I aspire to improve our understanding of coral reef geology and structure, and to educate the public and new scientists. My interests include mesophotic coral ecosystems and geology, artificial reefs, habitat restoration, coastal erosion and mitigation, and sea-level change. After starting in optical and electrical engineering, I discovered my preference for working outside and earned a B.S. in Geology from the University of Maryland in 2007.
My interest in marine geology began when I became SCUBA certified in Little Cayman in 2005 and grew during a 2006 internship with Dr. Robert Ginsburg in Miami, which led to my senior thesis, Taphonomy of the Late Pleistocene Key Largo Limestone: A comparison of modern and ancient coral reef ecosystems.
I received my PhD in Marine Geology and Geophysics from the University of Miami (RSMAS) in 2014. My dissertation, Deep reef bioerosion and deposition: Sedimentology of mesophotic coral reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands, provided one of the first in-depth analyses of the structural foundation of mesophotic reefs, allowing for estimates of their past and future growth potential. It was funded by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, with additional support from the Geological Society of America, Sigma Xi, the GCSSEPM Foundation, ExxonMobil, the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences, the Leonard and Jayne Abess/Citizens Board, and other University of Miami programs.
As a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science postdoctoral fellow at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, in James Reimer’s MISE lab, I analyzed mesophotic coral reef recovery after major typhoon damage. Then, with a Zuckerman Postdoctoral Scholarship at the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel, I studied the age and sea-level history of submerged fossil terraces in the Gulf of Aqaba, which form the basis for Israel’s mesophotic coral reef ecosystems.
Since working in academia, I have continued to collaborate with colleagues on mesophotic reef research (ongoing projects in Okinawa, Japan, and Eilat, Israel). I have also worked as a government contractor supporting NOAA and the Office of Naval Research; as a Federal employee for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (NEPA coastal studies, primarily related to Port Everglades); as a Senior Water Resilience Program Manager supporting the Assistant Secretary of the Navy; and as Director of Strategy and Lead Scientist, and now Board Member and Chief Science Officer (CSO), for the marine conservation and restoration nonprofit Ocean Rescue Alliance International (specializing in artificial reefs).
