Received a Master’s in Environmental Management and Policy in 1993 before working in Oregon, Washington, and NorCal for an environmental consulting firm doing biological surveys, wetland mitigation and restoration. He then received a Master’s in Biology from University of Nevada, Reno and conducted three years of field research in Southeast Alaska on the importance of spawning Pacific salmon to predator, scavenger and nutrient systems. He worked in Juneau, Alaska for the USFS Forestry  Sciences Lab, the National Parks Service and Alaska Department of Fish and Game before coming back to Northern California in 2019.