About
Over-educated and semi-feral, I'm a seeker of unknown places. I was trained as a scientist but see like an artist. I pursued a doctorate out of consuming curiosity about water. I've chased rivers, mountains, deserts, oceans. Taken students to the wilds of Patagonia, the Himalaya, and Alaska. Dived with orca in Arctic Norway. Done water science in the Brazilian Amazon. I've spent months in places like Costa Rica and Kenya, loved hard enough to have had my heart broken, and danced with abandon at Burning Man.
Selected Work
I've led student expeditions across three continents, served as science advisor for the film Patagonia Rising, worked with Science on the Fly in the Brazilian Amazon, and completed artist residencies in Kenya and Colorado. My work moves between science, storytelling, education, and art—always rooted in reading place. I make large-scale abstract work in the field through a practice I call Wild Painting.
I write at unTamed Science, my weekly newsletter about reading the natural world deeply enough to illuminate everything else—a practice I call Wild Literacy.
Credentials
I'm a water scientist (MIT, Ph.D. in Biogeochemistry and Hydrology; Duke University, M.S. in Coastal Geology), policy wonk (MIT, M.S. in Urban Studies and Planning), and life-long learner (Dartmouth College, B.A. in Geography).
As President of Water Futures, I help organizations build water resiliency. I'm the author of Taking on Water: How One Water Expert Challenged Her Inner Hypocrite, Reduced Her Water Footprint (without Sacrificing a Toasty Shower), and Found Nirvana. I've taught for MIT and the Sierra Institute, and served on several boards including High Country News, the Sun Valley Institute for Resilience, Blaine County's Land, Water & Wildlife Levy, and the Idaho chapter of the International Women's Forum. I hold a certificate in Dispute Mediation from Harvard Law School and a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training from School Yoga Institute in the Sacred Valley of Peru.