Overview

After earning a BSc in Environmental Geoscience and GIS from Texas A&M University, I wanted to explore the usefulness of social science in creating more sustainable and equitable conservation and development policy in marine areas around the world. I later earned a Master of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington, where I refined my focus on qualitative methods and critical geography as applied to conservation and development, and co-authored a report published by the IUCN Global Gender Office assessing attention to women’s participation and gender equity in the national reporting mechanisms of the Ramsar Convention and World Heritage Convention. Now in the Environment and Sustainability Institute at University of Exeter, my research will critically examine the implications of trade-offs among ecosystem services in marine planning contexts for human rights and wellbeing objectives.

I have also worked in climate change adaptation planning for tribal and state governments in the United States; led environmental education in Sabah, Malaysia with the U.S. Department of State Fulbright program; and conducted research supporting land and marine tenure rights security for indigenous groups in Malaysia.

Broad research specialisms

Marine protected areas
Gender and environment
Qualitative methods

Qualifications

BSc Environmental Geoscience

Master of Marine Affairs

Links

• current project site
• info site