Novem is Senior Scientist at NYC Parks' Division of Environment & Planning where she guides conservation, research, and monitoring priorities. She leads a team of scientists who are tasked with monitoring and assessing NYC Parks’ natural resources, advising on natural resources protection and conservation, and using research and data to inform adaptive management. She is also part of the NYC Urban Field Station, a partnership between NYC Parks, USDA Forest Service, and Natural Areas Conservancy (a NYC-based non-profit) that focuses on knowledge co-production across different disciplines/sectors and bridging the gap between science and implementation.

Novem holds a Bachelor's in Environmental Science from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Forestry and Natural Resources from Purdue University. For fun, she enjoys trips to different outdoor spaces with her kiddos, cooking/baking foods from her childhood in Hong Kong and Thailand, and figuring out how to make environmental decision-making more inclusive and transdisciplinary.