A Little About Me

I'm a scientist, coder, artist, rock climber, builder, gardener, and baker. I have a doctorate in hydrology and the theme that winds through my professional career is a passion for using scientific tools and communication to help address some of the major environmental issues of our time. Much of my work has been modeling water and soil contamination at polluted sites in order to assess risk and aid in remediation. More recently, I have also worked on climate change mitigation, with a focus on strategies that will help reduce harmful pollutants as well as decrease greenhouse gas emissions. My curriculum vitae is here.

My hobbies mostly involve being outside and trying to connect with the land. I can't explain why I love climbing so much, except that the feeling of my fingers on the rock on a warm day fills up my cup of joy. I took up painting en plein air (i.e., outside) in 2019 when a shoulder injury sidelined me from climbing. Although I'd loved making art as a kid, my critical inner voice (that jerk!) made me stop painting for many years until I realized it wasn't about perfection. I deeply enjoy the process of looking, seeing, and interpreting the feeling of a scene on paper, usually with watercolor and sometimes ink.

Where does my website domain name come from? Farewell-to-spring is a bright magenta native California flowering plant. It is a member of the Evening Primrose family, and can be found along hillsides in the sun. It blooms in late spring and early summer—hence the name "farewell to spring."