About

I am an interdisciplinary scientist and storyteller interested in how people, individually and in groups, process information and make decisions — especially where human behavior meets environmental change. After completing a double degree in math and journalism, I spent six years traveling the globe and working odd jobs. A stint as a commercial beekeeper ignited my interest in collective behavior, and I went on to get a PhD in mathematical ecology, studying how individuals and groups make decisions in complex, uncertain environments.

I try to operate in Pasteur’s quadrant, doing basic research into fundamental problems which have meaningful applications. I am widely curious and love finding surprising connections.Raised partly on Pacific islands and partly in the deserts of the Mountain West, I’m at my best when I’m outside–mountaineering, trekking, paragliding, or roasting my own coffee beans!

Technical

Most of my mathematical work has focused on a deceptively simple question: how do agents — animals, people, groups — gather information and make decisions in environments that are complex and constantly changing? My PhD developed new frameworks for this problem, and my postdoctoral work extended it to human social networks, where I studied how structural biases in communication (who talks to whom, what gets shared) can drive polarization and systematic error even among people trying their best to get things right. I am also interested in how technology, from social media to AI, is reshaping these dynamics, and can act as both a tool for studying human behavior and as a new participant in the information environments that shape collective decisions.

Applied

I currently lead conservation social science at The Peregrine Fund, working across the globe to understand why people interact with wildlife the way they do, and what it actually takes to change behavior rather than just attitudes. The problems I find most interesting are the ones that seem way harder than they should – situations where the majority would benefit from change, but something keeps the system stuck. I try to bring mathematical rigor to those questions without losing sight of the people and places at the center of them.

Storytelling

I came to science through journalism and have never fully left. I am drawn to projects that combine rigorous inquiry with lengthy immersion, such as the Megatransect, The Roadless Project, and the Out of Eden walk. Stay tuned for updates soon!