About Me

The basics:

• Colorado born and raised who has lived in every mainland U.S. time zone.

• I successfully defended my dissertation on how environmental activists are shaping public policy on a global scale on September 27, 2024. My Ph.D. in Political Communication and Rhetoric from The University of Texas at Austin, Moody College of Communication, will be conferred in December 2024.

• Master of Arts in Communication, CU Denver; Master of Public Administration in Environmental Policy and Law, CU Denver; Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, International Relations, and Spanish, Whittier College

  • Full education and work history (LinkedIn)

The details:

• Tenacious and Resilient. I finished my MPA in the midst of the Great Recession, took a job as an Operations Manager of a small landscape and construction company, and was finally hired by the Colorado General Assembly after 197 job applications and over 20 interviews! I was constantly beat out for positions by people who had more experience. It was only because I sent them an updated version of my resume every quarter that (when they finally had an opening) they invited me for a skills test then an interview based on my high score.

• Driven and meticulous self-starter. I have worked directly in and around politics for 10+ years, drafting legislation, conducting regulatory rule review, providing comments on public initiative proposals, conducting legislative tracking and analysis, issue advocacy, and consulting for strategy on political campaigns, providing debate prep and public speaking coaching, and providing research and insights to stakeholders and public officials regarding sustainability, resource management, program evaluations, communication strategies, and public policy evaluations in response to crises.

• Why a Ph.D.? 

  • Curious by nature. When working for the Colorado Legislature, I found that average citizens and activists were able to generate enough leverage to influence the bill-making process as much as paid lobbyists, partly, due to the power of grassroots organizing and small-dollar donations. I decided to head back to school to research this phenomenon in more depth.

  • Life-long student. I have spent the past eight years researching the policy impacts of activists' efforts, in the digital realm, and in-person. 

  • Fast learner. I've learned new research tools (R, Python, SQL, Tableau, Netlytic, and Gephi) in addition to industry-standard tools (SPSS, SAS, and Stata) used for public opinion polling. I took the initiative to learn most of these on my own, as they were not taught during my coursework.

  • Unique perspective. I've also learned how to effectively conduct interviews and focus groups and in-person and digital ethnographies. This provides me a unique perspective of having typical industry hard skills, and practical research and analytical skills to truly evaluate policy benchmarks. 

  • TL;DR: To learn more and broaden my research and analytical skills.

Interpersonal relationships are the foundation for professional success:

• I am a bit old-fashioned. I value hand-written thank you cards, frequently demonstrating gratitude, and daily acts of kindness. I pride myself on developing deep and meaningful relationships with people and becoming involved in my community through volunteer work, networking opportunities, and long chats with neighbors at dog parks.

• Whether it be in industry or politics, teaching, coaching, and even when I used to bartend and wait tables, remembering personal details and demonstrating genuine care can go a long way!

Hobbies:

• Getting outside: Hiking, kayaking, camping, gardening, and watching every sunset possible.

• Creative pursuits: Playing guitar, writing poetry, creative writing, and crafting.