News & Events

What was your First job?

When I was in high school my first REAL job was (queue the laughs) working at the Hello Kitty store next to the cruise ship dock. Boring retail job for the most part, but being named Kitty working in the Hello Kitty store made for some fun opportunities, and working right next to the cruise ships is quite an experience. My two most common questions were if my name was really Kitty, and did I live on St. Thomas?

What got you interested in this industry?

Before working for the Department of Planning & Natural Resources, the department that holds our parks division as well as the Coastal Zone Management Division where I got my start in government, I was marketing and graphic design. But during all of those jobs, I would always beg for time off of work to go to environmental planning meetings, workshops, and any environmental outreach event I could find out about. It was during an invasive species management meeting where I met my current boss. To make a long story short, he laughed and let me know that I could actually do this for a job and work for him at CZM. It took a few years, but eventually he hired me as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for the Division of Coastal Zone Management.

What are you most looking forward to this coming year?

Ooohh that’s a tough one! Not to pander to the audience, but I am so excited for my first NASPD conference! On the ground here in the VI, we are making some really exciting progress with new trails and I think I found a grant where I can hire a company to design a comprehensive trail system for us on a few of our properties.

Any exciting projects you are working on that you would like to share?

My world has been overwhelmingly focused on land acquisition, and we are really close to closing on a few more properties this year. Building a park system from scratch has been absolutely wild, but finding properties at risk for development and putting them into conservation has been an absolutely wild experience.

What do you enjoy about your state?

The Virgin Islands are such a special place that has been shaped by so many outside forces, but our connection to the Caribbean heritage that built us remains so strong. I love that we have this deep connection to our ocean and beaches, but most of our population doesn’t even connect that to the world of natural resources. It’s just our home where we have a right to wade in the water at the beach, jump off of docks on hot days, and retreat to the cool mountains on really hot days (that last one might just be me!). Even though we are a territory of the US, it’s just another layer to our identity on top of the other 8 nations who have flown their flags over our home.

Highlight one or two state parks in your state and why we should visit.

Well that depends on when you’re reading this! Our biggest success has definitely been the creation of Maroon Sanctuary Territorial Park. The acquisition was 2,436 acres on the northwest side of St. Croix covering environmentally and historically critical spaces. This land already had many social trails, but this year we were able to build the first new trail connecting to the top of Mt Eagle, the highest point on St. Croix, creating a 3 mile loop. There’s a lot of work to go, but this work is so important to our community.

If I was a visitor, what would be the top three things you would show me?

I feel like the obvious answer is if you visit the US Virgin Islands, you have to see St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix! But zooming into our parks, there is a new bench in the Maroon Sanctuary Territorial Park on the Mt Eagle trail, and it’s just a breathtaking view. And of course the hike is super fun and easy, a quick 3 mile loop! On St. Thomas we co-manage a marine protected area that includes a beautiful mangrove system, a highlight to me is to kayak through the inner mangrove and through the natural arches.

Most memorable moments in your career.

I love supporting the local organizations we partner with. A majority of the work we are doing right now is through the NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge Award which included over $13M in subwards to local non-profits working in education and workforce development. Going to graduations for each cohort in a program, hearing about new trainings and partnerships with each program, and delivering those checks after each progress report… those are the days when I really love my job the most.

What are you reading?

I actually just finished a book I really enjoyed call Horse. It combined art history, races horses, social justice, a bone nerd, and a veterinarian, in a really phenomenal story that jumped back and forth through time!

Where is your next vacation?

I’m not sure what that word means… But I’m really excited for the NASPD conference in New Orleans, it’ll be my first time seeing the city!

Hobbies?

My favorite new hobby is sitting on the new hammock and staring at the sky! It’s rare to find something that takes my mind off of work, the ridiculous news cycle, and everything else we deal with as humans.

A Poem, line of poetry, or quote that I return to.

Not all who wander are lost.

My favorite blockbuster and favorite movie.

I love treasure movies, and documentaries about nature and history. For a blockbuster movie… I really love The Fifth Element which I consider a classic.

A song, band or musician I love.

My music taste is about 90% soca and reggae, but last year I found a few Afrobeats artists I really enjoyed. My usual playlist is a pretty heavy rotation of Kes, Machele Montano, and Major Lazer.