Sara Dave
Claremont,CA
Summary
High-achieving project manager with 3 years of experience working alongside biodiversity collections. Expertise in orchestrating complex grant-funded projects ahead of schedule from conception to completion and effectively managing a team whilst ensuring high quality project outputs. Seeking to leverage meticulous, detail-oriented collections background to play an active role in data-driven conservation efforts.
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
Work History
Project Manager
California Botanic Garden
Claremont
09.2022 - Current
- Led a million-dollar National Science Foundation-funded project to spearhead the construction of an Extended Specimen Network with worldwide plant biodiversity collections.
- Managed multiple deadlines and concurrent projects by setting schedules, leading a team, and cutting the project timeline in half while exceeding budgeted goals and maintaining high-quality standards.
- Trained and supervised interns, volunteers, and graduate student research assistants, fostering a collaborative and productive work environment.
- Researched and developed scientific protocols for the curation and digitization of herbarium specimens, wood specimens, wood anatomy microscope slides, and fluid-preserved plant specimens.
- Generated regular reports on project progress for a variety of audiences such as project partners, external stakeholders, and NSF annual reports.
- Advanced project outreach through giving presentations at professional conferences, graduate seminars, and volunteer enrichments.
- Utilized GIS, R, and Excel to perform spatial and statistical analyses, creating data visualizations with the biodiversity collections data generated by the project.
Student Museum Curator
Cheadle Center at UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara
09.2021 - 06.2022
- Worked to curate and digitize a variety of natural history collections, including herbarium specimens, algae specimens, lichens, and mammals.
- Digitized and georeferenced over 5000 plant and algae specimens on the Consortium of California Herbaria (CCH2) database.
- Utilized professional photo capture software to image thousands of specimens.
- Implemented Integrated Pest Management strategies to keep specimens safe from biological contaminants.
Herbarium Database Intern
Cheadle Center at UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara
06.2020 - 09.2020
- Interpreted and analyzed scanned herbarium specimens, ensuring accurate transcription of technical botanical data for the California Phenology Project.
- Employed mapping software alongside pattern recognition and critical thinking to georeference historical plant specimens with limited data, enhancing their viability for research.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Environmental Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA06-2022
Skills
- ArcGIS Pro and Online expertise
- Data analysis and visualizations in R
- Microsoft Suite proficiency
- Creative thinking and problem solving
- Adaptability to the dynamic needs of complex projects
- Writing & scientific communication skills for a diverse array of audiences
- Public speaking & project outreach
- Meticulous attention to detail
- Data collection
- Automating project processes using Python
- Outstanding management and interpersonal skills
Timeline
Project Manager
California Botanic Garden
09.2022 - Current
Student Museum Curator
Cheadle Center at UC Santa Barbara
09.2021 - 06.2022
Herbarium Database Intern
Cheadle Center at UC Santa Barbara
06.2020 - 09.2020
Bachelor of Science - Environmental Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
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