I am a science writer, editor, audio producer, and photographer based in Austin, Texas.
I was first drawn to journalism when I found a 40-year-old wallet on a mountain in Alaska. Many cold calls and Facebook messages later, I tracked down the wallet’s long-lost owner, nearly 1,000 miles away. The experience became my first statewide radio story.
These days, I work at the intersection of environmental science, public health, and global change. One of the ways I do this is as a producer on the climate communications podcast, Climate Decoded. Through analysis and storytelling, Climate Decoded dives deep into how we talk, think, and act on climate change.
Whether I’m coaxing interviewees from their shells or diving deep into editing a watershed protection plan, I help people share their ideas — and I do it with nuance, precision, thoroughness, and no small amount of nerdy enthusiasm.
In recent years, I’ve reported on the far-ranging impacts of water insecurity on the U.S. border, how farmers and researchers are responding to increasingly salty irrigation water, how to understand hurricane forecasts, and more. I’ve created sound-rich audio stories about cicada mitochondrial genetics, nature-informed music and spirituality, and U.S.-Mexico groundwater politics. I’ve edited thousands of pages of academic articles, technical reports, and more, on topics ranging from hazardous firefighting chemicals to international water law. Documentary and fine art photography have also long been a part of my work.
How I got here
I previously worked as a science writer and editor for the Texas Water Resources Institute and as the managing editor of the Texas Water Journal. I’ve also worked as a science education program developer, frog research technician, apartment maintenance technician, animal skeleton articulator, dance photographer, and American Genetic Association/Journal of Heredity social media editor. I received my B.S. in biocultural anthropology with a minor in fisheries and wildlife science from Oregon State University and my M.S. in science and technology journalism from Texas A&M University.
When I’m not working, you can find me hiking and biking, singing and dancing, and gardening and watching birds. I was raised by a German immigrant and a Mainer in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, but I’ve since lived in Oregon, Alaska, North Carolina, and now Texas. They all feel like home.
To learn a little more about how I got here, you can read my interview with the National Association of Science Writers. You can see a sampling of my writing and audio work here and my photography here.
Professional affiliations
Society of Environmental Journalists, National Association of Science Writers, Association of Independents in Radio, Editorial Freelancers Association, Austin Texas Science Communicators