curriculum vitae

My research is broadly motivated by the question, "How do we create a better world together?" The research teams I'm part of are interested in questions that describe our world, how we got here, where we want to go, and how we want to get there. We do this by implementing multi-, inter-, and trans-disciplinary approaches. Listed below are some of the projects I'm currently involved in. 

urban forestry, greening, and stewardship 

I'm generally interested in the distribution, organization, and motivations for urban forestry, greening, and stewardship. This line of inquiry began when I was part of The Nature Conservancy's NY Cities Program, supporting the team in data analysis and communications describing what the urban forest and green roof extent in NYC is, and how it varies across neighborhoods and property types. This led me to explore the role of both public and private jurisdiction of the urban forest, and the dynamics of green infrastructure expansion and gentrification. I expanded on these interests as a postdoctoral researcher in the U.S. Forest Service's Stewardship Science team, particularly as it relates to workforce development in the environmental sector, and temporal change and its drivers in stewardship organizations.

participatory research, knowledge production, and cultural and educational institutions

My work in this topic is motivated by asking how and why people lead and/or get involved in research and natural history, and how this impacts autonomy and sovereignty. These questions have blossomed into work with collaborators across disciplines, in particular: Jacobo Zambrano, with whom I've collaborated in art-museum studies research and practice; Mariana Varese (Wildlife Conservation Society) and Carlos Rodriguez (Tropenbos Colombia) with whom we led the writing for a chapter on open and collaborative knowledge for sustainable development in the Amazon for the Science Panel for the Amazon Report; and an analysis of global inequity in bird scientific names and its implications with Daniela Palmer and Shane DuBay. Ongoing projects include community-building among biocultural stewards, the development of facilitation tools and the theoretical foundation of co-learning spaces as part of the U.S. Forest Service's Stewardship Science team and inquiry on public participation in scientific research and decision-making in the tropics and on rhythmicity and reciprocity in river management with Florida International University's Tropical Rivers Lab.

perceptions of and relations with other nature by humans

As part of my dissertation research, we surveyed urban residents in four Peruvian cities (Lima, Iquitos, Huacho, and Nauta) on their knowledge, perspectives, engagement, and curiosity with avian biodiversity (research team included Mario Caller, Cristina Palao, Claudia Pezo, Xiomara Valdivia, and Estrella Velásquez). I have also collaborated with Ana Rojas in her investigation of Leticia and Puerto Nariño (Colombia) residents' perceptions on paiche (Arapaima gigas) towards making the case for keystone species conservation strategies. In NYC, I have also explored urban residents' priorities, stories, and perceptions regarding the urban forest, particularly those of renters and owners in private property. 

conservation and past research

As an Interdisciplinary Scientist for The Nature Conservancy's NY Cities Program, we worked on supporting urban conservation In NYC. For more information on this applied conservation work, please see the Future Forest NYC website, Forest for All NYC Coalition, and the Just Nature Partnership with the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance. Collaborations with these partners continue.

Prior to joining TNC, I worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society in various roles. Most recently, I was a Scientist for WCS's Amazon Waters Initiative, where I helped coordinate the Comité Impulsor and write science communications materials. As a program officer for the Wildlife Conservation Society's Amazonía Program, I was part of the management team of multiple international projects, including the Citizen Science for the Amazon Project, the Amazon Waters Initiative, and the Loreto and Manu-Tambopata Consortium. I also participated in multiple conservation strategy planning workshops at different scales, including national park, institutional, and range-wide species. Some of this work required taxonomic and ecological research. 

I was also formally trained in ecology and evolutionary biology. My doctoral research focused on how how urban bird communities differ from their respective regional bird communities. By using eBird data, Sebastian Heilpern, Brian Weeks, and I explored patterns of biodiversity between urban bird communities and rural bird communities across Latin America, particularly as it relates to species richness. Additionally, with Claudio Gómez-Gonzáles, we explored new ways to visualize and assess functional diversity using persistent homology. I also collaborated with Jacob Johnson to explore patterns of song differentiation across the globe, and with Susana Cubas, Joaquín Grández, Igor Lazo, and Francisco Vásquez to systematically explore patterns of biodiversity in Lima, Iquitos, Huacho, and Nauta. Finally, I also explored genetic differentiation in five bird species in these four cities, particularly as it relates to serotonin regulation. As an undergraduate, I researched the foraging behavior of wintering Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) in central Florida.