Born in a water bug family of swimmers and scuba divers, I was raised between the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains and the Outer Banks dunes. I learned my history as Appalachian folklore passed down through saltwater stories and my grandma’s sourdough.
At UNC, I assisted research on sea turtle navigation. Then I caught the travel bug. In Ghana, a Priestess of Mami Wata spotted my shell anklet and whisked me into a shrine to the mermaid spirit. In Ecuador, a Galapagueño fisherman took me diving beneath a school of hammerhead sharks. And on the Aegean coast, a Greek baker sent me to release octopuses from algae-encrusted traps. In each place, I learned how cultural knowledge inspires ocean protection as successfully as academic research. I hope to draw from stories and science to write of those who dive into the sea.
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