I am a researcher interested in how environmental advocates can harness communication science to help humanity achieve more sustainable, just, and safe societal trajectories. I became interested in this area of research while an MSc student in Environmental Change and Management at Oxford University. I then stuck around Oxford to do my PhD in the School of Geography and the Environment, which I completed in November 2023.
Having previously worked for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), I am also interested in how diverse members of the public engage with a broader range of topics related to science and technology. Additionally, I have always been passionate about film, television, and storytelling in general. During my undergraduate degree, I was lucky enough to work as an intern at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (and we thought politics was already crazy back then, more than 10 years ago!). I still draw on my passion for this topic: for the last several years, I have run 40 storytelling workshops across nine countries, including for an online course developed by the journal Nature. These workshops combine insights from Hollywood writing strategies, as well as communication science and psychology.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Climate Change Communication (Mason 4C) at George Mason University, where I am helping run an international climate and health research study (funded by the Wellcome Trust), among other projects. I am also a visiting researcher with KU Leuven and the Brussels School of Governance.
Below you can find more details about my educational and professional background. I am open for media inquiries and speaking invitations (you can contact me here).
Education
Work Experience
Skills and interests
Having previously worked for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), I am also interested in how diverse members of the public engage with a broader range of topics related to science and technology. Additionally, I have always been passionate about film, television, and storytelling in general. During my undergraduate degree, I was lucky enough to work as an intern at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (and we thought politics was already crazy back then, more than 10 years ago!). I still draw on my passion for this topic: for the last several years, I have run 40 storytelling workshops across nine countries, including for an online course developed by the journal Nature. These workshops combine insights from Hollywood writing strategies, as well as communication science and psychology.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Center for Climate Change Communication (Mason 4C) at George Mason University, where I am helping run an international climate and health research study (funded by the Wellcome Trust), among other projects. I am also a visiting researcher with KU Leuven and the Brussels School of Governance.
Below you can find more details about my educational and professional background. I am open for media inquiries and speaking invitations (you can contact me here).
Education
- University of Oxford, PhD (DPhil) student, School of Geography and the Environment & Environmental Change Institute
- Thesis title: Seizing the teachable moment: Extreme weather events as catalysts for climate change dialogue, learning and action
- Supervisors: Dr. James Painter; Dr. Peter Walton; Dr. Friederike Otto
- Teaching Assistant, MSc Environmental Change and Management course
- Teaching Assistant, Dr. Kate Raworth's and Dr. Lisa Schipper's 'Human Dimensions of Environmental Change' MSc module
- Fellow, Cumberland Lodge
- University of Oxford, MSc, Environmental Change and Management, Graduate with Distinction
- Dissertation: Climate of Hope or Doom and Gloom: Examining the Impact of Different Environmental Narratives Across the Six Americas of Global Warming
- Dissertation research published in Climatic Change, featured in Grist, summarized in a blog for Climate Outreach
- Dissertation: Climate of Hope or Doom and Gloom: Examining the Impact of Different Environmental Narratives Across the Six Americas of Global Warming
- Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
- Climate change and economic development summer program
- Hofstra University Honors College - Bachelor of Arts, Global Studies, Geography and Philosophy, Honors Graduate with Highest Distinction
Work Experience
- Center for Climate Change Communication (4C), George Mason University (September 2023 - present)
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), several positions held between Jan 2014 - June 2017
- Senior Communications Associate, Executive Office
- Operations Coordinator, Executive Office and assistant to Dr. Rush Holt, CEO and Executive Publisher of Science
- Program Assistant - Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program (SRHRL), Deputy Editor - AAAS Professional Ethics Report
- Started as an intern
- Stockholm Environmental Institute, Oxford (2019)
- Adaptation communications and knowledge exchange Intern
- Global Canopy (2018)
- Inaugural Claudia Comberti Communications Intern
- Human Rights First (2014)
- Research intern
- U.S. Congressman Steve Israel (2013-2014)
- Intern with district and Washington DC offices
- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (2012)
- Production Intern
Skills and interests
- Research skills: Statistical analysis (SPSS) and qualitative methods (e.g., semi-structured interviews, content analysis, focus groups)
- Creative writing: Georgetown University screenwriting program, creative writing summer program in Galway, Ireland
- Music: guitar (15 years training), piano, percussion and electronic music composition (Logic Pro, Pro Tools)
- Drawing/painting: courses at the Washington D.C. Studio School and Corcoran School of Art
- Improv comedy courses -- DC Improv
- Video production: Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere