Hi—I’m Julia! I am Senior Director of Data, Design, & UX at American Forests, a national non-profit dedicated to urban Tree Equity and climate-smart large landscape restoration and reforestation. I nerd out about cartography, science, information design, and user experience. I believe in the power of storytelling to help us relate to and tackle climate change, social justice, and human impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity.

 
 

 Publications

 

Geographies of Dirty Water: Landscape-Scale Inequities in Rhode Island, USA

In the first statewide analysis of coastal public access and water quality, we found clear disparities in the travel distances and costs for Black and Latinx populations to access the coast compared to White populations.

Twichell JH, Mulvaney KK, Merrill NH, Bousquin, JJ. (2022) Geographies of Dirty Water: Landscape-Scale Inequities in Rhode Island. Frontiers in Marine Science 8: 760684.

 
 

Lessons from Philippines MPA Management: Social Ecological Interactions, Participation, and MPA Performance

Analysis of community survey data collected in the Philippines by the Learning Project (LP), a collaboration with United States Coral Triangle Initiative (USCTI), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and partners.

Twichell J, Pollnac R, Christie P. (2018). Lessons from marine protected area management in the Philippines: Linking social ecological interactions and participation. Environmental Management 61(6): 916-927.

 
 

Participant Workbook for Getting Community Buy-in for Stormwater Funding Four-Part Workshop Series

A modular workbook for a training program for municipal staff. Participants learn to to develop community support for local stormwater (or other) initiatives.

Twichell JH, Mulvaney KK, Hulet C, Secunda J, Leiby A, Buchholtz ten Brink M. 2018. “Getting Community Buy-in for Stormwater Funding, A Four-Session Participatory Workshop: Participant Workbook.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Atlantic Ecology Division, Narragansett, RI. EPA/600/R-18/213. 76 pp.

 
 

Facilitator Manual for Getting Community Buy-in for Stormwater Funding Four-Part Workshop Series

This Facilitator Manual provides the practical steps necessary for an agency or organization to implement the Getting Community Buy-in for Stormwater Funding training program.

Twichell JH, Mulvaney KK, Hulet C, Secunda J, Leiby A, Buchholtz ten Brink M. 2018. “Getting Community Buy-in for Stormwater Funding, A Four-Session Participatory Workshop: Facilitator Manual.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Atlantic Ecology Division, Narragansett, RI. EPA/600/R-18/214. 150pp.

 
 

Solutions-Driven Research Pilot Problem Formulation Workshop: Report and Evaluation

Under new directives to involve stakeholders in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 5-year Strategic Research Planning, I developed a high-profile workshop and documented a synopsis, evaluation, and lessons in this report.

Twichell JH, Mulvaney KK, Hubbell B, Erban LE, Berry W, Chintala MM, Crocker Z, Gleason TR, Horsley S, Munns, Jr. WR, Rea AW, Smith SN, Soto Reyes S. 2019. "Solutions-Driven Research Pilot Problem Formulation Workshop: Report and Evaluation.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, Atlantic Ecology Division, Narragansett, RI. EPA/600/R-19/107.

 
 

Quantifying Recreational Use of an Estuary: A Case Study of Three Bays, Cape Cod, USA

Our U.S. EPA team designed a simple method for measuring how many people use and recreate on an estuary. These methods can be used to measure the human impact of water quality degradation or improvement.

Mulvaney, K., S. Lyon, N. Merrill, J. Twichell, AND M. Mazzotta. 2020. Quantifying Recreational Use of an Estuary: A Case Study of Three Bays, Cape Cod, USA. Estuaries and Coasts 43(1):7-22.

 
 

The State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed: Technical Report

This Narragansett Bay Estuary Program report tracks twenty-four indicators of environmental conditions in Narragansett Bay and the surrounding watershed, spanning Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. 2017. State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed. Technical Report. Providence, RI.

 
 

The State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed: Summary Report

I did the cartography for this summary report, capturing key environmental conditions and trends in Narragansett Bay and the surrounding watershed.

Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. 2017. State of Narragansett Bay and Its Watershed. Summary Report. Providence, RI.