Thesis Topic: Using Genetic Analysis to Determine Kinship and Sociality Among River Otters Along the Humboldt County Coast

Advisor: Jeff Black

Undergraduate Degree/Institution: Wildlife: Conservation Biology/Applied Vertebrate Ecology/Cal Poly Humboldt

I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina but as an army brat I grew up in many places. I spent most of my childhood on the beach or in the woods looking for wildlife, but for some reason I didn’t chose wildlife as a career when I went to college as an 18-year-old. Fast forward 10 years later and one career ladder climbed and abandoned, I decided to return to school to work in a field that is both something I love and that will help our Earth. I graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt’s amazing Wildlife Department in December 2022, and my undergraduate studies led me down a path of fascination for conservation genetics. I quickly returned in fall 2023 to pursue a graduate degree where I will be assessing the kinship and sociality of the coastal river otter population using behavioral data paired with genetic samples. I have held jobs surveying for California Spotted Owls, Northern Goshawks, and various endangered California Rana species in the El Dorado National Forest, as well as river otters and Brant here in Humboldt. In my free time I like to do anything outdoors (especially swimming), photograph wildlife, read a good fantasy book, sing with my band, or catch a concert with my friends.