2014-Present  Lead Scientist, Global Water Initiative, Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota

2010-2014   Global Landscapes Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute on the Environment, UMN

2010  Ph.D. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University, Stanford, CA

2000-2004   Membership and Public Education Senior Associate, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, NY

2000   B.A. in Science and Religion from Columbia University, New York, NY

Through research as diverse as payments for watershed services, global variation in “crop per drop”, and worldwide trends in water consumption and availability, I work to better understand how water use affects the environment and our ability to live well in it.

I always liked science, but I never thought I wanted to be a scientist, I was going to be a writer. I’d never even taken an environmental science class until I got to graduate school. Working for an environmental non-profit after college was really eye-opening for me, allowing me to see where human needs and science intersect. I opted to go to an interdisciplinary environmental graduate program so that I could focus on tying together biophysical science with human wellbeing. Never having taken a hydrology class before I got to graduate school turned out to be OK because I had taken enough science classes during undergraduate that I had a good track record, so potential advisors trusted that I’d be able to do the work. I’m now working in a research and outreach role that I love.