Summary

When I was a kid in the Pacific Northwest, my mother and her marine biologist friends insisted that I learn how to pronounce two names: Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (the scientific term for purple sea urchins) and parmigiano reggiano (the king of cheeses). This insistence led to two inescapable things: (1) I would always love nature and food, and (2) I would probably be a nerd.

After a youth fighting the latter destiny, I studied evolution at Brown University, then coral reef diseases as a Fulbright Fellow with the Smithsonian Institution in Panama. As a PhD student at MIT, I studied the gut microbiome—bacteria that live in the human body—and how it generates disease and contributes to human health. In between, I led sea-kayaking expeditions in the San Juan Islands, teaching communication and leadership to teens.

Now, I am building Tezza as an excuse to eat my way to saving the wild places I love.

This site is largely a relic of my time in academia, although still reflects many of the values I retain today.