I grew up in New York City and went to college at MIT, where I graduated with a double major in atmospheric science and literature. For my undergraduate thesis, I studied the biases and inconsistencies in federal inventories of mercury emissions, particularly from sources near Lake Superior. After graduating, I continued living in Boston, where I spent two years working for Frontier Group, a non-profit public policy organization. In that role, I wrote reports on a range of subjects, including renewable energy, water pollution, and industrial agriculture. This experience gave me a better understanding of how policy can address (or exacerbate) environmental problems.

I’m currently pursuing an M.S. in Environment and Resources at the Nelson Institute, where my research will look at the urban heat island effect in Madison. Using data from both stationary sensors and satellite measurements, I hope to explore how the size, shape and magnitude of Madison’s urban heat island has changed, and may continue to change, over time. As someone who has lived in cities her whole life, I’m interested in learning how climate change impacts urban populations, and how we can make cities more resilient.