About Me
I am an environmental sociologist working in the areas of environmental politics, climate adaptation, human dimensions of coastal systems, and perceptions of risk related to new technology applications in conservation and natural resource management.
Connect with Me
I welcome conversations about research, collaboration, and ideas. If you’d like to connect, have questions about my work, or want to discuss a project, feel free to reach out!
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I am a third-generation settler of Scottish, English, and Irish descent. I was born in Toronto in the territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
I currently live in Corvallis, Oregon which is located in the traditional homelands of the Marys River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya the traditional homelands of the Marys River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya. My work takes place in many unceded, traditional Indigenous territories and places with treaty obligations. As a visitor to these places, I carry an obligation to the land, creatures, and the peoples that have been connected to them since time immemorial.
My role as an Assistant Professor of Practice and Oregon Sea Grant Extension Specialist is focused on working on projects that support community resilience and well-being.
I completed a Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of British Columbia on wild Pacific salmon conservation and I completed an M.A. in socio-legal
studies at York University. I have recently worked on projects studying invasive species, assisted migration, and genomic applications in forest climate adaptation through an FRQ-SC Postdoctoral Fellowship with Dr. Vivian Nguyen and Dr. Stephan Schott (Carleton University) and collaborators at the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia.
Research Interests
My work is motivated by the urgent challenges facing humans and non-humans as climate change continues to accelerate ecosystem shifts and biodiversity loss. Climate adaptation requires confronting and re-imagining human relations to the environment. As an environmental sociologist, I am interested in how people understand and manage the risks of human interventions into nature. Novel technologies (genomics, AI) are being proposed as climate solutions, but their deployment may also perpetuate environmental inequalities. My work critically engages with the changing meaning of "wildness" in the Anthropocene and seeks ways to develop transformative approaches to human-nature entanglements.
Wildness and Nature
Shifting human-nature relationships in a changing world
Governance, Ethics, Trust
Making better decisions under increasing uncertainty
Knowledge and Technology
Examining knowledge, power, and the future of decision-making
Resilience and Adaptation
How people and places respond to social-ecological challenges