Professionally
I’m known as a creative strategist, an analytics enthusiast, and a certified chemist in-and-out of the kitchen. I am a recent graduate student interested in strategizing climate and global resilience solutions utilizing GIS techniques. After finishing my undergraduate degree in Chemistry, I moved to Santa Barbara in 2023 to further my education and develop my career path by earning a Master’s in Environmental Data Science with the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UCSB. At the outset of the program, I also began a student research assistantship with The 2035 Initiative at UCSB. Throughout my assistantship, I gained experience in using various GIS techniques and softwares; troubleshooting and debugging; using HPC environments; and routinely reporting updates to diverse interdisciplinary teams.
I hope to continue participating in projects that elicit real change, propelling me forward in my career trajectory. At this early stage in my career, I intend to focus my experience as a data scientist on writing policy suggestions for sustainability and resiliency related issues. I am most interested in research related to preparation for extreme climate events, the clean energy transition, assessing public health exposure to pollutants after hazardous events, and resource management.
MEDS Class of 2024 the day of our Capstone Public Presentation! Date: May 2024.
Behind the Screen
In case you were curious about my name pronunciation, (“Sof-aya” like papaya), it’s actually a piece of my family’s history. See, my mom’s ancestors immigrated from Trondheim, Norway and carried a tradition of namesakes. Unlike the typical Jr., Sr., The III, our family skips every other generation. For example, I’m named after my beloved grandmother, Sofia Anne. This tradition’s been in our family for eight generations! Growing up, I didn’t always love having a unique pronunciation, but it’s given me the confidence to speak up and politely correct someone. I love my name, the strength it gives me, and my lineage tied to it.
This is my lovely grandmother, whom I was named after, Sofia Anne. In this photo, we were out enjoying brunch at this tasty place called Madison on Park in San Diego. Date: June 2023.
