My background is in geophysics, and I am a native of Chile, a country known as the land of poets and earthquakes. I grew up surrounded by mountains, inspired by the magnificent Andes Mountains to the east with their high peaks, glaciers, and volcanoes, and by the coastal mountains of extinct volcanoes to the west, a reminder of the dynamic tectonic plate collisions shaping western South America. I love teaching about our planet, sharing knowledge and experience, and engaging students through real-world examples and current global challenges. I strive to create an interactive learning environment where I learn from my students as much as they learn from me. My goal is to raise awareness of how the study of Earth sciences contributes to improving our lives and helps us make informed decisions for a more sustainable future.

After a postdoctoral fellowship at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where I developed electrical conductivity models of the Canadian craton to investigate the deep formation of diamonds, I moved to Rhode Island with my husband. I worked in the private sector for several years while raising two children. Being involved in their education shaped my view of humanity and sparked a growing interest in finding solutions to the environmental impacts of human practices. I became an advocate for Earth science education, waste reduction policies, and climate action. I led an advocacy group that implemented recycling and food recovery programs in South Kingstown elementary schools and successfully petitioned, with community support, to ban and replace disposable Styrofoam trays in school lunches.

In a world where urgency and agency are needed to address contemporary environmental challenges -including climate change and resource depletion- I believe that education in Earth science is essential for equipping citizens with the knowledge needed to advocate for and contribute to the transformation of our socioeconomic systems toward environmentally sustainable practices. I am honored to support this effort at URI.