Born and raised in Juneau, Alaska I grew up fascinated with the natural world around me. I followed my childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist by obtaining a bachelors of science in marine biology from the University of California Santa Cruz. After graduating I spent a year volunteering at the University of Auckland's Leigh Marine Lab in New Zealand assisting graduate and doctoral candidates with their field and lab work ranging from banding stormy petrels to dissecting polychaetes. I returned to Alaska and worked various technician positions at the Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute in Juneau. In 2015 I was selected to work with Dr. Michael Stekoll on a feasibility study of seaweed mariculture in Alaska. The following year I was hired by Blue Evolution as their Alaska Mariculture Manager and designed, built, and operated the first two commercial seaweed hatcheries in Alaska. I left Blue Evolution in 2019 and began pursuing a graduate degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks' College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences focusing on improving the seaweed hatchery process.