Experience

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  SEA TURTLE CONSERVANCY, INC.

  • Gainesville, Florida, United States

  • Lighting Project Specialist

    • Jun 2021 - Present
    • Gainesville, Florida, United States

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  AQUAMOON, LLC

  • Gainesville, Florida, United States

  • Lead Aquarist

    • Jun 2023 - Present
    • Gainesville, Florida, United States

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  Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

  • Tallahassee, Florida, United States

  • OPS F&W Biological Scientist III

    • Nov 2020 - May 2021
    • Tallahassee, Florida, United States

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  Kelly Services

  • Substitute Teacher

    • Oct 2019 - Nov 2020

    • Communicate with students of all ages, learning stages and disabilities • Create and follow lesson plans• Organize exciting activities to engage students in the educational topics• Follow PowerPoints to educate the students • Follow the school curriculum

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  Independent Consultant

  • Marine Biology and Sea Turtle Education Tutor

    • Jul 2019 - Oct 2019

    • Teach Marine Biology and sea turtle biology • Create, assign and grade tests and papers • Create and assign educational assignments and crafts for the students• Establish and follow the school’s curriculum

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  Coastwise Consulting

  • Endangered Species Observer

    • Jan 2019 - Jul 2019

    • Opportunities to contribute to the preservation of listed endangered and threatened species by living and working on a marine construction vessel (hopper dredge on beach re-nourishment projects)• Completion of required documentation for Endangered Species Act compliance (i.e., incidental take) and completion of daily field reports of species observed as well as marine variables of temperature, weather, sea state• Compliance with Army Corps of Engineers Civil Work Programs protocols and regulations in accommodating the needs of endangered and threatened species and critical habitats • Identification of the endangered species after loss of life from dredging operations (sea turtles, sturgeon) • Data entry into ODESS (Operations and Dredging Endangered Species System), which is a data collection tool used to measure impacts of hopper dredging activities to threatened and endangered species (TES)

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  South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

  • Georgetown, SC

  • Sea Turtle Technician

    • May 2018 - Sep 2018
    • Georgetown, SC

    • Collected and entered data into the STNMS (Sea Turtle Nest Monitoring System)• Conducted sea turtle patrols across four-mile undeveloped beach on South Island • Kayaked to adjacent Sand Island and patrolled the three-mile beach for nesting activity • Verified all nesting crawls and relocated nests if necessary • Monitored nests throughout incubation and maintained identification flags • Screened all nests to prevent predation including building of metal cages anchored deep into the sand• Worked as part of a team to patrol the beach to discourage predation of sea turtle nests • Conducted inventories after hatchlings emerge to determine hatching results • Acquired DNA samples and properly stored for DNA research • Conducted measurements such as straight and curved carapace measurements• Collected basic data from stranded sea turtle carcasses

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  COTORCO

  • Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

  • Research Assistant

    • Jun 2017 - Sep 2017
    • Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

    • Guaranteed the health and ecological success of the sea turtles nesting on the Osa Peninsula by integrating conservation, research and educational outreach • Project worked in partnership with the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment, Energy and Oceans (MINAEM) to monitor and protect nesting turtles on 18 km of Osa Peninsula’s Pacific beaches • Research work focused on populations of Olive Ridley and Pacific Green sea turtles • Community educational outreach included teaching environmental science at the local school and providing presentations to volunteers and local residents on sea turtle nesting behaviors• Supervised a delegation of international volunteers • Led daily night and morning patrols looking for sea turtle nests and tracks• Tagged nesting female sea turtles• Initiated preventative measures to stop illegal poaching• Coordinated with other conservation programs on sea turtle conservation

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  North Myrtle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol

  • North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

  • Volunteer

    • Jun 2016 - Aug 2016
    • North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

    Consisted of patrolling the beach looking for sea turtle tracks, analyzing data on the type of nesting turtles and the amount of eggs laid. Cleaned the beach of various forms of plastic and trash.

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  Save The Bay - Narragansett Bay

  • Westerly, RI

  • Internship

    • Jun 2015 - Sep 2015
    • Westerly, RI

    • Gave education tours of the aquarium care center and helped with educational outreach with various school programs and visitors• Maintained and created saltwater and freshwater habitats• Fed and cared for various species of fish and crabs• Managed daily filtration systems• Recorded and kept daily detailed data on chemical testing (pH, ammonia, dissolved oxygen, salinity)