About Me
I’m a Hydrogeologist and GIS/Data Specialist with a strong foundation in Earth and Environmental Sciences, backed by both academic research and over a decade of professional field and consulting experience. I’ve managed complex groundwater, nutrient management, and GIS-driven projects, combining technical skills in R programming, modeling, and geospatial analysis with hands-on problem solving. Outside of work, I’m a two-time IBJJF World Champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and now a Black Belt, which reflects my determination, discipline, and ability to push through challenges. Balancing career, family, and competitive athletics has shaped me into a resilient, detail-oriented professional who thrives under pressure and is driven to continuously improve.
Early Life
I grew up in California's Bay Area, living in Sunnyvale and later and more predominately Morgan Hill. My family moved to Georgetown CA when I was 13 which meant leaving the city for the country. I had always enjoyed camping growing up and moving to the country, only strengthened my passion for the outdoors. This love of nature grew into a career path, and I soon found myself involved in programs like the Watershed Education Summit (WES).
Beyond my passion for nature and the sciences high school is where I found my passion for athletics. I had a short but bright stint in track and cross-country running. I ran half of track season my junior year, ran cross country and got injured halfway through my senior year in track. Although I truly only trained for one full track season combined I managed to get withing 2 second of breaking the school record having run a 4:34 mile. I also set a team record in the distance medley relay (400, 800, 1200 & 1600m) which still stands to this day.
College Years
I left high school with a strong passion for science and nature but viewed my athletic career as over due to injury. I went to the University of California Merced for an undergraduate degree in Earth Systems Science with an emphasis in Ecosystem Science. I did well in STEM classes but overall, my GPA was pulled down to a 3.0 by my other classes. I maintained summer job with the US Forest Service and the Sierra Nevada Research Institute (SNRI).
I graduated from UC Merced in 2011 and without a clear job path forward with my degree I choose to pursue a Master’s Degree in Hydrogeology at Chico State. There I found a group exercise Jiu-Jitsu class and rekindled my passion for athletics. I also discovered my love of Fly Fishing and would often spend my weekends hiking backpacking and fishing. Academically I found value in pursuing a detailed master’s thesis. I opted to model the hypothetical restoration of a mountain meadow. I worked for the Sierra Nevada Research Institute during my summers at UC Merced and was familiar with the concepts of meadow restoration. I installed monitoring wells in numerous meadows up and down the Sierra Nevada and SNRI was gracious enough to allow me to use some of the data I collected in my modeling project. I used modflow 2005 to model movement of groundwater in the meadow and 2 basin models. The basins were fed by a snowmelt model that I wrote in the R Programing Language, and I stitched all the models together using R. I had a final vegetation model applied to the water levels in the meadow. The modeled showed the potential improvement in plant biodiversity that could be gained by restoring the meadow. I presented my findings to the US Forest Service, who managed the meadow.
Post College
Finishing graduate school in 2014 I briefly worked for SNRI before finding work with Ludorff and Scalmanini Consulting Engineers (LSCE) based in Woodland CA. I worked with them for about 8 months in Woodland but was moved to Merced to carry out a nutrient management study due to my previous time living in that area. For over 2 years I worked with local dairy farmers to track the movement of nutrients on their farms. I took samples from the soil, crops, manure, lagoons, irrigation water and ground water. After the field work was done I helped wrap up the study by writing large portions of the final document. I worked on numerous groundwater related projects throughout the central valley until I finally left LSCE in 2023.
Life Outside of Work
Let me just make this simple and tell you the answer is Jiu-Jitsu. I love Jiu-Jitsu, and martial arts in general. If there is one thing that makes me different than most people, it’s that I'm very determined. Martial arts give me a way to test myself, it’s a wall to push against and channels my energy into something positive. I'm a far better human because of martial arts, physically, mentally and spiritually. I've been able to accomplish a lot and have won IBJJF Worlds as a brown belt twice, once in GI and once in NOGI. I could wax on for hours about this topic, and maybe I will one day in a blag article but for now I will spare you.
Life after Kids
After winning worlds I was excited to keep competing, but I needed to turn my focus towards my growing family. In 2022 I married my wife, and my daughter was born early in 2023. My job growth at LSCE felt like it was grinding to a halt, and it was time for a change. I accepted a job with Merced Irrigation District as the GIS Specialist for the Energy Resources department. It was an excellent change, and I immediately set off on my new role and began improving systems and processes. My son was born in late 2024 and with each new milestone in life I've felt the need to do better for my family. I still love to compete but have switched to competing in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) where it is easier to make money and my BJJ skill set transfers well. I still train BJJ and earned my Black Belt in 2024. I continue to find time for my passions but focus a huge amount of my free time on various projects I hope to get off the ground. See my projects section.