I am a sociocultural and applied linguist exploring the intersection of language and the environment. My research draws on ethnography and linguistic methods to examine how language and cultural practices shape human relationships with other species and ecosystems, particularly in the contexts of wildlife conservation, ecotourism and environmental justice. My primary research examines the linguistic and social practices shaping the intersecting contexts of wildlife conservation and nature-based tourism in Hawai‘i around protected Hawaiian green sea turtles. I am also engaged in projects drawing on nexus analysis and citizen linguistic methods to examine youth environmental citizenship in a time of interwoven social and ecological crisis. More broadly, my work aims to to bring applied linguistics theory and methods into dialogue with interdisciplinary environmental and climate justice research. Through my work, I advocate for the relevance of applied language and communication research for better understanding and responding to the interwoven crises of social injustice and environmental degradation, and the democratic practices and policies needed to address them.
