • Northeast Natural History Conference

    Oral Presentation, 2021

  • Southern California Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting

    Research Poster Presentation, 2021

  • North American Congress for Conservation Biology

    Research Poster Presentation, 2020

    Best Poster with a Conservation Application

  • Southern California Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting

    Research Poster Presentation, 2020

  • 4th Annual Digital Data Conference, Indiana University

    Research Poster Presentation, 2020

  • Annual Urban Ecology & Conservation Symposium (UECS), Portland, OR

    Research Poster Presentation, 2020

  • 3rd International Conference on Ecology, Ecosystem and Conservation Biology, Chicago, IL

    Research Poster Presentation, 2019

  • International Urban Wildlife Conference, Portland, OR

    Oral Presenation, 2019

  • 17th Annual Urban Ecology & Conservation Symposium, Portland, OR

    Research Poster, 2019

    Best Poster Award

  • Data Science Symposium, American Statistical Association Orange County/Long Beach (ASA/OCLB) Chapter

    Featured Talk, 2020

  • July meeting of the Southern California Paleontological Society

    Invited Talk, 2020

  • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Canada Flintridge, CA

    Brownbag Talk, 2019

  • Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference

    Oral Presentation, 2020

  • Student Conference on Conservation Science, New York

    Speed Talk, 2021

  • San Diego Archaeological Center

    Living Room Lecture, 2021

Volunteering

I founded The NativeBiota Project to fight for bird-related causes, share my love for nature with others, and preserve urban wildlife habitats. The NativeBiota Project has partnered with the Pasadena Audubon Society, World Wildlife Fund - India, and numerous online birding and naturalist communities to promote native urban habitats and catalog biodiversity on 2 continents. To date, we have documented 16,000+ wildlife observations in iNaturalist spanning 2800+ species. These observations are then available to scientists for conservation and research.

Bird hike anyone?

The NativeBiota Project

 

Experience

  • Student Researcher, Middlebury College HEDGE Lab

    Used paleoecology to answer pressing questions in conservation biology related to the critically endangered California Condor and the management of the introduced Wild Turkey populations in California. Link

  • CEE/MIT RSI Scholar

    Researcher in the MIT MSEAS Lab. Used neural closure techniques in terrestrial ecology for the first time to study lemming population dynamics. Link

  • Researcher, Colorado State University AeroEco Lab

    Extended the use of radar data to monitor Alaskan avian migration for the first time. Link

  • Student Researcher, The Moore Lab of Zoology, Occidental College

    Studied scrub jay morphology and identified misclassified feral parrot images in the eBird and iNaturalist databases.

  • Independent Researcher

    Studied biodiversity changes after wetland habitat restoration using remote sensing.

  • Board Member, Pasadena Audubon Society

    Vote on decisions on field trips, education, conservation, outreach, and other initiatives. Link

  • Advocacy & Conservation Chair, Pasadena Audubon Society

    Lead the bird-friendly street trees initiative for Pasadena. Link

  • Diversity Committee Member, American Ornithological Society

    Chartered to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the ornithology community. Link

  • Founder, The NativeBiota Project

    Founded The NativeBiota Project in 2018 to conserve nature community by community. Started 4 major initiatives. Conducted BioBlitzes to catalog thousands of wildlife observations on 2 continents. Distributed hundreds of native plant brochures to educate the public on urban wildlife habitats. Created a website for petition campaigns and online educational material. Collaborated with Pasadena Audubon, World Wildlife Fund - India, and a large online community of iNaturalists and birders. Link

 

In the News / Featured

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