ABOUT ME
As a PhD Candidate in Environmental Engineering at Drexel University, I am dedicated to research and project design at the intersection of sustainable development and community betterment. Before moving to Philadelphia for graduate school, I was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, where my Montessori education shaped how I learn and lead with curiosity, reflection, and immersion. Since high school, my research has spanned scales from microbiology to regional climate patterns (see Projects for details). Across laboratories, service organizations, and applied work, I’ve learned how to connect technical rigor with real-world constraints and how meaningful environmental work depends on communication, trust, and sustained collaboration.
​At Drexel, I am a Research Assistant with the Environmental Collaboratory, supporting the Community-Level Preparedness and Recovery for Increasingly Severe Weather project. My work focuses on translating stakeholder knowledge into actionable guidance, bridging research, public institutions, and community partners to strengthen preparedness, response, and long-term resilience. This commitment also shapes my dissertation research on how household flood risk is measured, communicated, and used to support decisions at the neighborhood level and beyond.
“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are”
- Joseph Campbell -
I want to work in the space between research and implementation: building decision-support tools, evaluations, and feasible action plans; and supporting collaborative processes that center equity, public health, and lived experiences to address compounding environmental risks. Engineering that addresses the climate crisis and environmental injustices starts with integrating peacebuilding into research and design, and I’m committed to doing that work with clarity, accountability, and community benefit at the center.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
SOCIAL ISSUE COMMITMENTS
Localized Climate Risk Assessment​
Community-Engaged Engineering Design
Social & Biological Implications of Climatic Change
Environmental Justice
Resilience for Climate Risks
Human-Centered Planning
UN SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
BY 2030...
...enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
...ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature
...improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning
...reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
...achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
...strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries
...provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities
...substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse