I am a Data Scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service. As a liaison for the NOAA Fisheries Open Science Initiative, I provide support and training to modernize and streamline NOAA Fisheries data workflows. I am also a PhD Candidate studying broad-scale dynamics of western Atlantic teleost communities. In addition to being a fish geek, I have a passion for mathematics and hold a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Miami with majors in Marine Science, Biology, and Statistics. My research interests include marine ecology, spatiotemporal dynamics of fishes across multiple scales of space, time, and biological organization, open source science, spatial and community analysis in R, and species distribution modeling. I am particularly fascinated with metacommunity theory, which seeks to reconcile the local and regional processes that influence the distribution of organisms in space and time.

Interests
  • Open Science
  • Marine Ecology
  • Spatiotemporal Community Dynamics
  • R Statistical Coding
  • Species distribution modeling
Education

  • BSc in Marine Science, Biology, and Mathematics, 2012

    University of Miami

Education

 
 
 
 
 
Ph.D. Candidate
University of South Florida College of Marine Science
Aug 2016 – Present St. Petersburg, FL
Ph.D. Candidate in Marine Science, Marine Resource Concentration
 
 
 
 
 
Bachelor of Science
University of Miami
Aug 2012 – May 2016 Coral Gables, FL
B.S. in Marine and Atmospheric Science with Departmental Honors in Marine Science
Majors in Marine Science, Biology, and Mathematics (Probability and Statistics Concentration)
Minor in Psychology

Research and Laboratory Experience

 
 
 
 
 
Data Scientist
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service
Sep 2024 – Present Seattle, WA
Serving as a liason for the NOAA Fisheries Open Science Initiative. Providing technical training and support for open science and data science tools and workflows. Evaluating novel tools for improving data science workflows throughout NOAA Fisheries.
 
 
 
 
 
Associate Research Scientist
Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
Nov 2021 – Sep 2024 St. Petersburg, FL
Provided computational, field, and laboratory support for the Fisheries-Independent Monitoring program to provide data for fisheries management. Investigated ecological questions using fisheries-independent data and publishing results for use by the scientific community.
 
 
 
 
 
Graduate Student/Laboratory Technician
University of South Florida College of Marine Science
May 2016 – Present St. Petersburg, FL
Leading study on spatiotemporal dynamics of western Atlantic marine metacommunities. Collaborating on several projects focusing on fish ecology in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
 
 
 
 
 
Aquarium Laboratory Manager
University of South Florida College of Marine Science
Aug 2017 – Aug 2018 St. Petersburg, FL
Oversaw maintenance and upkeep of the college’s aquarium facilities.
 
 
 
 
 
Student Researcher
NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center
Jan 2015 – Dec 2016 Beaufort, NC
Internship through the NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program focused on the diet of invasive lionfish in the western Atlantic.
 
 
 
 
 
Volunteer Research Assistant
University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
Sep 2013 – May 2016 Coral Gables, FL
Assisted with sorting and identifying settlement-stage reef fish from light trap samples in the Reef Fish Ecology Lab under the guidance of Esther Goldstein.
 
 
 
 
 
Student Researcher
Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology
Jun 2013 – Aug 2014 Baltimore, MD
Spent two summers in the Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center program working under Dr. Alan Place and Dr. Yoni Zohar on projects involving sustainable marine aquaculture.

Teaching Experience

 
 
 
 
 
Teaching Assistant
University of South Florida College of Marine Science
Jan 2017 – May 2021 St. Petersburg, FL
  • Formal teaching assistant for Biometry (Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020) and Applied Multivariate Statistics (AMS; Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021) courses for College of Marine Science graduate students
  • Informal teaching aid to an Introduction to R Statistical Programming course (Spring 2017) for CMS graduate students and faculty/staff

Honors, Scholarships, Fellowships, and Awards

Conference Presentation Grant Program Award
University of South Florida Student Government 2021
Guy Harvey Scholarship Award
Florida Sea Grant 2021
Gulf Oceanographic Charitable Trust Fellowship Endowment
University of South Florida College of Marine Science 2021
St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership Fellowship in Coastal Science
University of South Florida College of Marine Science 2020
International Travel Grant
USF Office of Graduate Studies 2019
Linton Tibbets Endowed Graduate Student Fellowship
University of South Florida College of Marine Science 2018 – 2019
Student Travel Grant
American Fisheries Society Florida Chapter 2017
Anne and Werner Von Rosenstiel Fellowship
University of South Florida College of Marine Science 2016
Small Undergraduate Research Grant Experience Award
University of Miami 2015
Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2014 – 2016
Isaac Bashevis Singer Scholarship
University of Miami 2012 – 2016
Eagle Scout
Boy Scouts of America 2011

Posters and Presentations

Species assembly processes in a marine shelf groundfish metacommunity
Ecological Society of America Aug 2024
Long Beach, CA — Poster
Species responses to habitat, dispersal, and interactions in an estuarine metacommunity
Ecological Society of America Aug 2023
Portland, OR — Oral Presentation
Community dynamics of estuarine forage fishes
Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries Society May 2023
St. Augustine, FL — Oral Presentation
Community dynamics of estuarine forage fishes
American Fisheries Society Nov 2021
Baltimore, MD — Oral Presentation
Community structure and dynamics of forage fishes in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (1998-2017)
USF College of Marine Science Graduate Student Symposium Jan 2020
St. Petersburg, FL — Oral Presentation
Community structure and dynamics of forage fishes in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (1998-2017)
Western Society of Naturalists Oct 2019
Ensenada, Mexico — Oral Presentation
Metacommunities in 4D: Spatiotemporal dynamics of coastal marine metacommunities in the Western Atlantic
USF College of Marine Science Graduate Student Symposium Jan 2019
St. Petersburg, FL — Oral Presentation
A Meta-analysis of Invasive Lionfish Diet Throughout the Temperate and Tropical Western Atlantic
USF College of Marine Science Graduate Student Symposium Jan 2017
St. Petersburg, FL — Poster
A Meta-analysis of Invasive Lionfish Diet Throughout the Temperate and Tropical Western Atlantic
RSMAS Undergraduate Research, Creativity, and Innovation Forum Apr 2016
Coral Gables, FL — Poster
A Meta-analysis of Invasive Lionfish Diet Throughout the Temperate and Tropical Western Atlantic
Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Nov 2015
Panama City, Panama — Poster Presentation
Feeding Ecology of the Invasive Lionfish Pterois volitans: A New Tool for the Analysis of Lionfish Stomach Contents
USF College of Marine Science Graduate Student Symposium Aug 2015
Silver Spring, MD — Oral Presentation

Skills

Field

∙ Motorboat Operation ∙
∙ Scientific Diving ∙
∙ Visual Fish Survey ∙
∙ Spearfish Sampling ∙
∙ Hook-and-Line Sampling ∙
∙ Haul and Bag Seine Sampling ∙
∙ Trawl Sampling ∙

Laboratory

∙ PCR ∙
∙ LC-MS ∙
∙ Gel electrophoresis ∙
∙ Flow cytometry ∙
∙ Ethanol extraction ∙
∙ Microscopy ∙
∙ Otolith extraction and analysis ∙
∙ Larval reef fish identification ∙
∙ Stomach content identification ∙
∙ Stable isotope analysis ∙
∙ Fish dissection ∙
∙ Fish eye lens delamination ∙
∙ Batch fecundity estimation ∙

Technical

∙ R Programming ∙
∙ MATLAB ∙
∙ Scilab ∙
∙ PRIMER ∙
∙ Python Programming ∙
∙ SQL Database Management ∙
∙ Access Database Management ∙
∙ Visual Basic for Applications ∙
∙ Geographic Information Systems ∙
∙ Windows OS, Linux OS, ChromeOS ∙
∙ Microsoft Office ∙