Environment & Community

As an extension advisor, I have the unique opportunity to bridge the academic world with on-the-ground management by developing my own original research program, but also focusing on education, outreach, and training related to my field. My primary emphasis in the last decade has been on prescribed fire, and I work on fire-related issues at local, regional, and even national and international scales. My program focuses on building capacity for prescribed fire, both among private landowners and for public lands managers. To this end, I host trainings and workshops, work on prescribed fire policy, and focus on shifting the fire culture toward a more ecologically appropriate, inclusive model. In my position, I have the privilege of co-leading the national TREX Coaches Network, leading the Women-in-Fire Training Exchange (WTREX), and spearheading and networking prescribed burn associations around the state of California.

I see my time in the E&C Program as instrumental in my current career, as it gave me the interdisciplinary tools and perspective to approach complex, wicked problems like fire management in the West. In my field, having solid scientific understanding of issues is not sufficient—it is critical to acknowledge and understand the larger social, political, and cultural contexts—and those are the areas where the E&C Program prepared me well. The program also introduced me to a wide range of Humboldt professors, departments, and other students, as well as various professionals and community members. By the time I finished the program, I was well-established in the Humboldt community and well positioned to find jobs and other opportunities. I am still here in Humboldt today, working in my dream job, and in many ways I have the program to thank for that.