Education & Outreach
Educational philosophy
I believe that stewardship of our human and non-human community is life-affirming. I strive to know my local community more deeply so that I can become a more effective steward, and I work to help others do the same. This work is grounded in the ecosystems of New England and Panama, but I hope to cultivate a perspective with global relevance.
Let's Botanize
Let’s Botanize is an educational nonprofit working to spread curiosity, knowledge, and appreciation of plants. We are democratizing the study of plant biology by creating sophisticated but accessible content for social media, as well as innovative and engaging in-person workshops and presentations. Through our Instagram (@letsbotanize), we share videos and photos to spark curiosity, share scientific content, and highlight the enormous diversity of the botanical world. Let's Botanize is co-created with Jacob Suissa.
Conservation in Panama
I have worked with the Panama-based conservation and education nonprofit Geoversity since participating in its first meeting in 2016. My primary work has been founding and running the Mamoní Valley Preserve Natural History Project, an ongoing research and education initiative documenting biodiversity in their Mamoní Valley Preserve in central Panama. This entirely student-organized initiative provides hands-on fieldwork experiences for early-career biologists from the US and Panama, while conducting detailed biodiversity surveys and producing educational materials for the preserve. We have documented hundreds of species and produced waterproof field guides and reference books sharing what we've learned. I have also been the primary fundraiser for this work, securing a grant from the Harvard University Herbaria, as well as generous private donations from supporters of the preserve to fund these expeditions. I've presented on this work at Geoversity symposia in Panama and the US.
In addition to the Natural History Project, I have served as the naturalist on two of Geoversity's Trans-Continental expeditions. And I am currently developing the ecology curriculum for Geoversity's field-based gap year program.
Harvard Conservation Book Club
I co-founded and organized Harvard Conservation Book Club, a forum for undergraduate and graduate students at Harvard to read and discuss conservation-related literature from both academic journals and the popular press. We have engaged with a wide range of topics, from land protection, to environmental equity, to conservation communication strategies. You can find our bibliography here.