SAE

SciComm

My favorite part of being a scientist is making science accessible and fun for everyone! I've been doing SciComm since 2015. Whether it's in-person, on a video call, in a podcast, or on TV, I am always down to get people hyped about weird animals and cool science. And as a first-generation Colombian immigrant, I love showing that brown people belong in science and media!

Interested in booking me for a (virtual) classroom visit, guest lecture, podcast interview, livestream, TV show, or other event?

Drop me a (silk) line at spiderdaynightlive [at] gmail [dot] com for availability, rates, and details!

Outreach

Between classroom visits, museum events, guest lectures, and afterschool programs, I've designed and presented educational experiences for students of every age, from Pre-K to adults and everyone in between.

I have a collection of wonderful outreach spiders (and other arachnids) that have joined me for shows at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh Children's Museum, local schools, and learners across the world via streaming video. You can meet some of them in my digital classroom visit via Skype a Scientist!

Science Journalism

The tarantula's name is Isabel, btw.

I love turning complex science into engaging stories! In 2019, I worked as a science reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer as part of the AAAS Mass Media program. I covered everything from terraforming mars, the invention of snail-inspired superglue, to the spider science behind Spider-Man's powers. You can find all of my stories here, and my favorite one here. It's about a rare spider that is literally "West Philadelphia, born and raised", and the dedicated volunteers studying it!

While in Philly, I also worked as an assistant producer and guest host for an episode of the Science History Institute's podcast, Distillations! We explored the saga of science, corruption, and history behind how Philly gets and uses its water.

Recently, I've done some freelance reporting as well. This year, I covered the unbelievable life-cycle and evolution of periodical cicadas for NBC Digital News.

Throughout my PhD, I also covered breaking research by livetweeting the scientific conferences I attended. Take a digital trip through some of the exciting science presented at SICB 2020, Arachnology 2019, and Animal Behavior 2018!

Teaching

I've had a blast teaching in all kinds of classrooms! During my PhD, I also completed a Minor in Teaching, and worked as a teaching assistant for 10 semesters. I taught a variety of undergraduate biology courses, including Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, Wildlife Management, and Conservation Biology. These have been a mix of small seminars, large-enrollment courses, and even field courses! I've also developed 4 lessons of my own⁠—ranging from effective science communication to the role of animal senses in conservation⁠—which I delivered as a guest lecturer for other professors.

I also recently designed a full YouTube video course on Zoology for the Crash Course channel! Across 14 episodes, the series explores the incredible diversity, ecology, and evolutionary history of animals, along with how zoologists of all kinds continue to explore these mysteries.

You can learn more about my teaching philosophy, see examples of my course materials, and read student feedback in my teaching portfolio.