Leadership

Research Assistant, Cucumber Breeding

Since September of 2024, I've been working as a Research Assistant in Cucumber Breeding at HM.CLAUSE, a seed production company that has been breeding plants for over 200 years. In my current position I am:

Overseeing and coordinating logistics for 12+ field and greenhouse trials year-round, domestically and internationally. This includes seed preparation, sowing, tissue sampling for molecular markers, plant selection, transplanting, pollination, seed production, trial evaluation and data collection.
Managing seed inventory, seed health testing, and the internal breeding database for cucumber germplasm and trait data.
Collaborating with pathologists, geneticists, and operations to successfully develop new varieties and maintain plant health.
Supervising field and greenhouse crews of 10+ people on related breeding activities.
Supporting as a Local Safety Coordinator for 3 R&D Stations.
Serving on the AMPA (Americas, the Pacific, and Australia) D&I Committee, representing 1000 employees across the region.

Labor & Project Coordinator

From March through September of 2024, I worked as a Labor & Project Coordinator for HM.CLAUSE. In this role I:

Supervised and created weekly schedules for 80+ field and greenhouse crew members.
Coordinated logistics and project organization for 10+ breeding programs on various crops in greenhouses and in the field.
Improved infrastructure, safety, pathogen containment, and operations protocols.
Overhauled and updated the waste management system for 3 of our Northern California R&D Stations, earning company-wide recognition through the annual "Environmental Award" in December 2024.

Lab Manager

For almost two years I simultaneously managed two R1 research labs in UC Berkeley's Integrative Biology department, where I was supervising:

45 researchers at any given time
15+ scientific investigations
6 spaces within the building

Britt Koskella's laboratory studies plant-microbe interactions, specifically the ecology and evolution of microbes and bacteriophages that exist in the phyllosphere (the biome of plant leaves).

Mike Boots' lab studies the ecology and evolution of infectious disease from COVID to PiGV, a virus that infects Plodia interpunctella, a species of moth that is of great interest to the US Department of Agriculture.

Greenhouse Operations Coordinator

As a Greenhouse Operations Coordinator for i-Cultiver at the USDA Plant Gene Expression Center in Albany, CA, I:

Developed and managed data collection methods for several experiments in the greenhouse, aimed at increasing yield and drought tolerance of tomatoes with plant-growth promoting bacteria.
Mentored and supervised 2 community college students on data collection methods and experimental design.

Zero Waste Fellow

In my last two years as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley I was colloquially referred to as an "Eco-Leader" on campus for my leadership on several projects:

Co-created the Zero Waste Fellow position, securing funding and support from the Office of Sustainability, and served as the first Fellow.
Co-founded and chaired the UC Berkeley Zero Waste Coalition which connects 25+ student organizations focused on waste-related work and 8 campus departments and their administrators.
Founded and directed a Zero Waste Research Lab of 100 undergraduate researchers. Through this lab, 25+ research projects and initiatives were implemented on campus by undergrads, and continues to operate today.
Directed UC Berkeley's Spring 2021 Move Out program, coordinating 10+ student staff every day for over two weeks. This program ultimately diverted 200,000+ pounds of material from the landfill and redistributed it among the community.

For this work driving substantial change in campus-wide sustainability, I was recognized with the 2021 Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability Award and the 2021 Cal Zero Waste Award.

Cal Triathlon

During the 2020-2021 academic year, I served as President of the National Champion Cal Triathlon team. In this role, I acted as a University liaison and directed a board of 20 people, guiding the sponsorship, education, recruitment, engagement, and training & racing logistics for all 150+ members of the team through the COVID-19 pandemic. In Spring of 2021, our club was recognized as the "Most Outstanding Sports Club" on campus for the 5th year in a row.

I also served as Vice President of Racing ('19-'20) and as a Recruitment Chair ('18-'19). As a board member, I helped to found the Cal Triversity Initiative, which aims to recruit and retain athletes from diverse backgrounds on our team. I also spearheaded the organization of several charity challenges, such as "Miles for Change," where athletes fundraised for social justice causes by swimming, biking, or running a given number of miles, yards, or feet of elevation gain.

For my exceptional leadership and dedicated contributions to the team, I was recognized with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2021 and the "Volunteer of the Year Award" in 2019.

Waste Reduction Coordinator

For two years I worked as a Waste Reduction Co-Coordinator at UC Berkeley where I:

Developed waste reduction strategies for 10,000 students living in on-campus housing and 800 employees working for housing and dining.
Redesigned and reinstalled 3,000+ waste sorting signs within all on-campus residence and dining halls.
Managed a monthly zero waste competition between 12 on-campus dining halls and engaged in waste-related education of kitchen and custodial staff.
Engaged in peer to peer education of 5,000+ students each year.

In March of 2019, I was recognized with a Performance Award for exceptional work on these campus-wide initiatives.

Biofuels Technology Club Finance Team Lead

During the 2018-2019 academic year, I served as the UC Berkeley Biofuels Technology Club's Finance Team Lead, where I led a team of 3 students in grant-writing, fundraising, and purchase of research and scale-up equipment for the club. The mission of this student organization is to convert waste cooking oil produced in on-campus dining halls into usable biodiesel that can power cars, like the Bear Transit buses used for student transport on and around campus.