I became so absorbed by research and challenging my mind (and often my body with field work) that I wanted to pursue a PhD in Earth Science. I landed at Northwestern University (far away from the ocean) to study how ocean chemistry has changed over time.
While I loved uncovering the ocean's past secrets, towards the end of my PhD I became frustrated that my knowledge was not being applied to make an active change in our world to help combat the climate crisis. Therefore, I applied to a fellowship opportunity called the Knauss Fellowship with the hope of learning more about the intersection between science and policy. During my fellowship year, I was placed with NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program as their international policy fellow. I was exposed to how science is coordinated internationally and how the federal government in the US supports science. During this time, I began to assist with carbon dioxide removal efforts at NOAA, such as editing their research strategy and helping prepare briefs for Congress. I first got involved with this work because I was skeptical of the technologies that were supposed to "save us all" from the climate crisis. I still am weary of engineering our planet and our ocean more than we already have by burning fossil fuels. However, once I started engaging with the material and asking a lot of really detailed questions, I realized that while these technologies represent the cutting edge of science, there is A LOT of work to be done if they are to make a real difference. I wanted a chance to be involved in this important work, which led me to take on a full-time position focused on carbon dioxide removal.
