What do you do for a living?
I am a field researcher/marine biologist by training. But my work also extends into community organizing, social media/networking, grad student mentoring, filmmaking and writing.
What would you be doing if you weren’t doing that?
I’d be a neuroscientist who thinks about nature. A neuroconservationist, actually. It’s a job title I think I invented. Sounds fun, though, doesn’t it?
What do you do in your free time? Look after the orchard, play with the kids, enjoy the ocean, strum the guitar and walk in the redwoods.
What brought you to Santa Cruz? I was living in San Francisco and doing field research in Mexico on sea turtles. I felt like I couldn’t go back to the city, so we decided to move an hour north or an hour south along the coast. South won. I live in Davenport with my family.
What’s your favorite street? Swanton Road, Davenport
Name something you’re excited about. 2010 is going to be a really great year for the ocean, I can feel it. The ocean needs a good year.
Name a pet peeve. Traffic. My life has been designed to avoid it.
What are you reading? Howard Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future, this month’s AdBusters Magazine and some papers on sea turtle egg physiology.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in the last three years? Keep your saw blades sharp.
Favorite snack? Coconut juice and raw almonds, when traveling. Swanton Berry Farms organic strawberries when home (they’re neighbors—eat local!).
