I am an environmental anthropologist and Ph.D. candidate in Applied Anthropology at Oregon State University. My research explores how people make sense of environmental change and how different ways of knowing shape decision-making, adaptation, conflict, and collaboration.

Drawing on ethnography, cultural models theory, and community-engaged research, I examine how knowledge, experience, values, and relationships influence environmental futures. I am particularly interested in making visible the assumptions and forms of understanding that often remain implicit within environmental debates and management processes.

My current work focuses on fisheries, rivers, and climate adaptation in the Pacific Northwest. Working with salmon fishing communities, Tribal partners, scientists, and resource managers, I seek to better understand how people navigate ecological change, uncertainty, and competing visions for the future.

More broadly, I am interested in human-environment relationships, cultural models and meaning-making, environmental decision-making, public and applied anthropology, and creating opportunities for understanding across perspectives.

The Klamath River Project

As a Research Assistant on an interdisciplinary team, I contribute to community-engaged research and partnership-building surrounding post-dam removal restoration in the Klamath River Basin. This work brings together scientists, Tribal partners, community members, and resource managers working across interconnected ecological and social systems. Read about the project

The Socio-cultural Research

Our team investigates how communities understand environmental change, uncertainty, and resource management. Through ethnographic and mixed-methods approaches, we examine the experiences, relationships, and systems of meaning that shape environmental decisions and their consequences. This work seeks to make social insights more visible and useful within interdisciplinary and applied contexts. Read about my team

My Doctoral Research

My dissertation examines how ocean salmon fishing communities in Oregon and California understand ecological change, fisheries management, and adaptation across connected river-ocean systems. Through ethnographic interviews and cultural models research, I explore how fishermen make sense of uncertainty, expertise, risk, and the future of fishing communities. This work asks how different forms of knowledge become consequential in environmental decision-making and how understanding diverse perspectives can support more thoughtful and inclusive approaches to resource management. Read about me, my research, and my journey