I received a B.S. in Marine Safety and Environmental Protection from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 2003 , Master of Liberal Arts in Environmental Management from the Harvard Extension School in 2012, and my Ph.D. in Biology from Boston University in 2017.  After graduating valedictorian of the Maritime Academy I worked as the on-board environmental compliance officer for two major cruise lines.  In 2008 I moved back to Boston and worked as an environmental consultant specializing in remediation of polluted industrial and commercial properties while studying part-time at the Extension School. Throughout my career I have been surrounded by the environmental impact of cities. Whether it was sailing in and out of urban harbors or coordinating pollution clean-up downtown, cities have been  a part of my professional life. When joining the Fulweiler Lab in 2013 there was no doubt that I would incorporate cities into my research. Urban areas represent a tremendous challenge and opportunity. The complexities created by centuries of human manipulation make it difficult to separate out causes and effects, however working where so many people live opens doors to community engagement like no other system. Connecting the impacts of human populations, urban infrastructure, and the history of development to nutrient cycles in, around, and under cities (especially the silica cycle) is a burgeoning branch of biogeochemistry and I am excited to be a part of it.