I am a United States citizen and Aotearoa New Zealand permanent resident and have been living, studying, and working in Oceania for over twenty years. I am guided by my "kuleana" within the US Affiliated Pacific Islands and am dedicated to intersectional efforts of decolonisation and demilitarisation.

I earned my PhD in Peace Studies with a doctoral scholarship from The National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago in 2017. I have worked in academia, as a program manager for community development, and in diplomacy for the US State Department in Public Affairs for the US Mission in New Zealand.

I have produced creative and community-centered resources and have organized Oceanic gatherings to ensure alternative forms of knowledge and diverse perspectives are included. My doctoral thesis, created in collaboration with the women in the Marianas Archipelago in Micronesia who are resisting the United States military, is available as a free e-book on the University of Guam’s Guampedia platform.