About Me

Taanshi! I'm a Michif descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians working on the second year of my PhD program at the University of Minnesota. I’m advised by Dr. Michael J. Dockry and my thesis will relate to the relationship between tribal nations in the Great Lakes, berries, and Indigenous fire use with a focus on Indigenous feminisms.

My previous academic experience led me to complete a dual degree program at Carnegie Mellon for my masters. My focus there was on Climate Change Science, Policy, and Innovation Management in order to gain a better understanding of the sociopolitical levers of climate change mitigation and adaptation that would be necessary in coming years.

Professionally, I have worked as a Program Manager in the tech industry for two years. At Timesys, I learned a lot about what it takes to expand a company's KPI measurement capacity, track revenue, and manage engineering and sales departments. Ultimately, I decided academia was where I was meant to be.

During undergrad, I had several research and internship positions that expanded my knowledge base. My research has largely been computational and lab-based, focused on microbiology and chemical engineering. I've also worked in asset management within the renewable energy field, as an environmental engineering intern in the copper mining industry, and as an engineering management intern in the tech industry before joining as a full-time employee.

Moving forward, I hope to apply my broad experience in environmentally-focused STEM to become a professor focused on Decolonized Science and ethnoecology in Indigenous feminist contexts.