I am from a rural community in Colorado and went to school at Colorado State University to study environmental health. I became an environmental health major mostly because I read the book The Hot Zone, which was about an Ebola virus outbreak and the people trying to contain it, such as epidemiologists. I decided I would pick whatever degree required an epidemiology class, which ended up being environmental health. After learning more about the breadth of the field, I veered away from infectious diseases and moved into topics like air quality and radiation biology.

After receiving my bachelor’s and master’s degree from Colorado State University, I decided to take a 2-year applied epidemiology fellowship in Alaska and – over 14 years later – I am still here! I worked for the Alaska Department of Health for over ten years in roles that included managing the state’s Health Impact Assessment Program (where we looked that the potential health impacts of proposed projects) and the Environmental Public Health Program (where we addressed the potential health effects of exposures to environmental hazards, such as contaminants). Prior to joining APU, I managed the Center for Climate and Health at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. In this role, I worked with communities to understand the connections between climate change and community health and provide support when planning for or responding to climate-related health impacts.  

I am excited to become the next director of the Environmental Public Health Program. I am passionate about environmental public health and I look forward to supporting students on their journey into the field. I love sharing stories about my experiences from a wide range of jobs (mosquito surveillance, lung cell research, rabies vaccination clinics, food inspection, etc.!) and am currently particularly interested in naturally occurring contaminants (such as radon and arsenic) and risk communication.  

In my free time, I can be found walking my dog, going for a swim, trying a new art hobby, or settling in with a good book (my most favorite activity).