coding, programming, and data vis
understandable and approachable instruction in beginner-to-advanced programming
advancing programming in ecology
Though computational techniques are broadly applicable to ecological questions, I have found that data science and ecology are built from fundamentally different skills that are difficult to master within a single program of study. In order to propogate these skills in fellow ecologists, I teach R programming workshops on data manipulation, data visualization, web application development, and statistical modeling. I regularly teach for groups such as the Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, the BIOS2 Program, and the McGill Computational Data Systems Initiative, as well as ad hoc workshops when the opportunity arises. I have also guest lectured in statistics and data science at two instutions and actively participate in the #TidyTuesday online code-sharing data visualization community.
outdoor education, ecotourism, & outreach
Promoting interest in natural science through connecting people to the outdoors.
outdoor guiding & ecotourism
I believe one of the most effective ways to engage people with natural science is to help them experience it up close and personal. To do so, I spent three summers guiding 1- to 5-day sea kayak tours in the San Juan Islands, the most beautiful place in the world, and one additional summer as an international guide for a high school conservation biology trip through Thailand. I also worked as the High Adventure Director at a central Texas summer camp, teaching outdoor skills and leading a 5-day kayak trip through the Chihuauan Desert. From 2017-2020, I was a certified Wilderness First Responder, leaving me with valuable skills in preparedness and leadership that have been helpful in many scientific fieldwork endeavors.
K-12 education
I have a long history of sharing natural science through experiential teaching. I have taught weekly marine ecology lessons to second grade classrooms in Anacortes, WA, run after-school science programs in low-income grade schools in Austin, TX, and instructed outdoor classrooms for coastal ecology field schools in the San Juan Islands. I have worked in education for youth of all ages, from outdoor preschool to high school. In 2013, I founded the Environmental Stewardship Program at a Central Texas summer camp which persist to this day.
In fact, I secured my first ever research-adjacent position— husbandry assistant in an animal behavior lab— thanks, in part, to the skills I gained from my undergraduate weekend job as an animal handler at an educational mobile petting zoo, so I will never understate the validity of nature education as a pathway to a career in scientific research.