A lifetime of ocean based work began when I started diving in Belize at age 10 and became a certified diver at age 12. Always dedicated to my passion for the ocean, I received my Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies from U.C. Santa Cruz and have a Masters in Marine Biology from James Cook University in Australia. During my undergraduate studies I earned my research diver certification and eventually became a divemaster and dive instructor. During my master's program, I took a 2-week intensive course in underwater videography where I learned from professional shooter, how to frame and stabilize shots underwater. As a research diver, I collected field data for my master’s research project on cleaner shrimp and fish using underwater video, while diving in Papua New Guinea. The short documentary I made about my graduate research on cleaner shrimp, “Symbiosis”, screened at the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival. For a recent job as a research diver for U.C. Santa Cruz, I was part of a team of 6 divers doing 4 dives a day to survey the kelp forests, fish and invertebrates of Monterey Bay and Big Sur. From this experience I gained a greater understanding of working as a professional diver in a fast paced environment, while maintaining safety and data collection standards.I recently finished working for CalRecycle as a Biologist in the Santa Cruz Mountains where fires destroyed homes and forests. I monitored endangered species, birds, and waterways to ensure protection while crews removed burned house debris and hazardous trees from beside roadways. Currently, I'm working as an independent filmmaker, completing a documentary I filmed on a sailing expedition from New Zealand to the Solomon Islands. I lived and worked on a sailboat for 3 months while volunteering with OceansWatch helping remote island communities with marine conservation and sustainable business projects.