CV & Resume
Work Experience
Paleontologist
Psoma
Oct. 2021 - PresentCalifornia, NevadaMonitor excavation and utility projects with daily field notes, monitor logs, and ArcGIS Field Map as environmental field technician
Identify, collect, and report on found vertebrate, invertebrate, plant, and trace fossils
Write, develop, and present paleontological and geological reports
Jurisdictional Water Delineation Surveyor, LA DWP: map fluvial features in the field with ArcGIS Field Map
Teaching Associate
California State University Long Beach
Aug. 2022 - Dec. 2023 Long Beach, CA; RemoteEducated non-science students in Historical Geology Lab course
Instructed face-to-face in the classroom and synchronous online on Zoom
Organized and oversaw 3-hour research boat field trip in Los Angeles Harbor where students participated in hands-on lab activities, collected water samples, recorded water quality data, and interacted with trawled invertebrates to gain a deeper understanding of oceanography concepts
Paleontology Collections Intern
County of Orange
Jan. 2022 - Dec. 2022Santa Ana, CATaxonomically identified, photographed, and re-housed fossilized shark teeth to archival-quality receptacles
3D photogrammetry modeling; scanned with 3D Object Scanner Artec Eva, modeled in Artec Studio and SketchFab
Instructional Assistant
California State University Long Beach
Jul. 2020 - Jun. 2021 Long Beach, CA; Remote3D photogrammetry modeling created in Agisoft and SketchFab
Ultra-high gigapixel resolution macroscopic photography created GigaMacro Magnify2 system
Microscopic (Leica) photography and digital cataloging of microfossils
Teaching Associate
California State Polytechnic University Pomona
Jul. 2021 - Jun. 2022Pomona, CAEducated non-science students in Historical Geology Lab geosciences course
Instructed face-to-face in the classroom
Developed course curriculum with chosen textbook
Education
MS in Geology
California State University Long Beach
in progress 2025BS in Geology
California State University Long Beach
cum laude 2021Certificate in GIS & Geospatial Technology
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
with honors 2020AS-T in Geology
Santiago Canyon College
with honors 2019Skillsets
Geological mapping
Environmental consulting
Paleontology monitoring
Jurisdictional water delineation surveying
Extensive experience in the field
Identify fossils, minerals, and rocks
Scientific research
STEM educator
Statistical analyses
Write technical report
Writing scientific papers for publication
Optical microscopy
Managing people; in-house, contracted
Managing projects with hard deadlines
Digital photography
3D modeling
Software
ESRI ArcGIS
QGIS
Tableau
SPSS Statistics
Agisoft
Artec Studio
SketchFab
Petrel
QPS
Qimera
Microsoft 365
Adobe Suite
Google Workspace
Professional Associations
American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG)
Chapter board member in 2024
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG)
Geological Society of America (GSA)
Paleontological Society (PS)
Society of Vertebrate Paleontologists (SVP)
Interests
Weightlifting
Audiobooks
Lego builds
Relearning Piano
Hiking
Dinosaurs
Jurassic Park
Ice age megafauna
Space
Gardening succulents
Publications
Balassa, D., Prothero, D.R., Cleaveland, C., Olson, S.M., and Marriott, K.I., 2022a, How did white-tailed deer respond to the Pleistocene Holocene transition?, in Abstracts with Programs, Denver, Colorado, Geological Society of America, 5, v. 54, doi:10.1130/abs/2022AM-379969.
Balassa, D., Prothero, D.R., and Olson, S.M., 2021, Did pronghorns change size after the ice ages?, in Abstracts with Programs, Portland, Oregon, Geological Society of America, 6, v. 53, doi:10.1130/abs/2021AM-364701.
Balassa, D., Prothero, D.R., Olson, S.M., Cleaveland, C., and Marriott, K.I., 2022b, Did pronghorns change size after the ice ages? New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, v. 90, p. 35–39.
Balassa, D., Prothero, D.R., Olson, S.M., Cleaveland, C., and Marriott, K.I., 2022c, How did white-tailed deer respond to the Pleistocene Holocene transition? New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, v. 90, p. 41–45.
Marriott, K., Olson, S.M., Balassa, D., Cleaveland, C., Watmore, K.I., LaVine, R.J., Olson, R.C., and Prothero, D.R., 2022, Ontogenetic Trends of Sutural Complexity in Jurassic Ammonites: Geosciences, v. 12, p. 66, doi:10.3390/geosciences12020066.
Olson, S.M., Prothero, D.R., Balassa, D., and Syverson, V.J.P., 2022a, Stasis in Neophrontops americanus (Egyptian vultures) from La Brea tar pits during the last glacial-interglacial cycle, in Abstracts with Programs, Denver, Colorado, Geological Society of America, 5, v. 54, doi:10.1130/abs/2022AM-379820.
Olson, S.M., Prothero, D.R., Balassa, D., and Syverson, V.J.P., 2022b, Stasis in Neophrontops americanus (Egyptian vultures) from La Brea tar pits during the last glacial-interglacial cycle: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, v. 90, p. 325–330.
Olson, S.M., White, R.S., Prothero, D., Balassa, D., Marriott, K., and Syverson, V.J.P., 2021, Ontogenetic growth in the Pleistocene pronghorn Stockoceras from San Joselito Cave, Mexico, in Abstracts with Programs, Online, Palaeovertebrata, 65, v. 44, p. 176.
Olson, S.M., White, R.S., Prothero, D.R., Balassa, D., and Syverson, V.J.P., 2022c, Ontogenetic growth in the Pleistocene pronghorn Stockoceras from San Joselito Cave, Mexico: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, v. 90, p. 321–324.
Olson, S., White, R.S., Prothero, D., Balassa, D., Marriott, K., and Syverson, V.J.P., 2021, Ontogenetic growth in the Pleistocene pronghorn Stockoceras from San Joselito Cave, Mexico, in Abstract book, Online, European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists, 65, v. 44, p. 176.
Stevens, M.S., Prothero, D.R., Cleaveland, C., Welsh, E., Marriott, K., Htun, T., Balassa, D., Olson, S.M., Watmore, K.I., and Wheeler, D., 2024, Systematics of the late Oligocene and Miocene Oreodonts (Merycoidodontidae: Artiodactyla): New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 385 p.