Employment & Internships

Woodwell Climate Research Center / ACES Fellow

As an ACES fellow, I worked with Dr. Christopher Neill and Patrick Farrar at the Woodwell Climate Research Center on a variety of conservation, restoration, and monitoring projects. During the first half of my year, Dr. Neill and I developed a methods comparison for comprehensive vegetation sampling of restored wetland and grassland-like habitats. During the late winter, I organized and led an upstream monitoring effort that aimed to pinpoint areas where excess nutrient contamination might be entering watersheds of the Buzzards Bay area. Additionally, I assisted in lab and field operations to achieve the project goals and meet deadlines that our lab was faced with.

During my year, I also participated in the Young Voices of Science program, published an op-ed, wrote a piece for the Woodwell magazine, and developed two pieces of curriculum support for the Falmouth Public School district. Links to my work, and more details of the fellowship can be found in this StoryMap here.

Evolving Meta-Ecosystems Institute (EVOME) / Research Assistant

EVOME is an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional experiment based out of the Toolik Field Station of the Northen Slope, Alaska to investigate the climate resiliency of Arctic streams. Established teams of different expertise measure interconnected variables along a North-South gradient to investigate how community dynamics may change and/or support throughout climate change.

From late July to early September, I assisted with data collection on the Environmental team, developing skills in water sampling and morphological factors. During the take-down portion of the season, I gained an intimate understanding of the complexities of sustaining an active experiment in extreme and remote areas. I will be continuing this research during my year as an ACES Fellow at the Woodwell Climate Research Center.

Research Experience for Undergraduates on Sustainable Land and Water Resources (REU SLAWR) / Student Researcher

The REU SLAWR is a community-based and tribally focused program working to weave together Indigenous and Western knowledge in natural resource management.

For the summer, I was based in Duluth, MN at the University of Minnesota, where I worked with Nathan Johnson on wild rice mesocosm experiments that have been crucial in developing the strong environmental regulations in Northern Minnesota protecting. Dr. Johnson works in tight collaboration with the Fond du Lac (FDL) Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's Water Projects in their Environmental Program.

With FDL and Dr. Johnson, I designed and developed a research project on the effects of sulfate contamination on the recovery of wild rice (An Assessment of Porewater Phosphate during Wild Rice Recovery from Sulfate Contamination). The StoryMap detailing the research process and findings are publicly accessible and were presented to the Environmental Program and a youth camp in Fond du Lac.

Comunidades Organizando el Poder y Acción Latina (COPAL) / Canvasser

From August to November 2024, I worked with COPAL on their #mnlatinovote campaign. Through door knocking, phone banking, and rallies, we worked to active Latino communities around Minnesota.

COPAL is a non-profit community organization that intertwines providing essential services (i.e Primero de Mayo Workers' Center) with community-based advocacy for local and state-wide policies (i.e Driver's Licenses for All).

Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve- Long Term Ecological Research / Intern

In the summer of 2023, I worked at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve as an intern. During this experience, I maintained a variety of international and national ongoing field experiments, with a focus on Experiment 120 (better known as Big Bio), Effects of Plant Biodiversity on Population and Ecosystem Processes.

While at Cedar Creek, I was introduced to experimental design. My mentors guided me through the design, development, and execution of an independent research project on macroinvertebrate sampling in lake and creek ecosystems.

Metropolitan Council- Regional Parks Department / Regional Parks Planning Fellow

In my sophomore year at Macalester, I worked at the Metropolitan Council as the Regional Parks Planning Fellow, where I reviewed and edited the 2040 Regional Parks Policy Plan (RPPP) to increase accessibility and clarity of the document. One of the main goals of the RPPP was to increase the age, ability, racial, and experiece-level diversity of attendees of parks throughout the metropolitan area.

During my fellowship, I researched county and city park policy plans and wrote reports on key differences and take-aways of each document, with a focus on community engagement of marginalized communities.

It was also a personal goal of mine to get all of the folks in the office to sled face first (#accomplished).