How do we protect species, ecosystems and the services they provide, while also considering the values and needs of people?
This question motivates the research that I undertake and the projects that I align myself with.
I’m an Associate Decision Analyst at Compass Resource Management, and an Honorary Research Associate at the Martin Conservation Decision’s Lab at the University of British Columbia, Canada.
I work across applied and theoretical problems that advance and apply interdisciplinary approaches largely from the fields of decision science, risk analysis, and behavioural sciences to help inform decisions for nature and people. Increasingly the interplay of climate change and justice are core components of the work I do.
In my applied role as a decision analyst I work with decision makers and groups to help structure and provide insight into difficult decisions for natural resources. These decisions might be difficult for many reasons including differences in values, large uncertainties, and / or irreversible consequences. I have a particular knack for designing evidence-based expert elicitation processes to inform decisions when other data are unavailable or uninformative. My approach centers on empowering diverse perspectives, fostering curiosity, building effective dialogue, and employing evidence-based techniques, to improve decision quality. I particularly enjoy the insights that arise and the improved understanding and dialogue that emerge between participants.
My research targets three main areas: 1) improving decision quality, 2) overcoming data deficiencies, and 3) addressing the decision-implementation gap.
I believe that effective solutions must be transparent about values, uncertainties and trade-offs, and open to new or alternative approaches. I aspire for the work I do to be co-created and reciprocal, respectful of diverse identities and views, and underpinned by a commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
My research and applied work build and expand on work I completed during my PhD at the University of Melbourne, Australia (2019) on structured expert elicitation methods. This work was awarded the 2020 Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in PhD thesis, and an Editor’s recommendation, and is being widely applied by decision-makers to inform decisions and assessments. My applied and theoretical work also builds on research undertaken at the University of British Columbia on the application of decision science to conservation problems. The primer we developed, ‘An Introduction to Decision Science for Conservation” was a huge undertaking by a large group of decision scientists, however, it was recently awarded a top-downloaded paper award, and is routinely being used by decision-makers to improve decision-quality for natural resource decisions.
In addition to research and applied work, I enjoy teaching, and I am fortunate to be able to contribute to teaching. I helped to co-develop and instruct CONS440- Conservation Decision-Making and Policy at UBC, and have developed short courses for professional societies in expert elicitation and decision science.
For more information please see my CV or contact me.
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I live and work on the traditional unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) Nations. I have also been privileged to work and live across Canada and Australia. I respectfully acknowledge that these lands are the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of Indigenous peoples whose connection with these lands extends back to time immemorial and continues today. I am committed to truth and reconciliation, and I support the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including rights to self-determination, and consultation to obtain free, prior and informed consent in decisions.