Dr. Annalise Blum. Trained in water resources engineering, Annalise has led multi-disciplinary teams to do research on floods, droughts, access to safe water, and ecological impacts of environmental change. Annalise has a Ph.D. in environmental and water resources engineering from Tufts University, M.S. from UNC-Chapel Hill, and a B.S. from Stanford University.
Mary Patterson is a Botanist for the Tahoe National Forest. She has been working with the Forest Service since 2017. Prior to that she has worked as a botanist for the BLM, County, and private sector. She has bachelor degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies and a master’s degree in Plant Biology and Conservation.
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This talk delves into “Modern Agriculture: What’s on Your Plate?” with Dr. Adam Cornish. Adam is a program analyst in the Office of Agricultural Policy at the State Department, and received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Michigan State University, where he focused on biohydrogen production and investigating enzymatic mechanisms.
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Meet a member of the Headwaters family: Scientist Mentor Ashley Pierce is an environmental scientist with a background in atmospheric pollutants, specifically mercury, ozone, and particulate matter. She has a Master’s and Ph.D. in Environmental Science and is currently an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow placed at the National Science Foundation where she works on programs that are cross-disciplinary with a focus on sustainability. In this talk, she shares her work studying mercury in the environment.
Thank you to the Silver Sage Center for Family Medicine in Reno, Nevada for sponsoring this episode.
Dane Samilo, a Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the Department of Defense joins us this week for our scientist talk. There, he works on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM education and workforce recruitment and retention.
Dane earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of California, San Diego and his PhD at Weill Cornell Medicine in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis. In this talk he delves into the history of infectious diseases and vaccines, leading up to how modern vaccines are developed.
Program and Fundraising Assistant
Savannah graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies and Public Policy from UC Berkeley. Her thesis was on social and policy dimensions of public lands protection. Savannah grew up in Truckee and is passionate about protecting our environment and engaging others in her love of nature. She loves food systems and being outside, and has most recently worked as a farmer in Nevada County. In her free time, she is happiest swimming in the river, mountain biking, and trying new recipes.
Program Manager
Devanie White is the Program Manager for Headwaters Science Institute. She looks forward to being able to work with this community to support school and summer programming. Devanie has had the opportunity to receive her bachelor’s in Biology and two master’s in Kinesiology and Marine Science and Management. Devanie enjoys being in nature, watching movies, and learning as much as possible.
Data Analyst and Research Experience Manager
Program Manager
Bryn manages school programs and summer camps for Headwaters. She recently received a Master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Her Master’s research focused on ocean acidification impacts on sea urchin larvae. Bryn grew up in the Tahoe area and is passionate about providing outdoor education to students and allowing them to take advantage of the outdoor space they have access to. In her free time, she enjoys anything outdoors, especially when she gets to spend time in the water.
Program Manager and Outreach
Jennifer Cotton manages our Research Experience and Lunch with a Scientist Program. She previously worked as a secondary science content specialist and public high school science educator. She has over a decade of experience in writing standards based curriculum. She has worked with OCEARCH to create a STEM based curriculum and has represented that organization at many outreach events.
Programs
Mary Ellen holds a BA in Biology/Environmental Studies from University of California, Santa Cruz. She has worked as an environmental education guide for more than 10 years, balancing that with substitute teaching K-12 in the local school district. For fun she coaches a high school Nordic ski team and tries to get in as much play time outside, skiing, running and biking. She hopes to inspire students to be curious about natural processes in order to foster a deeper appreciation of our environment.
Grants and Programs
Anne holds a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno where she researched the impacts of human-induced changes on sexually selected signals of a butterfly. She has also been a part of several scientific outreach programs, including a community science project (Pieris Project) and the University of Nevada’s Museum of Natural History. Anne is excited to continue sharing the scientific process and research with a diversity of students through the Headwaters Science Institute!