I grew up on the Olympic Peninsula in Western Washington state, where hiking, foraging, and fishing are a way of life. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington in 2021, where I completed a thesis on Cenozoic trace fossils found on the flanks of Mt. St. Helens. Currently I am a PhD student at the University of Wyoming, where I study Cenozoic Central Andean marine fossil communities and their response to shifts in climate as a result of Andean Volcanism. I enjoy hiking and foraging with my dog, Molly.