Work Experience
HDR, Inc.
Aquatic Sciences Team Lead/Regulatory Specialist
At my time at HDR, I have grown as an expert in Clean Water Act 316(b) compliance, transitioned to FERC hydropower relicensing and NEPA review, and used my background in wetlands and stream restoration through a variety of opportunities to serve our clients. I have used a range of publicly available information for GIS analyses of natural resources, fisheries population analyses, protected species surveys and consultations, fish habitat assessments, water quality analyses, invasive species control and monitoring, stream geomorphic assessments, wetland delineations, and Essential Fish Habitat consultations.
Geosyntec Consultants
Staff Scientist (December 2015 - present)
I was pleased to join the Geosyntec Consultants in December 2015. My current duties include wetland delineations following the Eastern Mountain and Piedmont and Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Regional Supplements, Jurisdictional Determination Requests, Clean Water Act permitting, stormwater permitting, coal combustion residual (CCR) landfill site suitability assessments, and protected species surveys. Some of my most exciting and challenging work with Geosyntec has been the fisheries analysis and writing of a study report as part of the FERC Integrated Licensing Process (ILP) for a multi-year hydropower relicensing project. For this study, I investigated of the effects of dam pumpback operations on water quality, and how suitable summer sportfish habitat may be limited and affecting fish communities.
Carolina Wetland Services, Inc.
Project Wetland Scientist (August 2014 - December 2015)
At CWS, I was pleased to develop skills in Section 404/401 Clean Water Act permitting, Individual Permits (IP), Compensatory Mitigation Assessments, NEPA Environmental Assessments (EA), Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, and in-lieu fee request applications. I also performed stream geomorphic surveys utilizing surveyor's level and rod, endangered species surveys, and wetland delineations in accordance with the 1987 USACE Wetland Delineation Manual and Piedmont Regional Supplement. Some of my favorite work centered around mitigation analyses and the restoration design of streams and wetlands.
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Ecological Resource Specialist (September 2013 - present)
Returning to Ash Meadows, I was happy to be leading the Aquatic Species and Habitats Program by directing endangered fish and invertebrate surveys, invasive species control and monitoring, and habitat management. I implemented spring restoration projects including fish and invertebrate salvage and relocation, revegetation, and follow-up monitoring of native and invasive species in two major spring systems. I also had the opportunity to work on Section 7 Biological Evaluations, Categorical Exclusions, Pesticide Use Proposals, and Take Memos.
University of Florida
Fisheries Technician (September 2010 – August 2011)
This position expanded much of my laboratory and field experience. In the lab I learned otolith and fin ray processing and aging, and in the field I learned radio telemetry tracking of largemouth bass as well as the basics of boat driving, backing, and trailering. I also had the opportunity to work with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) with sampling via electrofishing, fish identification and measurements, and QA/QC of a long-term data set.
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Ecological Technician (September 2009 – August 2010)
As an Ecological Technician, my duties were divided between aquatic and terrestrial work. I regularly trapped aquatic nuisance species (crayfish, mosquitofish, sailfin mollies), assisted with endangered fish species habitat use research, and reintroduced endemic fish and snail species to newly-restored spring systems. We conducted following-up monitoring of these springs to verify established populations, as well as native fish surveys for abundance estimates in many springs across the refuge. Terrestrial work involved constructing irrigation systems, planting native grasses and trees along riparian zones and meadows, and implemented weed control via herbicide application by backpack or tank spraying. Finally, I had the opportunity to assist refuge staff with public volunteers in cattail cutting, grass and tree plantings, and native fish salvage events.
Lake Champlain Research Institute
Research Aide (May 2009 – August 2009)
During my seasonal position with LCRI, I regularly sampled Lake Champlain for plankton community characterization for cooperative monitoring between New York and Vermont Department of Environmental Protection. I also deployed and collected mosquito traps for West Nile Virus monitoring throughout upstate New York in conjunction with the Clinton County Health Department. Laboratory work included collecting invertebrates from stream samples, and measurement of zooplankton mandible length by ImageJ software.
SUNY Plattsburgh Police Department
Office Manager Assistant (April 2006 – May 2009)
My work with the Police Department was located in the Parking Office. I regularly gave parking tickets to on-campus offenders, issued parking permits to students, faculty, and staff, and functioned as the student representative of the Ticket Appeals Board. In order to help train student ticketers, I wrote a “Guide to Ticketing” handbook. I also assisted the Office Manager with proof reading the Police Blotter for publication in the Cardinal Points newspaper, and with simple statistics with Excel program spreadsheets.
Aquatic Sciences Team Lead/Regulatory Specialist
At my time at HDR, I have grown as an expert in Clean Water Act 316(b) compliance, transitioned to FERC hydropower relicensing and NEPA review, and used my background in wetlands and stream restoration through a variety of opportunities to serve our clients. I have used a range of publicly available information for GIS analyses of natural resources, fisheries population analyses, protected species surveys and consultations, fish habitat assessments, water quality analyses, invasive species control and monitoring, stream geomorphic assessments, wetland delineations, and Essential Fish Habitat consultations.
Geosyntec Consultants
Staff Scientist (December 2015 - present)
I was pleased to join the Geosyntec Consultants in December 2015. My current duties include wetland delineations following the Eastern Mountain and Piedmont and Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Regional Supplements, Jurisdictional Determination Requests, Clean Water Act permitting, stormwater permitting, coal combustion residual (CCR) landfill site suitability assessments, and protected species surveys. Some of my most exciting and challenging work with Geosyntec has been the fisheries analysis and writing of a study report as part of the FERC Integrated Licensing Process (ILP) for a multi-year hydropower relicensing project. For this study, I investigated of the effects of dam pumpback operations on water quality, and how suitable summer sportfish habitat may be limited and affecting fish communities.
Carolina Wetland Services, Inc.
Project Wetland Scientist (August 2014 - December 2015)
At CWS, I was pleased to develop skills in Section 404/401 Clean Water Act permitting, Individual Permits (IP), Compensatory Mitigation Assessments, NEPA Environmental Assessments (EA), Phase I Environmental Site Assessments, and in-lieu fee request applications. I also performed stream geomorphic surveys utilizing surveyor's level and rod, endangered species surveys, and wetland delineations in accordance with the 1987 USACE Wetland Delineation Manual and Piedmont Regional Supplement. Some of my favorite work centered around mitigation analyses and the restoration design of streams and wetlands.
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Ecological Resource Specialist (September 2013 - present)
Returning to Ash Meadows, I was happy to be leading the Aquatic Species and Habitats Program by directing endangered fish and invertebrate surveys, invasive species control and monitoring, and habitat management. I implemented spring restoration projects including fish and invertebrate salvage and relocation, revegetation, and follow-up monitoring of native and invasive species in two major spring systems. I also had the opportunity to work on Section 7 Biological Evaluations, Categorical Exclusions, Pesticide Use Proposals, and Take Memos.
University of Florida
Fisheries Technician (September 2010 – August 2011)
This position expanded much of my laboratory and field experience. In the lab I learned otolith and fin ray processing and aging, and in the field I learned radio telemetry tracking of largemouth bass as well as the basics of boat driving, backing, and trailering. I also had the opportunity to work with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) with sampling via electrofishing, fish identification and measurements, and QA/QC of a long-term data set.
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Ecological Technician (September 2009 – August 2010)
As an Ecological Technician, my duties were divided between aquatic and terrestrial work. I regularly trapped aquatic nuisance species (crayfish, mosquitofish, sailfin mollies), assisted with endangered fish species habitat use research, and reintroduced endemic fish and snail species to newly-restored spring systems. We conducted following-up monitoring of these springs to verify established populations, as well as native fish surveys for abundance estimates in many springs across the refuge. Terrestrial work involved constructing irrigation systems, planting native grasses and trees along riparian zones and meadows, and implemented weed control via herbicide application by backpack or tank spraying. Finally, I had the opportunity to assist refuge staff with public volunteers in cattail cutting, grass and tree plantings, and native fish salvage events.
Lake Champlain Research Institute
Research Aide (May 2009 – August 2009)
During my seasonal position with LCRI, I regularly sampled Lake Champlain for plankton community characterization for cooperative monitoring between New York and Vermont Department of Environmental Protection. I also deployed and collected mosquito traps for West Nile Virus monitoring throughout upstate New York in conjunction with the Clinton County Health Department. Laboratory work included collecting invertebrates from stream samples, and measurement of zooplankton mandible length by ImageJ software.
SUNY Plattsburgh Police Department
Office Manager Assistant (April 2006 – May 2009)
My work with the Police Department was located in the Parking Office. I regularly gave parking tickets to on-campus offenders, issued parking permits to students, faculty, and staff, and functioned as the student representative of the Ticket Appeals Board. In order to help train student ticketers, I wrote a “Guide to Ticketing” handbook. I also assisted the Office Manager with proof reading the Police Blotter for publication in the Cardinal Points newspaper, and with simple statistics with Excel program spreadsheets.