Figuring out what works and why 

Under the umbrella of STEM Education and natural resource management, my research uses mixed methods to ask what contextual characteristics and policy, management, or education strategies influence outcomes. At a basic level, I want to know what works and why does it work. I use remote sensing and GIS techniques to describe land use and land cover changes and qualitative interview and survey analysis to assess social interactions and motivations. To explain impacts and responses to decisions, I combine social and natural science data in variable importance and machine learning models. These models are then used to develop decision-support tools and assessment instruments. These methods can be applied to many different management and policy situations and frequently make use of already existing data in new contexts.