About Me

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Paleobiology in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech. I am a first-generation Mexican American originally from Los Angeles, California, where I was born and raised. After being initially interested in marine biology, I decided to pursue geology as a major after watching the movie Dante’s Peak when I was in high school. I attended Cal State Fullerton, where I majored in Geological Sciences. As an undergrad, I developed a passion for marine paleobiology. I decided to pursue that career after participating in an NSF REU at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. After earning my B.S., I stayed at Cal State Fullerton, where I earned my Master’s degree. For the next two years, I split my time between living in Panamá, working for the Florida Museum of Natural History, and working in paleontological resource mitigation in Southern California. I then went on to earn my Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Georgia. After completing my Ph.D., I was a Stanford Earth Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Stanford University. After my postdoc, I was the Recruitment, Outreach, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator in the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences at UCLA before starting at Virginia Tech.

Media Mentions

Has Life on Earth Survived More Than Five Mass Extinctions? – Smithsonian Magazine

Of Gitnuganaks, Glaciers, and Life at the End of the Last Ice Age – Hakai Magazine

Doerr School welcomes new cohort of Dean’s Postdoctoral Fellows – Stanford University

Ancient Earth: Inferno – PBS NOVA/BBC

The First Fossil Finders in North America Were Enslaved and Indigenous People — Smithsonian Magazine

Without Deep Emissions Cuts, Marine Species Face Mass Extinction — Eos

Extinction changes rules of body size evolution — Stanford University

Strengthening science — Stanford University

From Dante’s Peak to the Panama Canal — Florida Museum of Natural History

Geology Student Wins Paleo Award — California State University, Fullerton