Experience

• UCLA

  Teaching Associate

  Environmental Science Practicum, fall 2012 & 2013: Course in the use of ArcGIS mapping program.
  I taught and redeveloped the lab portion of this course, developing ten 30-minute lectures.
  
  Population Genetics, spring 2012: Principles of population genetics, examining molecular and
  population level processes. I taught discussion sections and developed lesson plans and quizzes.
  
  Ecology and Animal Behavior, spring 2008 & fall 2009: This course covers ecology, animal behavior
  and evolution. I introduced students to the scientific method and experiment design.
  
  Ecology and Animal Behavior, fall 2008 & winter 2009: I was responsible for grading and assisted in
  the question development of three exams in a course of over 200 students.
  
  Aquatic Ecology, fall 2011: This course covers an overview of species and communities in marine and freshwater environments. I was responsible for grading and assisted in exam development.

• NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow

  I worked in the NASA Earth Science Division with the Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting programs that span both research and applied. I served as an in-house “consultant” on topics related to biology with a particular focus on advancing the pairing of ecological, genetic, and evolutionary data with remote sensing toolsets to answer scientific questions. I assisted NASA panel review process for these programs and developing new calls for proposals in areas essential for biodiversity research. I managed several NASA inter-agency collaborations to advance biodiversity research and conservation, working with counterparts at the EPA, WWF, NISC, OSTP, CI, USDA, USGS, FWS, and USGCRP. I worked on several efforts to communicate NASA accomplishments to the public and academic community. One of my major projects focused on the improvement of NASA panel review process.

• NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

  Senior Support Scientist

  I support program management for the NASA Biodiversity and Ecological Forecasting programs.

• Peace Corps

  Environmental Education and Gender and Development Volunteer

  In my first two years, I was stationed in an elementary school in the city of Atar, Mauritania. I taught 3rd-5th grade science to elementary school students. I additionally worked with staff to assist in curriculum development, integrating environmental science and health related themes into coursework. I ran after school programs to increase French literacy and performance in Science. Additionally, I developed curriculum and taught introductory and intermediate level English night classes to adults. I led several city-wide initiatives to develop a citizen driven trash collection system. I also organized two summer camps where over 100 elementary school girls from across the country came together for a week to learn about health and environmental issues. In my last year, I directed 14 Girls’ Mentoring Centers throughout the country that provided after-school classes to high school age girls. I also organized large-scale events, including teacher training programs and literacy campaigns. In the summer of my last two years I planned and implemented the training of 35 new Peace Corps volunteers, and assisted in the training of 80 others.

• Texas A&M University

  Visiting Assistant Professor

  I came to Texas A&M to develop a funded project examining treeline advance in white spruce throughout Alaska. In my first year I designed a study to employ a landscape genetic toolset to determine the degree to which treeline expansion is driven by sexual or asexual reproduction and the contribution of nearby or long distance sources to new seedling establishment. In the summer of 2015 I led a team of three people (including an NSF REU student) for eight weeks in Alaska where we sampled 23 sites. Data analysis and publication preparation for this work is underway.
  
  I developed and instructed a course in biogeography, which covered major historic events that have shaped the diversification of global biodiversity and the ecological forces that govern species distribution, survival, and interaction. We begin with an introduction to evolution by natural selection and niche constraints and build toward emerging hypotheses of biogeography and phylogenetics.
  
  While at Texas A&M, I mentored sixteen undergraduate students working as research assistants in the lab or conducting independent research projects under my guidance. Students synthesized the work they conducted into a final product which included 11 conference poster presentations (two winning first place conference awards and one winning second place).