Professional Experience

I currently work as an Engineering Geologist for the California Department of Water Resources South Central Regional Office, which is located in Fresno, California. My primary responsibilities consist of supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) through providing technical reviews of Groundwater Sustainability Plans, administering Proposition 1 and Proposition 68 grants, and installing groundwater monitoring wells for our local partners. I also contributed to the 2020 update of the California's Groundwater report (formerly DWR Bulletin 118) and provided technical assistance with levee repairs on the San Joaquin River East Side Bypass levee system.

I worked as a staff geologist with the engineering consultant BSK Associated. As a geologist in the environmental program, I was responsible for performing Phase I and II environmental assessments (ESAs), installing and sampling monitoring wells, collecting soil and water samples, and drafting environmental compliance reports for clients and regulatory agencies. I also assisted the geotechnical engineering branch with drilling and seismic reflection projects.

I worked as a graduate teaching associate in the Earth and Environmental Science Department at California State University, Fresno, where I was responsible for teaching undergraduate-level earth science labs and developing new lab materials. I taught lab sections for EES 1 (general education physical geology) and EES 9 (Earth Science for Educators), where I was responsible for guiding students through lab exercises and evaluating student work. I also developed several new labs and online exercises, some of which I'm in the process of uploading to the Teaching page of this website.

First field deployment of Hutt Vault rapid deployment seismic station in support of the induced seismicity monitoring program, Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge, Cherokee, Oklahoma, USA. The large Hardigg case (left) contains the battery, solar charge controller, and cell modem, the smaller orange case (right) contains an RT130 digitizer. A Compact Trillium broadband seismometer and a Kinemetrics EpiSensor accelerometer in Hutt style direct burial vaults are installed at the base of the levee.

I worked on a broad range of projects to support the management objectives of the Sierra and Malheur National Forests. As an intern with the Sierra National Forest I performed naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) assessments of Forest roads, trails, and fuels treatment units; mapped conifer encroachment into meadows using remote sensing data and field assessments; identifying stream and meadow restoration opportunities; and implementing meadow restoration projects. I also spent a season working with the Malheur National Forest in central Oregon, where I was responsible for mapping stream systems and mass wasting features using remote sensing data and field assessment for a series of proposed forest restoration projects.