After earning a B.S. in Biology from Columbia College (South Carolina), I worked as a fisheries observer aboard crab and scallop vessels in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, as well as a protected species observer in Alaska’s natural resource and development industry. It didn’t take long into my first fisheries contract to solidify my desire to stay in Alaska and to pursue a career in commercial fisheries. While onboard, I found myself fascinated in gear design and performance, decisions made by skippers rooted in years of experience on the water, and keeping commercial fisheries sustainable. Returning to academia to pursue a graduate degree was sparked by these interests, particularly in connecting knowledge and experience of commercial fishers with fisheries research and management priorities through gear focused research.

My thesis research involves improving our understanding of pelagic trawl gear used in the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS) Catcher processor (CP) pollock fishery, how it behaves in the marine environment, and how, when, and where it interacts with the seafloor. By collecting and analyzing fishery-wide gear performance and seabed-contact data, this work helps address critical information gaps and provides a stronger scientific foundation for evaluating gear impacts on benthic habitats and supporting sustainable fisheries management.