My pivot to children’s literature follows a long career as a volcanologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)…

After my initial posting at USGS headquarters outside Washington D.C., I transferred to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) where I became the first woman to lead the eruption response team at HVO, and later, its first female Scientist-in-Charge. I then moved to the USGS in Menlo Park, California, where I became the first Scientist-in-Charge of the newly established California Volcano Observatory.

I hold a PhD in geoscience from Johns Hopkins University and have numerous publications in prominent scientific journals. I am a former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, and an elected Fellow of the Geological Society of America. I received the U.S. Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award for outstanding contributions to the field of volcanology and the Eugene Shoemaker Award for Scientific Communication.

At the USGS, I lectured extensively at universities, international conferences, and public events. My presentations included educational outreach to people living in the shadow of restless volcanoes and hazard mitigation training for public safety officials. I shared my science with countless school children through classroom visits, educational programming, and hands-on workshops.

A synopsis of my career in public service was published in the Los Angeles Times prior to my departure from the USGS in 2020. You can read it here. For a more personal look, sneak a peek at my work-in-progress memoir here. To view my publications, click on the button below.