I am currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the Geography Department at the University at Buffalo.  My research interests within the field of Geographic Information Science are at the overlap of human-computer interaction and spatial cognition, and are inspired by a decade of experience working with small communities dependent on natural resources, especially in the coastal zone. My Ph.D. research expands on my foundation of community-based GIS experience, as it explores the ontological aspects of natural resource decision-making in the context of lobster fisheries in Maine and Western Australia.  My work focuses on conceptualizations of the resource environment as they are learned and understood by lobster fishers in these two regions. I use a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to explore how environmental knowledge and technology use affect these conceptualizations, which in turn determine trap placement strategies. This research involves interviews and mapping tasks with lobster fishers, as well as collection and analysis of spatial data describing individual and regional fishing patterns.