Policy & Communications

Science-Policy Engagement & Impact

I am passionate about advancing and applying research that not only deepens our scientific understanding of the ocean, but also generates actionable insights to inform and influence policy decisions. My goal is to guide decision-makers toward sustainable and adaptive ocean management strategies grounded in rigorous science. By bridging research and practical policy applications, I strive to ensure that ocean science contributes to real-world impact and drives tangible conservation outcomes that benefit both nature and people.

To this end, I’ve participated in various capacities at several high-level international science-policy forums, including, the 2025 Our Ocean Conference, the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP28), and the 2018 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. At the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, I served as a panelist at a side event entitled “Women Making Waves: A Synergy of Ecosystem Science, Social Science, Neuroscience, Indigenous Knowledge & Policy to Inspire & Empower Ocean Action.”

In addition to participating in key international environmental governance forums, I also look for opportunities to strategically communicate science in ways that contribute meaningfully to policy dialogues. I strive to produce research that is not only policy-relevant, at both national and international scales, but also timed and positioned to inform key decision-making moments. For example, I co-authored a paper on the diverse benefits of the proposed biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty, which was strategically published just days before the 5th Session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the BBNJ treaty to inform discussions during a key phase of the treaty negotiations. To directly support decision-makers in the room, we distilled the paper into a concise one-pager that was shared with delegates at the IGC, serving as a targeted science communication tool. The paper was also amplified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature — through social media, a feature story, and a multimedia story.

Presentations

Oral presentations

1. “An intersectional analysis of gendered vulnerability and resilience to climate change in Palau.” 4S Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting. Honolulu, Hawaii. 8-11 November, 2023.
2. “The thermal corridor hypothesis: An experimental oceanographic approach to understanding the effects of ocean warming to North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles.” North Pacific Marine Science Organization PICES Annual Meeting. Seattle, Washington. 20-27 October, 2023.
3. “An intersectional analysis of fishers’ social-ecological resilience in Palau.” 14th annual Student Conference on Conservation Science-New York. 4-6 October, 2023, New York, New York. *Honorable mention in Best Oral Presentation
4. “Classifying bycatch mitigation measures across jurisdictions: A case study in the northeast Pacific.” Workshop on Innovating for Change in Global Fisheries Governance. 14-15 September 2023, Tromsø, Norway.
5. “Social-ecological impacts of climate change on small-scale fisheries in Palau.” 2023 ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting, 4-9 June 2023, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
6. “Climate-driven habitat shifts of Pacific predators within and beyond national jurisdiction.” 5th International Symposium on the Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Ocean. 17-21 April 2023, Bergen, Norway.
7. “Media Coverage and Public Perceptions of Threats Impacting Sea Turtle Populations.” Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting: Risk Science for Sustainability, 12-17 December 2020, remote.
8. “Development of an experimentally-calibrated drift model to determine likely locations of sea turtle stranding mortality”. 6th Mediterranean Conference on Marine Turtles. 16-19 October 2018, Porec, Croatia.
9. “Consequences of drift and decay of sea turtle carcasses for the estimation of turtle mortality locations from stranding data in the Chesapeake Bay.” 37th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. 15-20 April 2017, Las Vegas, Nevada. *Runner-up for the Archie Carr Best Student Oral Presentation in Conservation
10. “Identifying locations of and mechanisms for sea turtle mortality.” 16th Annual William and Mary Arts and Sciences Graduate Research Symposium. 24-25 March 2017, Williamsburg, VA.
11. “Identifying locations of and mechanisms for sea turtle mortality from stranding data using ocean drift models.” 31st Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, Tidewater Chapter. 9-11 March 2017, Virginia Beach, VA.

Poster presentations

1. “Identifying locations and mechanisms for sea turtle mortality from stranding data.” 36th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. 29 February – 4 March 2016, Lima, Peru.
2. “The effect of temperature and diet on growth of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch)”. Stony Brook University’s Undergraduate Research and Creativity poster symposium. April 2013, Suffolk, NY.

Additional Speaking Engagements

1. Featured panelist at an event highlighting careers in science diplomacy for The Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program. 9 April 2025. Meridian International Center, Washington, DC.
2. “Advancing integrated and dynamic fisheries management.” Invited panelist in a graduate-level law course on International Marine Law. 12 January 2024. Middleburg Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Monterey, CA.
3. “Science Communication & Visualization.” Guest speaker in a graduate-level fisheries seminar course (FISH 500). 3 March 2023. University of British Columbia (presented remotely).
4. “Human & Environmental Impacts on our Oceans.” Guest speaker in a undergraduate-level earth systems science course (ES 8 - The Oceans: Introduction to the Marine Environment). 25 May 2022. Stanford University, Stanford, CA.