About me

Welcome to my personal website! I am an independent paleontological researcher specializing in the study of the evolution of extinct amphibians in deep time. I mostly recently was affiliated with the University of Washington as a postdoctoral researcher and then a part-time research scientist as I transitioned out of academia.
A little about me...
Like many kids, I grew up fascinated by dinosaurs and most things extinct. I spent quite a lot of my childhood reading books about these fantastical animals and dragging my family (primarily my mom) around the greater LA area to any museum or exhibition that was tangentially related to the history of life on Earth. I've had some great opportunities, many with the LA County Museum of Natural History, that cemented my determination to pursue a career in paleontology.
    I earned my B.A. in geology with a minor in biology from Pomona College (Claremont, CA), where I was involved with research projects led by Brian Kraatz on paleoecosystem modeling and by Lars Schmitz on sensitivity analyses of ecomorphological models. I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in the department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. My dissertation research centered around studying the paleobiology (ecology, evolution, phylogeny, ontogeny) of early Permian dissorophoid temnospondyls from Richards Spur, Oklahoma. I then went on to work on temnospondyls from the Triassic of Antarctic for my postdoc work.
   I've done fieldwork all over the American southwest for the last decade, mostly split between Jurassic sauropods and Late Triassic vertebrates. At some point, I drifted away from dinosaurs and drifted into amphibians, which I am now enthusiastically engaged with for most of my research.

February 2023 update

As many folks may be aware of from my social media, I have recently decided to make a career pivot and leave academia and paleontology (the #altac lifestyle). Please refer to my Updates page for more information as well as details on my current involvement with paleontology and academia.

Teaching experience

2020​
  • Vertebrate Form and Function (BIO 354), UTM, lab/marking TA
  • Major Features of Vertebrate Evolution (BIO 356), UTM, marking TA
2019
  • History of Our Living Planet (BIO 211), UTM, course instructor
  • Vertebrate​ Form and Function (BIO 354), UTM, lab/marking TA
2018
  • History of Our Living Planet (BIO 211), UTM, course instructor
  • Vertebrate Form and Function (BIO 354), UTM, lab/marking TA
  • Major Features of Vertebrate Evolution (BIO 356), UTM, marking TA
2017
  • History of Our Living Planet (BIO 211), UTM, course instructor
  • Vertebrate Form and Function (BIO 354), UTM, lab/marking TA
2016
  • History of Our Living Planet (BIO 211), UTM, marking TA
  • Major Features of Vertebrate Evolution (BIO 356), UTM, marking TA
2014
  • Earth History (GEOL 125), Pomona College, lab TA
2012-2016
  • ​Claremont PALS, Mountain View Elementary (Claremont, CA), volunteer science instructor

Education & training

Postdoctoral scholar (2020–2022)
University of Washington

Ph.D., Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (2016–2020)
University of Toronto

B.A., Geology; minor, Biology (2012–2016)
​Pomona College

Museum collections experience

  • American Museum of Natural History (AMNH); New York, NY
  • Australian Museum (AM); Sydney, NSW
  • Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO); AZ
  • Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CM); Pittsburgh, PA
  • Field Museum (FMNH); Chicago, IL
  • Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA); Flagstaff, AZ
  • Panhandle Plains Historical Museum (PPHM); Canyon, TX
  • University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP); Berkeley, CA
  • University of Kansas Museum of Natural History (KUVP); Lawrence, KS
  • University of Missouri (UM); Columbia, MO
  • University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology (UMMP); Ann Arbor, MH
  • University of Washington Burke Museum (UWBM); Seattle, WA
  • University of Wisconsin Geology Museum (UWGM); Madison, WI