RESEARCH

anthropology with and for community

I’m a student, researcher, and storyteller interested in how people understand and relate to the places they live.

I’m currently pursuing an M.A. in Anthropology at Western Washington University.

I am a research assistant for Active Societal Participation in Research & Education (ASPIRE) on projects that support community-engaged science.

My research examines how collaboration unfolds between Western-trained scientists and Indigenous communities in practice, particularly in settings where people are working across different institutional histories, responsibilities, and ways of relating to land and knowledge. Rather than assuming these approaches naturally align, I focus on how collaboration is actively made through interaction -- how roles are negotiated, how uncertainty is managed, and how success is defined.

I pay particular attention to everyday relational practices such as humor, storytelling, and informal conversation, not as tools used to improve collaboration, but as part of how people already work across difference and build trust in practice.

This project is conducted in partnership with Sealaska Heritage Institute through the co-development of the 2026 Immersive Institute, a week-long training for geoscientists hoping to take their community-engaged research skills to a deeper level.